The Frayed Edge: Norman Duncan's Newfoundland

R.G. Moyles is a professor of English at the University of Alberta.

Billy Topsail and Skipper: many Canadians remember that adventurous
duo—a boy and his dog—from their school anthologies. Living in a
tiny Newfoundland outport, they brave numerous dangers, rescue each
other from all sorts of entanglements, and generally endear themselves
to all who read about them. Most of those readers will remember the
author of the Billy Topsail stories—Norman Duncan; but few, I expect,
will now know just how prolific Duncan was as a chronicler of
Newfoundland life or what a diversified talent he possessed.

This book is therefore a good introduction to Duncan’s career and
art, and perhaps will spur a renewed interest in this important and
still readable Canadian writer. And I expect that what I considered a
weakness of this book may be, to others, a strength: it is not, as its
subtitle implies, an academic study of Duncan’s depiction of
Newfoundland life in the early part of this century, but mainly a
biography of Duncan, covering his whole life and career, with
descriptions of his Newfoundland interspersed. Thus, while it is very
good as biography, it is not very incisive or revealing when it comes to
the Newfoundland mythos of Duncan’s books. But, again, this may
attract it a wider readership than otherwise, and it is certainly to be
recommended to any who are inclined to renew their acquaintance with
Norman Duncan or who would like to know about the creator of two of
their favorite childhood heroes—Billy Topsail and Skipper.