Full of Hope and Promise: The Canadas in 1841

Dennis Denisoff teaches English at McGill University and is the author
of Dog Years.

The structural concept of this book—a historically factual
representation of the Upper and Lower Canadas in 1941 (the year in which
they joined), through the eyes of a fictional character—has potential.
Unfortunately, from the standpoint of literature, it is weak. Full of
Hope and Promise reads as if it were written to fool a high-school
student into enjoying history lessons. The central character is only a
voicebox, and the text itself is monotonously pleasant and not always
eloquent.

That said, the book is valuable as a source document, though it lacks
the thorough index and footnotes that allow a text to extend beyond
itself. Ross, a professor in the Geography Department at Mount Allison
University, does an admirable job of researching the period and
assimilating the facts he finds pertinent to his re-creation. Liberal
space in the text is occupied by graphics, epigrams, and brief, framed
asides on such topics as “Steamer City of Toronto” and “The Need
for an Asylum.” Though these interjections are often interesting, they
are also at times disruptive and uninformative. Some passages are
irritatingly white-washed, such as Ross’s description of an asylum as
“a protected place” where “the lunatic would be able to receive
the soothing remedies, cheerfulness, and repose that would alleviate
and, perhaps, remove his symptons.” Ross’s attempts at casual
discourse detract from the text’s scholarly value. Full of Hope and
Promise probably proves most rewarding for those who read it solely for
the pleasure of getting a mild sense of an era.