Mr. and Mrs. GG: The Media Princess and the Court Philosopher

Naomi Brun is a freelance writer and a book reviewer for The Hamilton
Spectator.

Ever since Adrienne Clarkson became Governor General of Canada,
editorial cartoonists across the nation have been grinning from ear to
ear. After all, the very qualities that enable her to act so effectively
as the Queen’s representative in Canada do set her apart from most of
this country’s citizens. Her aloof demeanour, passion for high
culture, and insistence on excellence put her more at ease hobnobbing
with Commonwealth elite at the opera than shooting the breeze with
locals at a fast-food restaurant. Clarkson is not one of the girls and
never will be. For this reason, editorial cartoonists know they can fall
back on her when there is nothing scandalous in the news.

Mr. and Mrs. G.G., a 247-page biography of Clarkson and her husband,
John Ralston Saul, takes a page from this mean-spirited trend. In the
first chapter, author Frank Davey states outright that Clarkson and Saul
are not his kind of people, because they don’t step out of the crowd
to pet dogs at the Ottawa Kennel Club’s yearly show and they do attend
black-tie literary dinners in Toronto. In short, they behave like the
members of the elite that they are. Davey would prefer to have someone
like Shania Twain in the role, because his dogs think that she’s
fabulous.

Davey claims that his book is an “unauthorized” biography, somehow
both spicier and more accurate than any authorized one could ever be.
Unfortunately, “unauthorized” in this case just means that he’s
writing his opinion as fact. He openly dislikes Clarkson and Saul, so he
attributes their achievements to ill-deserved good luck. According to
Davey, Clarkson is an airheaded social climber and Saul is a muddled
thinker who promotes himself well.

The book does not contain one legitimate solid criticism of either the
Governor General or her husband. Davey relies instead on his superior
turn of phrase and cruel sense of humour to delight his readership. In
short, the book contains more malicious gossip than credible
information.