Isaac Brock: Larger Than Life

Wesley B. Turner is an associate professor of history at Brock
University and the author of The War of 1812: The War That Both Sides
Won and The Military in the Niagara Peninsula. 

Ven Begamudré has several publications and prizes to his credit as well
as appointments as writer-in-residence. In Isaac Brock, he demonstrates
his skill at creating a detailed and captivating story both from
fragmentary evidence and a wide variety of sources. In a prologue, an
epilogue, and eight chapters in between, he presents a wide spectrum of
information about Brock, his ancestry and family, the war in Europe, the
adulation given to Admiral Nelson and the rise of Arthur Wellesley to
fame as the Duke of Wellington, conditions in the British army and navy,
American attitudes leading to war against Canada, and the early events
of the War of 1812 until the Battle of Queenston Heights.

The work is based on solid research, but the author allows his
imagination wide range, particularly when detailing Isaac’s dealings
with his family and with his possible engagement to Susan Shaw, the
daughter of a Canadian militia general. Here is a sample of
Begamudré’s dramatic prose as he describes Brock waking from his
sleep on the morning of his last battle: “Isaac pulled on his boots
and buckled on his sword. Then he jammed his cocked hat onto his head,
snatched up his pocket watch and telescope, and marched outside.” The
language might at times appear difficult, but good literature should
stretch the understanding of young readers. They are sure to enjoy Isaac
Brock as a tale of an adventurous life while learning a good deal of
Canadian and European history.