Atlantic Canada before Confederation

Dean Tudor is a journalism professor at the Ryerson Polytechnical
Institute and founding editor of the CBRA.

These two volumes contain 34 essays that have been reprinted from the scholarly journal Acadiensis (founded in 1971). The emphasis, of course, is on the region of the Atlantic provinces, and the work follows J.M.S. Careless’s precept of “limited identities.” The two volumes are presented as a reader for undergraduate courses. Topics in volume one include Port Royal, Acadians-in-exile, P.E.I’s land question, Indian policy, black refugees, Joseph Howe, lunatic asylums, and architecture. After 1867 the focus moves to strikes in the Maritimes, the education of women, the National Policy, the Cape Breton coal industry, the Newfoundland entry into Confederation. While it would have been useful to have some biographical details about the essayists, some textual commentary to link the essays, and an index, I appreciate the decision to present a straight reprint in order to keep the price down. Certainly the two books are a bargain.