Loyalist Literature: An Annotated Bibliographic Guide to the Writings on the Loyalists of the American Revolution

Eric L. Swanick is the New Brunswick Legislative librarian and the
author of Hardiness, Perseverance and Faith: New Brunswick Library
History.

This year, 1983, is the Bicentennial of the Loyalist arrival in Canada. And besides the various celebrations in eastern Canada, there will be a number of books. In this instance, Robert Allen has compiled an introductory guide to the Loyalist literature.

The book is divided into four parts, namely: General References, The American Revolution, The Diaspora, and The Loyalist Legacy. The Diaspora section is subdivided into Quebec and the Canadas and Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, with a short section on England, East and West Florida, the Bahamas, and Bermuda.

The work is very readable and objective. Generally it gives short and succinct annotations, an overview of the Loyalist literature within the larger four subject areas. The references cited are generally consistent, although some of these lack a publication date (see p. 11). Also, some of the works have been reprinted, e.g., Walter Bates, Kingston and the Loyalists… (Fredericton: Nonentity Press, 1979). Also the overwhelming number of items cited are nonfiction. This short work (63p.) lacks an index, although the table of contents is somewhat designed to compensate for this failure.

There is a mammoth amount of work to be done in the area of Loyalist bibliography. Mr. Allen’s work is a good introduction to the various debates and aspects of Loyalism.