True Newfoundlanders: Early Homes and Families of Newfoundland and Labrador

Olaf Uwe Janzen is an associate professor of history at Memorial
University and reviews editor of The Northern Mariner.

True Newfoundlanders is the second of a projected four-volume series on
the social history of Canada’s Atlantic provinces, the first having
been devoted to Nova Scotia. The authors develop their discussion by
examining the history of a number of communities in each province,
giving particular attention to the architectural heritage—and the
homes, churches, mercantile premises and so on—to the lives and
careers of the people associated with it. For example, in Bonavista the
focus is on the lighthouse and the Ryan commercial premises; in Fogo it
is on Bleak House, associated with the Slade family. It is a clever
approach, and one enhanced by the photography of John de Visser.

Unfortunately, the book is riddled with mistakes. Many, such as
misspelled names or transposed picture captions, are the result of
simple carelessness. Others stem from the authors’ lack of familiarity
with Newfoundland history. To identify just a few, Sir John Bennett was
never “Premier,” Fogo was never subjected to “frequent attacks”
by privateers during the American Revolution, the French Shore did not
cede “huge territory” in Newfoundland to France, and Bowaters has
not owned the paper mill in Corner Brook since 1984. Such errors might
have been avoided had the authors consulted more scholarly secondary
sources. Too often they relied on general works that are fraught with
inaccuracies or chauvinistic hyperbole. Anyone seeking a reliable
introduction to Newfoundland history should therefore probably look
elsewhere.