The Glace Bay Miners' Museum

Ian C. Nelson is assistant director of libraries at the University of
Saskatchewan, and président de la Troupe du Jour, Regina Summer Stage.

The Glace Bay Miners’ Museum is a Canadian work of unusual celebrity
because the story has appeared in a variety of forms. The novel issued
from a much-anthologized short story published in the 1970s; the short
story contributed (along with another short story) to the film script of
an award-winning motion picture titled Margaret’s Museum and to a
Governor General’s Award–nominated stage play by Wendy Lill. Still
photos from the film fill out the book.

One thing is clear: the novel in no way comes across as derivative of
whatever went before. It is written as a very intense first-person
monologue from the perspective of Margaret, the granddaughter, daughter,
sister, wife, and widow of Cape Breton miners. The writing is clear and
col-loquial, almost dialectal. It displays a genius for very
descriptive—even poetic—detail that still sits well in the mouth of
the simple, observant narrator. Although union issues loom large in the
plot, the novel is a welcome antidote to the likes of Clifford Odets,
basically because it engages one in the profound motivations of the
characters and the why of life in general. The author shows a deft hand
in managing surprise (which is important to the plot) and in introducing
some gothic twists. This is a beautiful novel, the work of an
accomplished writer.