Prairie Rose

Matt Hartman is a freelance editor and cataloguer, running Hartman Cataloguing, Editing and Indexing Services.

Smith’s first novel is a stolid rendition of life on the prairies
during the second half of the 19th century. The historical plot involves
Luke Reiner, an American fur trader who, in 1868 on a trapping
expedition in Rupert’s Land (the immense wilderness area in Canada’s
northwest then controlled by the Hudson’s Bay Company), meets and
befriends Jean-Paul, a Métis trapper, and his sister Marie.

The author emigrated to Saskatchewan from England in 1956, working at
first as an engineer in oil and gas development and later as a teacher
of computer science. Somewhere along the way, he developed a fascination
for the history of his adopted land, and it is that fascination which
informs the writing and saves it from melodrama. When Luke falls in love
with and weds Marie (the “prairie rose” of the title), his life
weaves itself around her Métis family and friends, including
participation in a full-scale buffalo hunt.

Smith loves a story. His energy level is high. Unfortunately, his
skills with character representation and dialogue do not match his
skills at writing action scenes. All his protagonists speak alike, from
Luke himself to the bit players. Even Métis heroes like Gabriel Dumont
and Louis Riel are indistinguishable. The result is a book that is best
suited to younger readers, perhaps the audience for whom it was
intended.