Pender Harbour Cowboy: The Many Lives of Bertrand Sinclair

Bert Almon is a professor of English at the University of Alberta. He is
the author of Calling Texas, Earth Prime, and Mind the Gap.

Bertrand Sinclair (1878–1972) was a highly successful commercial
writer in his time, with 15 novels and many stories published. Several
of his works were made into films during the silent movie era. His books
are no longer available. Betty Kelly, who has published biographies of
Ernest Thompson Seton and Pauline Johnson, has written a thorough study
of Sinclair’s life, and supported it with ample documentation and fine
illustrations.

Born in Scotland, Sinclair lived most of his life in British Columbia,
with a sojourn in Montana. He worked as a cowboy and fisherman,
occupations that influenced his writing. Sinclair suggests that his
novel about the salmon fishing fleet, Poor Man’s Rock, is his most
valuable work.

Keller, a very good biographer, gives a good sense of the man’s
personality and his place in B.C. literary history. Pender Harbour
Cowboy is a fine book, and is recommended for public library
collections.