The Nighthawk

Ellen Pilon is a library assistant in the Patrick Power Library at Saint
Mary’s University in Halifax.

Part of the Formac Fiction Treasures series edited by Gwendolyn Davies,
The Nighthawk was first published in 1901 under the title The Nighthawk:
A Romance of the ’60s. The purpose of the Formac series is to
introduce readers to books that are both enjoyable and filled with
historical events colored by attitudes and cultural views of the time.
There are currently four titles in this series, including The Nighthawk
and the well-known Beautiful Joe.

An introduction by Greg Marquis is filled with pertinent information
about the author and the period in which her book was written. A
bibliography or endnotes citing the sources of this information would
have been appreciated so that the interested reader could verify the
cover’s assertion that “the success of this novel, first published
in 1901, and her second two years later launched her career as a leading
Canadian writer of international bestsellers.” A brief note on the
text would have been useful as well; as it is, the reader cannot tell
whether unusual wording and punctuation reflects the original manuscript
or new typographical errors.

The novel begins, in a pseudo–Henry Jamesian style, in Paris society
of the 1860s. Soon heroine Antoinette Castelle tires of the luxurious,
empty life of Paris. Searching for a life with more dignity, and wanting
to make a man out of her husband, she arranges their move to his
plantation in the American South. Eventually, she leaves the south and
her recently deceased husband for Halifax where she spies on behalf of
the Confederacy. Intrigue and romance ensue (Antoinette loves Arthur who
loves Mabel who loves Warwick who loves Antoinette), and Antoinette ends
up with the right man.

The style is stiff; the plot and romance are stereotypical. The
introduction warns us that some of the attitudes and values in the book
are in conflict with those of today, but the seasoned reader of
historical literature will cope well. Period details of the south are
interesting, but the Halifax descriptions are less vivid. Romance
readers will be disappointed by the stock characters and artificial
dialogue. Nonetheless, Nova Scotians and American Civil War aficionados
will enjoy the details of Alice Jones’s portrayal.