The Imperialist

by Sara Jeannette Duncan

Overview

Step back in time to turn-of-the-century Canada with Sara Jeannette Duncan's "The Imperialist," a compelling exploration of small town life and burgeoning political ambition in Ontario. This meticulously prepared reprint offers a window into a pivotal era, examining the complexities of social class and the shaping of a nation.

Duncan masterfully crafts a narrative that resonates with enduring themes of community, aspiration, and the impact of larger political forces on individual lives. Through vivid prose and insightful observations, "The Imperialist" paints a rich portrait of a society grappling with change.

Whether you are a student of Canadian literature or simply enjoy historical fiction, this novel provides a thought-provoking and deeply engaging reading experience. Discover a classic tale of ambition, belonging, and the search for identity in a rapidly evolving world.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.

This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.

Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781023003735
Publisher:	Anson Street Press
Publication date:	03/28/2025
Pages:	234
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.49(d)

About the Author

Sara Jeannette Duncan was born in Brantford, Ontario, in 1861. She attended the Toronto Normal School, then left teaching for a career in journalism. She worked as an editorial writer and book reviewer for the Washington Post, then wrote for the Toronto Globe under the name of “Garth Grafton,” and contributed a column to whose founder was Goldwin Smith. She was also parliamentary correspondent in Ottawa for the Montreal Star.

In 1888 Duncan set off on a round-the-world trip as correspondent for the New York World and the Montreal Star. In Calcutta she met her future husband, Everard Cotes, an Englishman serving there as curator of the Indian Museum. They married two years later. Duncan lived in India for twenty-five years, with extended stays abroad in London and frequent trips to Canada.

A prolific and popular writer of fiction, Duncan set nearly half of her novels in India. The Imperialist (1904), generally considered her finest, is her only novel set in Canada. During and after World War One she devoted much of her time to playwrighting.

In 1922 Duncan and her husband retired to England.

Sara Jeannette Duncan died in Ashtead, Surrey, England in 1922.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Introduction
Sara Jeannette Duncan: A Brief Chronology
A Note on the Text

The Imperialist

Appendix A: Personal and Domestic Contexts

1. Sara Jeannette Duncan, “[North American Indians].” The Globe (29 July 1885)
2. Sara Jeannette Duncan, “[The Old-Time Heroine].” The Week (28 October 1886)
3. A Selection of Duncan’s Letters concerning The Imperialist
4. From Sara Jeannette Duncan, “[Growing Golden-rod in Simla].” The Crow’s Nest (1901)
5. Recipes from The Canadian Home Cook Book (1887)
6. Twenty-fourth of May Celebration. The Brantford Expositor (22 May 1884)

Appendix B: Imperialism and the Tariff Question

1. “A Pertinent Question.” Diogenes (19 June 1869)
2. “The Effect of the National Policy” (c. 1891)
3. Sara Jeannette Duncan, “Imperial Sentiment in Canada.” Indian Daily News (7 October 1896)
4. From Goldwin Smith, “Commercial Union.” Canada and the Canadian Question (1891)
5. From Joseph Chamberlain, “Trade and The Empire.” Imperial Union and Tariff Reform: Speeches Delivered from May 15th to Nov. 4 1903 (1903)
6. “Hon. Geo. E. Foster Answers Sir Wilfrid Laurier” (1904)

Appendix C: Selected Reviews

1. Unsigned. “Canada and Imperial Policy.” New York Times (5 March 1904)
2. Unsigned. Times Literary Supplement (22 April 1904)
3. Unsigned. The Spectator (23 April 1904)
4. Mary K. Ford, “The Novel of the Month: Mrs. Cotes’ The Imperialist.” Current Literature (April 1904)
5. J[ean] G[raham], Saturday Night (4 June 1904)
6. Unsigned. Daily News [Toronto] (4 June 1904)
7. E. Hoyt, The Lamp (July 1904)
8. Unsigned. Canadian Magazine (July 1904)
9. Unsigned. The Globe [Toronto] (13 August 1904)

Select Bibliography

Editorial Reviews

Despite its literary excellence, The Imperialist can be a challenging book. The thoughtful notation and well-chosen appendices of this edition do much to overcome the distance created by the passage of a century that saw dramatic changes in ideas and social expectations. Misao Dean enables us to appreciate Sara Jeannette Duncan as a sophisticated woman who adhered to some values of her day and contested others, and to admire her courage in writing a realistic novel about highly-charged political issues whose legacy affects us today.” — Carole Gerson, Simon Fraser University

From the Publisher