Joyce Barkhouse – författare

An exceptional man, George Mercer Dawson (1849-1901) a tiny hunchback, may have contributed more than any other person to early knowledge of the geology, biology and ethnology of Canada’s Northwest.

Possessed of a brilliant mind, boundless enthusiasm, an insatiable thirst for knowledge, and a great love of the land, he made some of the most epic exploratory journeys in Canadian history. His maps and reports remain invaluable reference sources. Both Dawson City and Dawson Creek are named in his honour.

This book tells the story of some of his life experiences and adventures.

So wrote Thomas Raddall at the age of eighteen, not dreaming that many years later Sable Island – that "hell on earth" – would provide a romantic background for one of his greatest novels, The Nymph and the Lamp.

Traumatized by the horror of the great Halifax Explosion of 1917, followed in a few months by the death of his father in battle overseas, Tom was forced to leave school at the age of fourteen.

This brief account of his life tells of his early adventures and of how he became one of Canada’s most renowned storytellers.