Books That Live on: The Saga of Robert Nelson

Had the very pleasant experience last night of arriving at an event marking the opening of an exhibition about Wolfred Nelson (that's him in the image,) doctor, mayor of Montreal and Patriot, at the Maison des Patriotes in St-Denis-sur-Richelieu and finding a stack of my biographical novel of his brother Robert Nelson prominently displayed in the museum's store.

My book was published 15 years ago in English and in French, and I've been told that it still is read with interest by those interested in the history of the Rebellions in Upper and Lower Canada.  This episode in 1837-38 was the closest Canada ever came to revolution, and set the stage for responsible government, and the establishment of Canada as a separate country 30 years later.

The Nelsons were among the many Anglophones who took up the cause of independence.  Unfortunately their contribution is frequently forgotten in Quebec: the rebellions are more often glossed as a fight between the British and French Canadians.  In Upper Canada, the Patriot leader was William Lyon MacKenzie, who also made his mark later in the new nation of Canada, and who, famously, was grandfather of William Lyon MacKenzie King, prime minister for 22 years.

Last night the Nelson family was there in force: Wolfred's great grandson Richard Nelson, M.D. was the driving force behind the exposition.  It seemed that everyone of them had read my book and enjoyed it!  What a nice thing to have happen so many years after the publication of the book!

It remains one of my favourite projects, as it involved much research which I ended up folding into a novel.  My initial idea had been to write biography of Robert Nelson, but there wasn't enough information about his later life, so I opted for a truly "creative non-fiction" approach.  There are 198 footnotes, but the story itself is told as just that: a story.   Perhaps this new exhibit will lead to new readers.