A Time Such as There Never Was Before
Canada After the Great War
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- £6.99
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- £6.99
Publisher Description
Ottawa Book Award 2015 — Shortlisted
Between 1918 and 1921 a great storm blew through Canada and raised the expectations of a new world in which all things would be possible.|
The years after World War I were among the most tumultuous in Canadian history: a period of unremitting change, drama, and conflict. They were, in the words of Stephen Leacock, “a time such as there never was before.”
The war had been a great crusade, promising a world made new. But it had cost Canada sixty thousand dead and many more wounded, and it had widened the many fault lines in a young, diverse country. In a nation struggling to define itself and its place in the world, labour, farmers, businessmen, churches, social reformers, and minorities had extravagant hopes, irrational fears, and contradictory demands.
What had this sacrifice achieved? Whose hopes would be realized and whose dreams would end in disillusionment? Which changes would prove permanent and which would be transitory? A Time Such As There Never Was Before describes how this exciting period laid the foundation of the Canada we know today.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Great political and social upheavals precipitated by the First World War forced Canadians to temper their hopes for a peaceful future. This work by historian Bowker (editor of two collections of writer Stephen Leacock's essays), covering the years from 1918 to 1927, examines this often overlooked period of transition in Canadian history. Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of society. For the Church, the end of the war and the influx of returning soldiers produced bitter disillusionment for some and renewed fundamentalist fervor for others. The Flu Pandemic of 1918 highlighted both the lack of public facilities for dealing with a large-scale medical crisis. Groups campaigned for women's franchise, further education for women, and social support for single mothers, while simultaneously reinforcing traditional gender roles that prevented women from fully entering the labor force. These years also saw the end of Prohibition and the creation of provincial liquor control boards, a change that was welcomed by some and vehemently fought against by others. This lively and informed approach to Canadian history, which examines the changing world of politics, agriculture, church reform, women, and labor, is a must-read for any Canadian history enthusiast.
