Voted one of The Literary Review of Canada's 100 most important Canadian books, 2005
Set on the northwest frontier during the Pontiac conspiracy of the 1760s, this story of false identity, wasted love, diabolic vengeance and unquenchable hatred articulates themes and mythologies relevant to French, British, Canadian and American history.
Major John Richardson (1796-1852) was raised on the Niagara frontier, served in the British Army, and became a prolific and popular writer. Best known for his novel. Wacousta, Richardson - who was also a poet, an historian, and a journalist - represents the strength and adventure of early Canadian fiction.
Douglas R. Cronk is a Programme Coordinator with the Open Learning Institute of British Columbia. He has been long concerned with the textual problems associated with Wacousta, and has contributed, both as a reviewer and as an essayist, to the critical debate on Canadian writing.
