The Englishman's Boy: A Novel

The Story

Winner of the Governor General's Award Counterpointing the stories of the legendary Western cowboy Shorty McAdoo and Harry Vincent, the ambitious young screenwriter commissioned to retell his story in 1920s Hollywood, this novel reconstructs an epic journey through Montana into the Canadian plains, by a group of men pursuing their stolen horses. 'The Englishman's Boy' intelligently and creatively depicts an American West where greed and deception are tempered by honor and strength. As Richard Ford has noted, 'Vanderhaeghe is simply a wonderful writer. 'The Englishman's Boy,' spanning as it does two countries, two centuries, two views of history'--'the Canadian Wild West as 'imagined' by Hollywood'--'is a great accomplishment. Readers, I think, will find this book irresistible.' Guy Vanderhaege is the author of several books and lives in Saskatoon, Canada. Winner of the Governor General's Award Counterpointing the stories of the legendary Western cowboy Shorty McAdoo and Harry Vincent, the ambitious young screenwriter commissioned to retell his story in 1920s Hollywood, this novel reconstructs an epic journey through Montana into the Canadian plains, by a group of men pursuing their stolen horses. 'The Englishman's Boy' intelligently and creatively depicts an American West where greed and deception are tempered by honor and strength. As Richard Ford has noted, 'Vanderhaeghe is simply a wonderful writer. 'The Englishman's Boy,' spanning as it does two countries, two centuries, two views of history'--'the Canadian Wild West as 'imagined' by Hollywood'--'is a great accomplishment. Readers, I think, will find this book irresistible.' '[A] fine new novel . . . Vanderhaeghe deftly juxtaposes the events of two different time periods to dramatize his concern with history . . . By turns a western, a critique of Hollywood, and a novel of ideas.'--John Motyka, 'The New York Times Book Review' 'An epic tale that brings together the American West before the turn of the century with the Hollywood of the 1920s . . . Each segue from past to present to past again is a graceful little leap between subtly matched gestures and images.'--Katharine Weber, 'The Los Angeles Times' 'Fascinating . . . Vanderhaeghe seamlessly alternates two interconnected stories . . . Masterful storytelling.''--Entertainment Weekly' 'This is a terrific yarn, a la Larry McMurtry: funny and scary and impeccably detailed, told in classic Sophie's Choice structure: naive narrator learns the story of a terrible moral post. And then, bam! There's the stunning truth in Vanderhaeghe's insight.''--'Sandra Scofield, author of 'A Chance to See Egypt' 'A compelling read . . . Vanderhaeghe vividly conveys the dangers and discomforts of the journey.''--The San Diego Union-Tribune' 'Displaying a flair for the kind of descriptive prose that makes plain the essential characteristics of both the novel's scenery, which is stunning, and its characters, who are unforgettable.''--'Kevin Driscoll, 'The Washington Times' 'It is a wonder and glory--written by a man who has plundered the language for all its treasures.''--'Timothy Findley, author of 'The Pianoman's Daughter' '[A] superb novel . . . [Vanderhaeghe] does a wonderful job.''--The Dallas Morning News' 'Superb . . . Immensely readable and finely crafted . . . American readers ready to confront our national facility for fashioning myth from reality will be well rewarded.''--'Judy Doenges, 'The Seattle Times' 'Expertly written . . . ['The Englishman's Boy'] perfectly creates a world and characters you can't help but care about.''--Detroit Free Press' 'A compelling yarn that delivers provocative intellectual content about the ways our tendency to mythologize history can prevent us from learning its lessons.''--'David Wiegand, 'The San Francisco Chronicle'