Hugh MacLennan’s Followers (69)

Hugh MacLennan

Born

in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia , Canada

March 20, 1907

Died

November 09, 1990

Genre

Historical Fiction, History, Nonfiction

edit data

John Hugh MacLennan was born to Dr.Samuel MacLennan, a physician, and Katherine MacQuarrie in Glace Bay; he had an older sister named Frances. His father was a stern Calvinist; his mother, creative, warm and dreamy. Hugh inherited traits from both. In 1913 they went to London where Samuel took courses for a medical specialty. When they returned to Canada, they settled briefly in Sydney, before moving permanently to Halifax where they experienced the Explosion in Dec. 1917, which Hugh later wrote about in his first published novel, Barometer Rising. He became good at sports, winning the men's N.S. double tennis championship in 1927. Both Frances and Hugh were pushed hard in their schooling by their father, especially in the Classics. Frances John Hugh MacLennan was born to Dr.Samuel MacLennan, a physician, and Katherine MacQuarrie in Glace Bay; he had an older sister named Frances. His father was a stern Calvinist; his mother, creative, warm and dreamy. Hugh inherited traits from both. In 1913 they went to London where Samuel took courses for a medical specialty. When they returned to Canada, they settled briefly in Sydney, before moving permanently to Halifax where they experienced the Explosion in Dec. 1917, which Hugh later wrote about in his first published novel, Barometer Rising. He became good at sports, winning the men's N.S. double tennis championship in 1927. Both Frances and Hugh were pushed hard in their schooling by their father, especially in the Classics. Frances had no interest in these subjects, but Hugh did well in them, first at Dalhousie University, winning a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford. He worked incredibly hard there but only reached second-class. In his 4th year, he spent more and more time on tennis and writing poetry, which was not accepted by the publishers to whom he sent it.
While in Europe he traveled to Italy, Greece, Switzerland, France and Germany. While sailing home in 1932, he met his future wife, Dorothy Duncan. His father was not pleased with her American background and insisted that he not marry before becoming independent. Since he was refused a job at two Canadian universities and had a scholarship for Princeton University, he completed his Ph.D.Oxyrhynchus:An Economic and Social Study, about the decline of a Roman colony in Egypt.
He wrote two novels during those years, one set in Europe, the other in the USA. but they were never published. It was his wife, whom he married in 1936, who persuaded him to set his work in Canada, the country he knew best. He had begun teaching at Lower Canada College in Montreal. She told him, "Nobody's going to understand Canada until she evolves a literature of her own, and you're the fellow to start bringing Canadian novels up to date." Until then there had been no real tradition of Canadian literature, and MacLennan set out to define Canada for Canadians through a national novel.Barometer Rising, his novel about the social class structure of Nova Scotia and the Halifax Explosion of 1917, was published in 1941. ...more

Combine Editions
Hugh MacLennan’s books

Average rating: 3.83 · 6,141 ratings · 541 reviews · 47 distinct works • Similar authors

	Two Solitudes 3.88 avg rating — 3,016 ratings — published 1945 — 41 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Barometer Rising 3.66 avg rating — 1,746 ratings — published 1941 — 29 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Watch that Ends the Night 4.14 avg rating — 890 ratings — published 1958 — 26 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Each Man's Son 3.69 avg rating — 236 ratings — published 1951 — 24 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Voices in Time 3.42 avg rating — 114 ratings — published 1980 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Return of the Sphinx (Laurentian Library 10) 3.55 avg rating — 49 ratings — published 1967 — 16 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Precipice 3.74 avg rating — 34 ratings — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Seven Rivers of Canada 3.92 avg rating — 24 ratings — published 1963 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Colour of Canada really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 12 ratings — published 1978 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Scotchman's Return and Other Essays 3.70 avg rating — 10 ratings — published 2007 — 14 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Hugh MacLennan…

Quotes by Hugh MacLennan (?)

“There is no simple explanation for anything important any of us do, and the human tragedy, or the human irony, consists in the necessity of living with the consequences of actions performed under the pressure of compulsions so obscure we do not and cannot understand them.”
― Hugh MacLennan, The Watch that Ends the Night

tags: irony, necessity, tragedy, understanding

28 likes

“Wise Penelope! That's was Odysseus said to his wife when he got home. I don't think he ever told her he loved her. He probably knew the words would sound too small.”
― Hugh MacLennan, Barometer Rising

9 likes

“Love, sought as an escape from the burden of the self, turns rapidly into a captivity.”
― Hugh MacLennan, The Watch that Ends the Night

5 likes

See all Hugh MacLennan's quotes »

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
The Next Best Boo...: Jayme - Trekker	4	91	Jan 21, 2010 10:19AM
New Canadian Libr...: Tracey's 12 in 12.	2	14	Aug 06, 2016 03:05PM
CanadianContent: Bingo Completion Plans	16	55	Nov 20, 2016 07:11AM
New Canadian Libr...: Nominations for February 2017	5	9	Jan 08, 2017 02:09PM
The Reading Chall...: Down with History (Jan-March)	24	96	May 07, 2017 01:00AM
The Reading Chall...: The World Gone Geek 2017 Challenge	16	94	May 17, 2017 08:26PM
CanadianContent: * Completion plans	21	71	Dec 04, 2017 07:38AM
The Reading Chall...: Anti-Alphabet Challenge 2017	107	164	Dec 15, 2017 06:18PM

More…

Hugh MacLennan’s Followers (69)

Hugh MacLennan

Combine EditionsHugh MacLennan’s books

Topics Mentioning This Author

Combine Editions
Hugh MacLennan’s books