Ginger: The Life and Death of Albert Goodwin

by Susan Mayse

One of British Columbia's most colourful figures was Albert "Ginger" Goodwin, a slight young English immigrant who arrived on Vancouver Island in 1910 to join hundreds of others slaving in the hellholes of the Cumberland mines. What he saw there made him one of the most effective labour leaders the province has ever seen, and led to an untimely and controversial end.

Susan Mayse combines the skills of novelist ( Merlin's Web ) and historian in this gripping biography of one of BC's most controversial labour figures, a hero among Vancouver Island miners and a dangerous subversive in the eyes of the authorities.

236 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 1990

About the author

This author also writes as S.W. Mayse

Reviews

[Warren Wulff · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sound history of an important British Columbia labour leader. Mayse does an excellent job crafting a working-class history. What I mean by that is for most working people, we don't leave a lot of documentary evidence, not like the rich and powerful. If you're a labour leader like Ginger, then what is reported is slanted against you, whether it's in the newspapers or police files. It's very fortunate that the author interviewed everyone alive in the 1980s who knew Ginger Goodwin, before they passed. We certainly don't know everything about this man's life, but because of this book we understand far more, such that Ginger has today become an important figure representing the importance of fighting for what's right, even at the risk of your life. An important book for BC social and labour history, especially for Vancouver Island and the Kootenays.

[Toby Mustill · Rating 4 out of 5]

An in-depth look at the life of Ginger Goodwin through the context and lends of his death. A good book!

[Scott Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

A intriguing inside look into the evolution and controversy of union development, socialism and life in early 20th century Vancouver Island. While the book is ostensibly set around Goodwin's death, it ends up being a far more revealing look at the living and working conditions of the mine labourers and their counterparts at that time. It does provide some very unique glimpses into these surprisingly multicultural communities and the organization of life that only rarely erupted in conflict, but that would hardly be described as integrated.