S. Noël Mckay's Blog
April 5, 2016
Book Review: The Perfect Royal Mistress, by Diane Haeger
This book illustrates both how enjoyable a historical novel can be and also the challenges involved in writing one. The Perfect Royal Mistress is a fictionalized biography of actress Nell Gwynne, one of King Charles II’s girlfriends. It takes place in the theatre world of 17th century England. The story opens in London shortly after the Great Fire of 1666, and introduces a resourceful young woman determined to rise above the poverty and hardship into which she was born. Nell starts off selling oranges in the theatre, but her wit and spirit catches the eye of the king of England. She subsequently becomes Charles’s mistress for many years.
With her dialogue, descriptions of people and places, and understanding of the era, Ms. Haeger brings to life this period of British history. Her hand with dialogue is especially skilled; the speech avoids sounding too modern or too old-fashioned. She also gives a detailed portrait of the king’s court and how Nell must use her wits to survive in it, in spite of backstabbers and plotters who seek to displace her. With this novel, Ms. Haeger excels in presenting a heroine who prospers although she lacks money, connections, or position. The only aspect of the novel that jars is the attitude of the Nell Gwynne in the book towards the king. Since certainly she was aware of Charles’s numerous other girlfriends, the real Nell Gwynne must have viewed her arrangement with the king as more of a business deal then a genuine romantic relationship. But the book spends way too much time showing her brooding over her lover’s infidelities. It seemed as if Ms. Haeger was trying to make her heroine into someone to whom modern audiences could more easily relate.
In spite of this problem, the reader can certainly enjoy the book, as it shows Nell rising above an environment that is often hostile to women in her situation, without family or resources, and the measures that she must take to endure. Although her relationship with the king sometimes didn’t ring true, Diane Haeger still succeeded both in making the reader pull for Nell Gwynne and enjoy her depiction of 17th century England.
With her dialogue, descriptions of people and places, and understanding of the era, Ms. Haeger brings to life this period of British history. Her hand with dialogue is especially skilled; the speech avoids sounding too modern or too old-fashioned. She also gives a detailed portrait of the king’s court and how Nell must use her wits to survive in it, in spite of backstabbers and plotters who seek to displace her. With this novel, Ms. Haeger excels in presenting a heroine who prospers although she lacks money, connections, or position. The only aspect of the novel that jars is the attitude of the Nell Gwynne in the book towards the king. Since certainly she was aware of Charles’s numerous other girlfriends, the real Nell Gwynne must have viewed her arrangement with the king as more of a business deal then a genuine romantic relationship. But the book spends way too much time showing her brooding over her lover’s infidelities. It seemed as if Ms. Haeger was trying to make her heroine into someone to whom modern audiences could more easily relate.
In spite of this problem, the reader can certainly enjoy the book, as it shows Nell rising above an environment that is often hostile to women in her situation, without family or resources, and the measures that she must take to endure. Although her relationship with the king sometimes didn’t ring true, Diane Haeger still succeeded both in making the reader pull for Nell Gwynne and enjoy her depiction of 17th century England.
June 21, 2015
The Day the World Turned Upside Down
As everyone has heard, the New Democratic Party won an unprecedented victory here in the provincial election of May 5, 2015. In one sweep, the party took 53 seats, gaining 49 MLAs. On the following day, I was sitting on my chesterfield looking out the window, when it occurred to me that I had not lived in an Alberta without a PC government since back in the time when I ran home from school every day to watch Gilligan’s Island. Now brothers and sisters are grandparents and every friend has grey hairs. The people keep pinching themselves in order to believe it.
Of course, no government stays in power that long without becoming corrupt and complacent. Under Princess Alison Redford the fraud reached eye-popping levels, as the premier commandeered a fleet of government planes for her personal use and annexed public space in the Legislature building since, being a princess entitled her to a castle. Auditor General Merwin Saher cited the culture in the Alberta Progressive Conservative party that allowed these crimes, along with, “...the aura of power around Premier Redford and her office and the perception that the influence of the office should not be questioned."(1) After the outcry, Jim Prentice replaced Ms Redford. He then blamed Albertans for the disastrous provincial finances, saying we should “look in the mirror” when searching for the people responsible for the mess, apparently forgetting that his party had been in power for the past forty-four years. Sadly, after that, he couldn’t pry his foot out of his mouth with a crowbar. In addition, late in the election with the NDP gaining, Mr. Prentice displayed the astounding complacency in his party with his airy dismissal of the challenge, saying that, “Alberta isn’t an NDP province.”(2)
So, amid the rubble, dust and smoke, Alberta now has a new provincial government. For now I’ll withhold my judgment, although Rachel Notley’s eagerness to soothe the petroleum corporations raised a foul smell. I hope she won’t turn into another Bob Rae, but the $15.00 an hour minimum wage is a beacon of hope, so I’m interested to see what changes she makes. In any case, Albertans need another forty years of a one-party state again like they need brain cancer.
1. CBC News, “Alison Redford Used Public Money Inappropriately,” AG Says. CBC Corporation Website, August 7, 2014
2. Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press, appearing in the Winnipeg Free Press, Posted 04/24/2015, 5:22 pm
Of course, no government stays in power that long without becoming corrupt and complacent. Under Princess Alison Redford the fraud reached eye-popping levels, as the premier commandeered a fleet of government planes for her personal use and annexed public space in the Legislature building since, being a princess entitled her to a castle. Auditor General Merwin Saher cited the culture in the Alberta Progressive Conservative party that allowed these crimes, along with, “...the aura of power around Premier Redford and her office and the perception that the influence of the office should not be questioned."(1) After the outcry, Jim Prentice replaced Ms Redford. He then blamed Albertans for the disastrous provincial finances, saying we should “look in the mirror” when searching for the people responsible for the mess, apparently forgetting that his party had been in power for the past forty-four years. Sadly, after that, he couldn’t pry his foot out of his mouth with a crowbar. In addition, late in the election with the NDP gaining, Mr. Prentice displayed the astounding complacency in his party with his airy dismissal of the challenge, saying that, “Alberta isn’t an NDP province.”(2)
So, amid the rubble, dust and smoke, Alberta now has a new provincial government. For now I’ll withhold my judgment, although Rachel Notley’s eagerness to soothe the petroleum corporations raised a foul smell. I hope she won’t turn into another Bob Rae, but the $15.00 an hour minimum wage is a beacon of hope, so I’m interested to see what changes she makes. In any case, Albertans need another forty years of a one-party state again like they need brain cancer.
1. CBC News, “Alison Redford Used Public Money Inappropriately,” AG Says. CBC Corporation Website, August 7, 2014
2. Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press, appearing in the Winnipeg Free Press, Posted 04/24/2015, 5:22 pm
March 15, 2015
March 15, 2015
March 15, 2015
I gladly announce that on May 2, 2015, the Authors for Indies event will take place here in Edmonton, Alberta. Authors for Indies places writers in independent bookstores where they will meet readers, sign books, and discuss literature they enjoy, often only available at non-corporate booksellers.
I find the atmosphere in these shops more welcoming than that in a large chain. The staff happily discusses their favourite books. The stores make available books by local authors just starting out. Independent bookstores always provide a wider selection of books. In Audrey’s on Jasper, I’ve always appreciated the variety of history and political science books in every ideological stripe. Like libraries, a non-chain bookstore airs every opinion. In addition to friendly staff and support for local authors, non-corporate bookshops provide voices besides those of giant corporations, necessary in a truly free society.
I’m looking forward to meeting everyone on May 2. Come out and support your neighbourhood bookstore.
I gladly announce that on May 2, 2015, the Authors for Indies event will take place here in Edmonton, Alberta. Authors for Indies places writers in independent bookstores where they will meet readers, sign books, and discuss literature they enjoy, often only available at non-corporate booksellers.
I find the atmosphere in these shops more welcoming than that in a large chain. The staff happily discusses their favourite books. The stores make available books by local authors just starting out. Independent bookstores always provide a wider selection of books. In Audrey’s on Jasper, I’ve always appreciated the variety of history and political science books in every ideological stripe. Like libraries, a non-chain bookstore airs every opinion. In addition to friendly staff and support for local authors, non-corporate bookshops provide voices besides those of giant corporations, necessary in a truly free society.
I’m looking forward to meeting everyone on May 2. Come out and support your neighbourhood bookstore.
February 10, 2015
February 10, 2015 - Hello friends, and a Happy New Year
Just a note to wish everyone a happy new year and promise that I will keep update these blogs more often.
Also, thanks to Luciana Ricciutelli for letting me know Stony Point is available for download as an ebook for Itunes, Kobo and Kindle as well as for platforms that are used by libraries and wholesalers.
Look for a post on Saturday.
Also, thanks to Luciana Ricciutelli for letting me know Stony Point is available for download as an ebook for Itunes, Kobo and Kindle as well as for platforms that are used by libraries and wholesalers.
Look for a post on Saturday.
September 16, 2014
Why Jane Austen is Cool
Why Jane Austen is Cool
Few of Jane Austen’s fans can pinpoint the first time they read Pride and Prejudice, but they always remember what a fine novel it was. With repeated readings, the Bennet sisters come to be old friends, and it’s comical when Austen skewers pompous Reverend Collins and proud Lady Catherine De Bourgh. Jane Austen’s enthusiasts make up a large company, since these days her Facebook page has the number of her fans at over one million. Many of these are under thirty years of age. Her continuing popularity, among young people especially, allows one to argue that Jane Austen is the best writer in English. Her greatness shows in how her novels still speak to modern audiences, although her world of horse-drawn carriages, country dances, and vast estates is long gone.
A few of the reasons Austen’s novels are so engaging are the absence of sex scenes, “alpha males,” and shopping. One can argue that the standards of her time prohibited sex scenes, but even if she could, one can bet she would have refrained from stalling her action with them. She also never insults her readers’ intelligence by making her heroines fall for abusive men who rough them up but whom they love anyway. Instead, her heroines are flawed but decent young women who do their best to manage at a time when education and professions are closed to them; in other words, they’re real people with genuine responses. Elinor and Marianne Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility live with dignity in genteel poverty, while Fanny Price in Mansfield Park overcomes her status as the poor relation in the Bertram family. Refreshingly, none of the heroines go shopping either. Again, one can argue that in Jane Austen’s time the consumer economy didn’t exist and therefore of course the heroines don’t go shopping. But in any case, Jane Austen has too much respect for her characters to depict the women as airheads whose chief purpose in life is to own cute pairs of shoes.
Austen’s popularity endures because she treats her characters and her audience with respect. Even the first sentence in Pride and Prejudice, “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife,” is a brilliant ironic touch, with its unspoken implication that this type of man, one with a fortune, is in great demand by women seeking husbands – or mothers seeking husbands for their daughters. To some, the absence of modern trappings in Austen’s novels might make her works seem old-fashioned and distant. However, I believe Austen’s regard for her readers makes her a figure to admire, and she’s a writer after whom I always try to model myself.
Jane Austen also probably didn't give readings in clubs, but I will. I will be reading from my novel, Stony Point, at the Black Dog Free House pub, at 10425 82 Ave, Edmonton, at 7 pm on Friday, September 19. Everyone welcome!
Few of Jane Austen’s fans can pinpoint the first time they read Pride and Prejudice, but they always remember what a fine novel it was. With repeated readings, the Bennet sisters come to be old friends, and it’s comical when Austen skewers pompous Reverend Collins and proud Lady Catherine De Bourgh. Jane Austen’s enthusiasts make up a large company, since these days her Facebook page has the number of her fans at over one million. Many of these are under thirty years of age. Her continuing popularity, among young people especially, allows one to argue that Jane Austen is the best writer in English. Her greatness shows in how her novels still speak to modern audiences, although her world of horse-drawn carriages, country dances, and vast estates is long gone.
A few of the reasons Austen’s novels are so engaging are the absence of sex scenes, “alpha males,” and shopping. One can argue that the standards of her time prohibited sex scenes, but even if she could, one can bet she would have refrained from stalling her action with them. She also never insults her readers’ intelligence by making her heroines fall for abusive men who rough them up but whom they love anyway. Instead, her heroines are flawed but decent young women who do their best to manage at a time when education and professions are closed to them; in other words, they’re real people with genuine responses. Elinor and Marianne Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility live with dignity in genteel poverty, while Fanny Price in Mansfield Park overcomes her status as the poor relation in the Bertram family. Refreshingly, none of the heroines go shopping either. Again, one can argue that in Jane Austen’s time the consumer economy didn’t exist and therefore of course the heroines don’t go shopping. But in any case, Jane Austen has too much respect for her characters to depict the women as airheads whose chief purpose in life is to own cute pairs of shoes.
Austen’s popularity endures because she treats her characters and her audience with respect. Even the first sentence in Pride and Prejudice, “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife,” is a brilliant ironic touch, with its unspoken implication that this type of man, one with a fortune, is in great demand by women seeking husbands – or mothers seeking husbands for their daughters. To some, the absence of modern trappings in Austen’s novels might make her works seem old-fashioned and distant. However, I believe Austen’s regard for her readers makes her a figure to admire, and she’s a writer after whom I always try to model myself.
Jane Austen also probably didn't give readings in clubs, but I will. I will be reading from my novel, Stony Point, at the Black Dog Free House pub, at 10425 82 Ave, Edmonton, at 7 pm on Friday, September 19. Everyone welcome!
August 22, 2014
Book Launch at Audrey's, August 20, 2014
Thanks so much to Lisa, Karen, Natasha and the staff at Audrey's Books in Edmonton. The launch was a great success. Thanks to everyone who came.
August 16, 2014
Launch for Stony Point
Come one, come all, to the launch I'm holding for my first novel, Stony Point.
“Beautiful, sexy, exciting, mysterious, dangerous and twisted. Those words can be used to describe not only the alluring locations depicted in Lisa de Nikolits’ thrilling novel The Witchdoctor’s Bones, but also some of the eclectic characters fatefully travel- ing together on a tour bus through South Africa and Namibia. A suspenseful page-turner that will be- witch you until the end.”
- Alexander Galant, author of Depth of Deception
(A Titanic Murder Mystery)
So says this critic of the novel,The Witchdoctor's Bones. Inanna author Lisa De Nikolits will be reading from this novel.
The launch will take place at: Audrey's Books 10702 Jasper Ave NW, Edmonton, AB on Wednesday, August 20, 2014, at 7 pm. I will sign copies of Stony Point.
Welcoming everyone in advance.
“Beautiful, sexy, exciting, mysterious, dangerous and twisted. Those words can be used to describe not only the alluring locations depicted in Lisa de Nikolits’ thrilling novel The Witchdoctor’s Bones, but also some of the eclectic characters fatefully travel- ing together on a tour bus through South Africa and Namibia. A suspenseful page-turner that will be- witch you until the end.”
- Alexander Galant, author of Depth of Deception
(A Titanic Murder Mystery)
So says this critic of the novel,The Witchdoctor's Bones. Inanna author Lisa De Nikolits will be reading from this novel.
The launch will take place at: Audrey's Books 10702 Jasper Ave NW, Edmonton, AB on Wednesday, August 20, 2014, at 7 pm. I will sign copies of Stony Point.
Welcoming everyone in advance.
August 4, 2014
Snow Covered Fascism?
On the CBC website of July 22, 2014,(1) one can read how the Canada Revenue Agency is auditing Poets, Essayists, and Novelists Canada. On July 21, representatives from the CRA walked into the PEN office in Toronto and asked to see a large number of internal documents. This audit took place after the charity objected to American spy agencies conducting surveillance on Canadians, and the muzzling of scientific researchers. At the same time, conservative groups such as the Fraser Institute face no audits, and the Harper government has actually defunded the program intended to capture off-shore haven tax cheats. Further reading shows that the government is mounting similar attacks on charities such as: Amnesty International Canada, the David Suzuki Foundation, and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives – all human rights, environmental, and anti-poverty charities. As these organizations have to pay lawyers to defend themselves, their costs rise. Clearly, the audits of these charities are taking place with the aim of draining their resources and in that way, eventually silencing them.
The eleventh characteristic of fascism, as defined by Dr. Lawrence Britt in his “Fourteen Defining Characteristics of Fascism,” is a “Disdain for intellectuals and the arts.”(2) By auditing PEN Canada in retaliation for their dissent, the Harper government fulfills this attribute. Dr. Britt also defines a Fascist regime as one in which “Corporate power is protected.”(3) Here also, the Harper government uses tax audits to target environmental groups, thus protecting the interests of petroleum and mining corporations. In view of these attacks, at what point must we ask ourselves, “Are we living under a fascist regime?”
(1)“PEN Canada Hit With Political Activities Tax Audit.” The Canadian Press, The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Website,
(2) ([http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/pen-c...] July 22, 2014.
(2) Britt, Dr. Lawrence, “Fourteen Defining Characteristics of Fascism, Rense.com, http://www.rense.com/general37/char.htm Web.
(3) Ibid
The eleventh characteristic of fascism, as defined by Dr. Lawrence Britt in his “Fourteen Defining Characteristics of Fascism,” is a “Disdain for intellectuals and the arts.”(2) By auditing PEN Canada in retaliation for their dissent, the Harper government fulfills this attribute. Dr. Britt also defines a Fascist regime as one in which “Corporate power is protected.”(3) Here also, the Harper government uses tax audits to target environmental groups, thus protecting the interests of petroleum and mining corporations. In view of these attacks, at what point must we ask ourselves, “Are we living under a fascist regime?”
(1)“PEN Canada Hit With Political Activities Tax Audit.” The Canadian Press, The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Website,
(2) ([http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/pen-c...] July 22, 2014.
(2) Britt, Dr. Lawrence, “Fourteen Defining Characteristics of Fascism, Rense.com, http://www.rense.com/general37/char.htm Web.
(3) Ibid
July 10, 2014
Stony Point in Brief
Hello friends:
If you enjoy action-packed stories brimming with drama, I’d like to present my novel, Stony Point. A title from Inanna Publications at the University of Toronto, it will appear in August of 2014.
In 1903, Lucille Reilly arrives in Stony Point. A coal-mining town in the Crowsnest Pass, it lies just a few miles west of Frank, the Alberta town devastated in a landslide only a few weeks previously. A pioneering newspaperwoman, she has come in search of her sister’s beloved husband, a fellow journalist who has disappeared. Lucille has promised grieving Lottie that she won’t return to Winnipeg until she learns what became of Stanley Birch.
She begins to ask awkward questions, such as why a second man has also vanished. She also demands to know why the local Mounted Policeman has failed to properly investigate the disappearances, and what the hotelkeeper knows about two murders. Her worst enemy, the wife of the coal mine owner, is the only person who can help her. Soon her investigation becomes entwined with the struggle in the town, where coal miners argue over whether or not to organize. Stony Point may appear a flyspeck on a map, but here Lucille must survive a bitter labour dispute, a fire and a riot. She needs all her resources to uncover the truth in Stony Point.
S. Noël McKay
If you enjoy action-packed stories brimming with drama, I’d like to present my novel, Stony Point. A title from Inanna Publications at the University of Toronto, it will appear in August of 2014.
In 1903, Lucille Reilly arrives in Stony Point. A coal-mining town in the Crowsnest Pass, it lies just a few miles west of Frank, the Alberta town devastated in a landslide only a few weeks previously. A pioneering newspaperwoman, she has come in search of her sister’s beloved husband, a fellow journalist who has disappeared. Lucille has promised grieving Lottie that she won’t return to Winnipeg until she learns what became of Stanley Birch.
She begins to ask awkward questions, such as why a second man has also vanished. She also demands to know why the local Mounted Policeman has failed to properly investigate the disappearances, and what the hotelkeeper knows about two murders. Her worst enemy, the wife of the coal mine owner, is the only person who can help her. Soon her investigation becomes entwined with the struggle in the town, where coal miners argue over whether or not to organize. Stony Point may appear a flyspeck on a map, but here Lucille must survive a bitter labour dispute, a fire and a riot. She needs all her resources to uncover the truth in Stony Point.
S. Noël McKay
