Wacousta or the Prophecy

by John Richardson

Historical novel based on the occurrences in 1760 when Pontiac's Indian alliance against the British. It is a unique addition to Canadian frontier history as it narrates the deep emotions of revenge, tragedy and gothic romance. It is a non-biased fiction that describes the situations of garrison against wilderness, restraint against passion, mercy against justice at that time.

Paperback

First published January 1, 1832

About the author

John Richardson (4 October 1796 – 12 May 1852) was a Canadian officer in the British Army who became the first Canadian-born novelist to achieve international recognition.

Richardson was born at Queenston, Ontario on the Niagara River in 1796. His mother Madelaine was the daughter of the fur trader John Askin and an Ottawa woman. His father, Dr. Robert Richardson, was a surgeon with the Queen's Rangers.

His later military service took him to England and, for two years, to the West Indies. While in the West Indies, Richardson was appalled by the treatment of slaves there. Richardson stated that his mixed racial background made him uneasy with his fellow officers in the West Indies.

Librarian note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Daniela Lovestuscany · Rating 5 out of 5]

As part of my online Canadian Literature course, ENGL302, through Athabasca University, I've had to read this and although I found the sentence structure or manner of speaking and style of writing somewhat difficult, it is what it was. That's how they wrote and spoke back then. English was not my major but I am can say that the story kept me on the edge of my seat and just as I was getting confused on what was happening, Richardson opened my eyes. It's the British against the Indian tribes. The Indians allied with France and felt the British were trespassing. However, that's not the whole of it. There was an underlying theme to this story which comes out later in the book. Excellent reading !!