Overview

In the winter of 1868, a name that Montreal society associated with art, good breeding, and culture became fodder for scandal mongers. The Notman name, synonymous with fine photography, was suddenly making headlines featuring the words ""abortion"" and ""suicide."" A dozen years earlier, two brothers fled their native Scotland. They were attracted to Montreal by its reputation for making the fortunes of go-getting Scotsmen. One was destined for fame, the other for notoriety. William Notman, the older brother, eventually owned the largest photography business in North America. His subjects ranged from royalty, Governors General, and the Fathers of Confederation to Sitting Bull and Harriet Beecher Stowe. His studio immortalized the faces and baronial mansions of the merchant princes of Montreal's legendary Golden Square Mile-the Molsons, Redpaths, Allans, and Van Hornes. By contrast, Robert, the younger brother, was drawn into a drama which shook up Montreal's polite society. After he seduced the beautiful and ambitious Margaret Galbraith, a student at the McGill Normal School, he arranged an abortion for her with an up-and-coming young doctor who soon after committed suicide. The subsequent trial of Robert Notman became a cause-celebre in the newly minted Dominion of Canada in 1868. Enhanced by 24 William Notman photographs, Portrait of a Scandal depicts a society that distanced itself from sexual misconduct, while it lapped up its every detail.

Full Product Details

9781550653571

Table of Contents

Reviews

""Robert Weaver: Godfather of Canadian Literature is no standard formal biography, however. Elaine Kalman Naves is a journalist (in the best sense of that rather fluid term), and she has made no attempt to delve deeply into obscure archives. Indeed, her book is the product of extended interviews: with Weaver himself, with many of the surviving writers whose careers he nurtured, and with Eric Friesen, the CBC veteran broadcaster who was Weaver's youthful boss during his later years with the corporation. What she offers is a multifaceted collage that may be unconventional, but that proves highly appropriate for a presentation of this particular man and the many areas in which he worked."" --W. J. Keith, Literary Review of Canada ""For many of the writers discussed in Putting Down Roots, success in their ancestral homes has preceded translation and acceptance in Canada, where too little is known about their culture and literary tradition to allow for much of a foothold among Canadian readers. It may be that Putting Down Roots goes a certain distance toward opening up the possibility for such footholds. . . . [Kalman Naves] provides a map of the unusual cultural terrain of Montreal's polyglot writers' community."" --Norman Ravvin, Canadian Jewish Studies Vol.6 ""Kalman Naves has sussed out a great story in Robert Weaver, and with her self-effacing style, she wisely lets it unfold on its own. The result is a timely, relevant addition to our literary landscape."" --Anne Chudobiak, The Montreal Gazette

Author Information

Elaine Kalman Naves is an award-winning writer and journalist. She is the author of six books, among them the critically acclaimed Journey to Vaja and Shoshanna's Story. She reviews regularly for the Montreal Gazette and is a frequent contributor to CBC Radio's Ideas. She lives in Montreal.

Tab Content 6

Countries Available