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Frederick Niven

February 16, 2023

Frederick John Niven, (March 31, 1878 – January 30, 1944) was a Canadian novelist of Scottish heritage. A prolific author, he produced over thirty works of fiction, an autobiography, poetry, essays, and pieces of journalism.[1]

Frederick Niven
Born(1878-03-31)March 31, 1878
Valparaiso, Chile
DiedJanuary 30, 1944(1944-01-30) (aged 65)
Vancouver, British Columbia
OccupationJournalist, writer
NationalityScottish-Canadian
Period20th century
GenresFiction, poetry, journalism

Biography

Early life

Niven was born in Valparaiso, Chile on 31 March 1878, the youngest of three children.[2] His father manufactured sewed muslin, while his mother was a Calvinist born in Calcutta.[3][4] When he reached school age, he accompanied his mother to Scotland. He was educated at Hutcheson's Grammar School, Glasgow,[1] where his heart trouble prevented him from swimming.[5] First employed in his father's factory, he later worked as a librarian in Glasgow and Edinburgh, and also had employment in a jewelry shop.[1] He attended the Glasgow School of Art during the evening for two years.[3] On the advice of a doctor, in his late teens Niven moved to the drier climate of the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia.[6] He worked on a railroad near Savona and dug ditches in Vancouver.[7] When he was twenty years old, he spent a summer tramping in southern British Columbia, later portrayed in Wild Honey.[8][9] His return to Scotland was aboard a cattleboat from Montreal, a setting recreated in S. S. Glory (1915).[7]

After his arrival, he contributed western sketches to the Glasgow Weekly Herald, and later, to The Pall Mall Magazine, eventually becoming a journalist.[3][10] His first novel, Lost Cabin Mine (1908), was a Western published serially in The Popular Magazine.[11] His second, The Island of Providence (1910), a historical romance of 17th century Devon, contained scenes replete with pirates and buccaneers.[12] His first foray into realistically depicting Scottish life was A Wilderness of Monkeys (1911).[13]

In 1911, Niven married Mary Pauline Thorne-Quelch, a journalist fifteen years his junior. In 1912 and 1913 the couple spent several months travelling in Western Canada prior to returning to London before WWI.[14][15] Niven was rejected for military service due to his heart condition. He spent the war working for the Ministry of Food and the War Office.[14] This period, the years 1913 to 1920, was most productive, and included the publication of Justice of the Peace (1914), which many, including his wife, consider to be his finest novel.[16][17] His first volume of poetry, Maple Leaf Songs, appeared in 1917.[18]

British Columbia

 
Frederick Niven's first novel, The Lost Cabin Mine (1908).

In 1920, Niven and his wife settled permanently on Willow Point, near Nelson, British Columbia, on the shores of Kootenay Lake.[19] Starting in this decade, Niven traveled extensively, learning sign language from the Blackfoot people at Calgary,[20] and also went farther abroad, to South America,[1] the Yukon, and Hawaii.[18] The year 1923 saw the publication of the Western The Wolfer, a novel Niven described as written partly for fun and partly for money.[21] He produced articles for Canadian Magazine, The Dalhousie Review, and Saturday Night.[18] He now solely lived by his writing.[22] In 1927, he published Wild Honey (UK Queer Fellowes), an account of hobo life, which the writer Charles Lillard later described as one of three best early novels of British Columbia.[23] Two years later, he put forth a pair of non-fiction books, The Story of Alexander Selkirk, and Canada West, a historical account of western Canada.[18] One disadvantage of living in British Columbia was that his reputation in England began to decline.[20]

The 1930s witnessed some of Niven's best Scottish novels, including The Three Marys (1930), The Paisley Shawl (1931), and the Staff at Simson's (1937).[24] The first novel in his Canadian historical trilogy, The Flying Years, appeared in 1935.[1] He collaborated with the artist Walter J. Phillips to produce Colour in the Canadian Rockies (1937).[13] Niven published in 1938 a series of autobiographical essays entitled Coloured Spectacles.[25] His trilogy continued with Mine Inheritance (1940), and the posthumously published The Transplanted (1944).[1]

Due to repeated heart attacks, Niven first moved to Nelson, and in 1943 to Vancouver. He died there on January 10, 1944.[26] He is buried in Nelson, British Columbia. In 1946 his headstone was provided by the City of Glasgow, and the memorial tablet by the Canadian Authors Association.[27] The Frederick Niven Literary Award, given for outstanding contribution to literature by a Scot, is named after him.[28]

Criticism

The Canadian literary critic Northrop Frye considered Niven to be a "writer of brilliant promise".[29] He was reviewed favourably by Hugh Walpole, Christopher Morley, Rebecca West, and Katherine Mansfield.[16] However, he never reached the top echelon of either Scottish or Canadian authors.[30] His first novels were influenced by Robert Louis Stevenson and the hero of penny dreadfuls, Deadwood Dick.[14] The quality of his works varied greatly, several being nothing more than potboilers.[14] Niven's literary reputation rested mainly on his early novel The Justice of the Peace.[17] His Scottish novels are thought to be superior to his Canadian ones.[16][31] The critic Edward McCourt ascribed this to Niven's emigration to Canada in middle age, and imperfect assimilation of the mores of his new home.[32]

Niven was a careful stylist, and his writing showed qualities of wit, humanity, and intelligence.[33] His ability to write memorable poetic descriptions has been remarked upon.[34][35] The plots in his Scottish novels are not well developed, relying rather on an evocation of character and atmosphere.[36] Despite the diligent sourcing of historical data, Niven's Canadian trilogy is marred by frequently wooden characters.[37] One noted structural defect in The Flying Years is the too rapid passage of time, making it seem episodic.[34][38] The latter novel is the only one of Niven's works to be included in the New Canadian Library series.[39]

List of works

  • The Lost Cabin Mine (1908) - novel set in British Columbia
  • The Island Providence (1910) - historical novel set partly in Caribbean
  • A Wilderness Of Monkeys (1911) - Scottish novel
  • Dead Men's Bells (1912) - Scottish & pirate novel set in 18th century
  • Above Your Heads (1912) - short stories
  • Hands Up! (1913) - novel set in United States
  • Ellen Adair (1913) - Scottish novel
  • The Porcelain Lady (1913) - Scottish novel
  • Justice Of The Peace (1914 & 1923) - Scottish novel
  • The SS Glory (1915) - novel set on a cattleboat from Montreal to Liverpool
  • Cinderella Of Skookum Creek (1916) - novel set in western North America
  • Two Generations (1916) - Scottish novel
  • Sage Brush Stories (1917) - short stories
  • Maple Leaf Songs (1917) - poetry
  • Penny Scot's Treasure (1918) - novel set in western Canada
  • The Lady Of The Crossing (1919) - novel set in British Columbia
  • A Tale That Is Told (1920) - Scottish novel
  • The Wolfer (1923) - novel set in western United States
  • Treasure Trail (1923) - novel set in British Columbia
  • A Lover Of The Land, And Other Poems (1925) - poetry
  • Queer Fellows (title in US: Wild Honey) (1927) - autobiographical account set in British Columbia
  • Canada West (1929 & 1930) - non-fiction account of western Canada
  • The Story Of Alexander Selkirk (1929) - non-fiction
  • The Three Marys (1930) - principally Scottish novel
  • The Paisley Shawl (1931) - Scottish novel
  • The Rich Wife (1932) - Scottish novel
  • Mrs Barry (1933) - Scottish novel
  • Triumph, (1934) - novel set in South America and Scotland
  • The Flying Years (1935) - historical novel set in Manitoba
  • Old Soldier (1936) - Scottish novel
  • The Staff At Simson's (1937) - Scottish novel
  • Colour In The Canadian Rockies [with Walter J. Phillips] (1937) - non-fiction
  • Coloured Spectacles (1938) - autobiographical essays
  • The Story Of Their Days (1939) - Scottish novel
  • Mine Inheritance (1940) - historical novel set in Manitoba
  • Brothers In Arms (1942) - historical novel set in 18th century Glasgow and Virginia
  • Under Which King (1943) - historical novel with a Jacobite setting
  • The Transplanted (1944) - historical novel set in British Columbia

Source: [40]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wagner 1985, p. 4.
  2. ^ New 1972, p. 5.
  3. ^ a b c Allison, W.T. (3 May 1924). "Frederick Niven's Great Glasgow Novel is Masterpiece of Fiction". Calgary Herald. from the original on 15 February 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2020 – via Newspapers.com  .
  4. ^ Walker 1989, p. 96.
  5. ^ Walker 1989, pp. 93–94.
  6. ^ New 1972, p. 10–11.
  7. ^ a b New 1972, p. 12.
  8. ^ Allison, W. T. (13 March 1927). "Dignified B.C. Author Writes of Days When He Turned "Hobo"". The Province. from the original on 2 February 2020. Retrieved 2 February 2020 – via Newspapers.com  .
  9. ^ Lillard, Charles (1988). "Wild Honey". ABC Bookworld. from the original on 2 February 2020. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  10. ^ Kemp 1997, p. 296.
  11. ^ "Untitled". The National Tribune. Washington, D.C. 24 September 1908. from the original on 15 February 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2020 – via Newspapers.com  .
  12. ^ "A Hurly-Burly Romance". The Guardian. 30 March 1910. from the original on 15 February 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2020 – via Newspapers.com  .
  13. ^ a b McCourt 1949, p. 41.
  14. ^ a b c d New 1972, p. 13.
  15. ^ "C.P.R. Laborer Ten Years Ago is Now a Prominent Journalist". Calgary Herald. 31 July 1912. from the original on 15 February 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2020 – via Newspapers.com  .
  16. ^ a b c Walker 1989, p. 95.
  17. ^ a b McCourt 1949, p. 40.
  18. ^ a b c d Walker 1989, p. 97.
  19. ^ New 1972, p. 14.
  20. ^ a b New 1972, p. 15.
  21. ^ Robinson, Noel (29 May 1923). "Frederick Niven is Exception to Rule". Vancouver Daily World. from the original on 15 February 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2020 – via Newspapers.com  .
  22. ^ New 1972, pp. 14–15.
  23. ^ Twigg, Alan (2010). "Niven Frederick". ABC Bookworld. from the original on 2 February 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
  24. ^ Walker 1989, pp. 95–96.
  25. ^ Fellowes, Victor (9 April 1938). "Memoirs". The Vancouver Sun. from the original on 15 February 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2020 – via Newspapers.com  .
  26. ^ New 1972, p. 16.
  27. ^ "Tour of Nelson's Cemetery". kootenay-lake.ca. from the original on 15 February 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
  28. ^ "For the Scots". The Guardian. 15 January 1959. from the original on 15 February 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2020 – via Newspapers.com  .
  29. ^ Frye, Northrop (Summer 1955). "English Canadian Literature, 1929-1954". Books Abroad. 29 (3): 273. doi:10.2307/40094452. JSTOR 40094452.
  30. ^ Walker 1989, p. 105.
  31. ^ Wagner 1985, p. 13.
  32. ^ McCourt 1949, pp. 50–55.
  33. ^ New 1972, p. 3.
  34. ^ a b Wagner 1985, pp. 4–5.
  35. ^ McCourt 1949, pp. 44–45.
  36. ^ Wagner 1985, p. 6.
  37. ^ McCourt 1949, pp. 47–48, 50.
  38. ^ Walker 1989, p. 101.
  39. ^ Walker 1989, p. 98.
  40. ^ "Author - Frederick John Niven". Author and Book Info. from the original on 18 August 2018.

References

  • Kemp, Sandra; Mitchell, Charlotte; Trotter, David (1997). Edwardian fiction: An Oxford companion. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. p. 296. ISBN 9780198117605.
  • McCourt, Edward A. (1949). "The Transplanted". The Canadian West in Fiction. Toronto: The Ryerson Press. pp. 39-54.
  • New, W.H. (1972). "A Life and Four Landscapes: Frederick John Niven". Articulating West: essays on purpose and form in modern Canadian literature. Toronto: new press. pp. 3–19. ISBN 9780887707049.
  • Wagner, Jeanie MacNair (1985). "The Two Worlds of Frederick Niven". International Review of Scottish Studies. 13: 4–14 – via University of Guelph.
  • Walker, John (1989). ""Scotland is a Kingdom of the Mind": The Novels of Frederick Niven". Studies in Scottish Literature. 24 (1, Art. 9): 92–106 – via Scholar Commons.

External links

February 16, 2023
frederick, niven, frederick, john, niven, march, 1878, january, 1944, canadian, novelist, scottish, heritage, prolific, author, produced, over, thirty, works, fiction, autobiography, poetry, essays, pieces, journalism, born, 1878, march, 1878valparaiso, chiled. Frederick John Niven March 31 1878 January 30 1944 was a Canadian novelist of Scottish heritage A prolific author he produced over thirty works of fiction an autobiography poetry essays and pieces of journalism 1 Frederick NivenBorn 1878 03 31 March 31 1878Valparaiso ChileDiedJanuary 30 1944 1944 01 30 aged 65 Vancouver British ColumbiaOccupationJournalist writerNationalityScottish CanadianPeriod20th centuryGenresFiction poetry journalism Contents 1 Biography 1 1 Early life 1 2 British Columbia 2 Criticism 3 List of works 4 Notes 5 References 6 External linksBiography EditEarly life Edit Niven was born in Valparaiso Chile on 31 March 1878 the youngest of three children 2 His father manufactured sewed muslin while his mother was a Calvinist born in Calcutta 3 4 When he reached school age he accompanied his mother to Scotland He was educated at Hutcheson s Grammar School Glasgow 1 where his heart trouble prevented him from swimming 5 First employed in his father s factory he later worked as a librarian in Glasgow and Edinburgh and also had employment in a jewelry shop 1 He attended the Glasgow School of Art during the evening for two years 3 On the advice of a doctor in his late teens Niven moved to the drier climate of the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia 6 He worked on a railroad near Savona and dug ditches in Vancouver 7 When he was twenty years old he spent a summer tramping in southern British Columbia later portrayed in Wild Honey 8 9 His return to Scotland was aboard a cattleboat from Montreal a setting recreated in S S Glory 1915 7 After his arrival he contributed western sketches to the Glasgow Weekly Herald and later to The Pall Mall Magazine eventually becoming a journalist 3 10 His first novel Lost Cabin Mine 1908 was a Western published serially in The Popular Magazine 11 His second The Island of Providence 1910 a historical romance of 17th century Devon contained scenes replete with pirates and buccaneers 12 His first foray into realistically depicting Scottish life was A Wilderness of Monkeys 1911 13 In 1911 Niven married Mary Pauline Thorne Quelch a journalist fifteen years his junior In 1912 and 1913 the couple spent several months travelling in Western Canada prior to returning to London before WWI 14 15 Niven was rejected for military service due to his heart condition He spent the war working for the Ministry of Food and the War Office 14 This period the years 1913 to 1920 was most productive and included the publication of Justice of the Peace 1914 which many including his wife consider to be his finest novel 16 17 His first volume of poetry Maple Leaf Songs appeared in 1917 18 British Columbia Edit Frederick Niven s first novel The Lost Cabin Mine 1908 In 1920 Niven and his wife settled permanently on Willow Point near Nelson British Columbia on the shores of Kootenay Lake 19 Starting in this decade Niven traveled extensively learning sign language from the Blackfoot people at Calgary 20 and also went farther abroad to South America 1 the Yukon and Hawaii 18 The year 1923 saw the publication of the Western The Wolfer a novel Niven described as written partly for fun and partly for money 21 He produced articles for Canadian Magazine The Dalhousie Review and Saturday Night 18 He now solely lived by his writing 22 In 1927 he published Wild Honey UK Queer Fellowes an account of hobo life which the writer Charles Lillard later described as one of three best early novels of British Columbia 23 Two years later he put forth a pair of non fiction books The Story of Alexander Selkirk and Canada West a historical account of western Canada 18 One disadvantage of living in British Columbia was that his reputation in England began to decline 20 The 1930s witnessed some of Niven s best Scottish novels including The Three Marys 1930 The Paisley Shawl 1931 and the Staff at Simson s 1937 24 The first novel in his Canadian historical trilogy The Flying Years appeared in 1935 1 He collaborated with the artist Walter J Phillips to produce Colour in the Canadian Rockies 1937 13 Niven published in 1938 a series of autobiographical essays entitled Coloured Spectacles 25 His trilogy continued with Mine Inheritance 1940 and the posthumously published The Transplanted 1944 1 Due to repeated heart attacks Niven first moved to Nelson and in 1943 to Vancouver He died there on January 10 1944 26 He is buried in Nelson British Columbia In 1946 his headstone was provided by the City of Glasgow and the memorial tablet by the Canadian Authors Association 27 The Frederick Niven Literary Award given for outstanding contribution to literature by a Scot is named after him 28 Criticism EditThe Canadian literary critic Northrop Frye considered Niven to be a writer of brilliant promise 29 He was reviewed favourably by Hugh Walpole Christopher Morley Rebecca West and Katherine Mansfield 16 However he never reached the top echelon of either Scottish or Canadian authors 30 His first novels were influenced by Robert Louis Stevenson and the hero of penny dreadfuls Deadwood Dick 14 The quality of his works varied greatly several being nothing more than potboilers 14 Niven s literary reputation rested mainly on his early novel The Justice of the Peace 17 His Scottish novels are thought to be superior to his Canadian ones 16 31 The critic Edward McCourt ascribed this to Niven s emigration to Canada in middle age and imperfect assimilation of the mores of his new home 32 Niven was a careful stylist and his writing showed qualities of wit humanity and intelligence 33 His ability to write memorable poetic descriptions has been remarked upon 34 35 The plots in his Scottish novels are not well developed relying rather on an evocation of character and atmosphere 36 Despite the diligent sourcing of historical data Niven s Canadian trilogy is marred by frequently wooden characters 37 One noted structural defect in The Flying Years is the too rapid passage of time making it seem episodic 34 38 The latter novel is the only one of Niven s works to be included in the New Canadian Library series 39 List of works EditThe Lost Cabin Mine 1908 novel set in British Columbia The Island Providence 1910 historical novel set partly in Caribbean A Wilderness Of Monkeys 1911 Scottish novel Dead Men s Bells 1912 Scottish amp pirate novel set in 18th century Above Your Heads 1912 short stories Hands Up 1913 novel set in United States Ellen Adair 1913 Scottish novel The Porcelain Lady 1913 Scottish novel Justice Of The Peace 1914 amp 1923 Scottish novel The SS Glory 1915 novel set on a cattleboat from Montreal to Liverpool Cinderella Of Skookum Creek 1916 novel set in western North America Two Generations 1916 Scottish novel Sage Brush Stories 1917 short stories Maple Leaf Songs 1917 poetry Penny Scot s Treasure 1918 novel set in western Canada The Lady Of The Crossing 1919 novel set in British Columbia A Tale That Is Told 1920 Scottish novel The Wolfer 1923 novel set in western United States Treasure Trail 1923 novel set in British Columbia A Lover Of The Land And Other Poems 1925 poetry Queer Fellows title in US Wild Honey 1927 autobiographical account set in British Columbia Canada West 1929 amp 1930 non fiction account of western Canada The Story Of Alexander Selkirk 1929 non fiction The Three Marys 1930 principally Scottish novel The Paisley Shawl 1931 Scottish novel The Rich Wife 1932 Scottish novel Mrs Barry 1933 Scottish novel Triumph 1934 novel set in South America and Scotland The Flying Years 1935 historical novel set in Manitoba Old Soldier 1936 Scottish novel The Staff At Simson s 1937 Scottish novel Colour In The Canadian Rockies with Walter J Phillips 1937 non fiction Coloured Spectacles 1938 autobiographical essays The Story Of Their Days 1939 Scottish novel Mine Inheritance 1940 historical novel set in Manitoba Brothers In Arms 1942 historical novel set in 18th century Glasgow and Virginia Under Which King 1943 historical novel with a Jacobite setting The Transplanted 1944 historical novel set in British Columbia Source 40 Notes Edit a b c d e f Wagner 1985 p 4 New 1972 p 5 a b c Allison W T 3 May 1924 Frederick Niven s Great Glasgow Novel is Masterpiece of Fiction Calgary Herald Archived from the original on 15 February 2020 Retrieved 14 February 2020 via Newspapers com Walker 1989 p 96 Walker 1989 pp 93 94 New 1972 p 10 11 a b New 1972 p 12 Allison W T 13 March 1927 Dignified B C Author Writes of Days When He Turned Hobo The Province Archived from the original on 2 February 2020 Retrieved 2 February 2020 via Newspapers com Lillard Charles 1988 Wild Honey ABC Bookworld Archived from the original on 2 February 2020 Retrieved 2 February 2020 Kemp 1997 p 296 Untitled The National Tribune Washington D C 24 September 1908 Archived from the original on 15 February 2020 Retrieved 14 February 2020 via Newspapers com A Hurly Burly Romance The Guardian 30 March 1910 Archived from the original on 15 February 2020 Retrieved 14 February 2020 via Newspapers com a b McCourt 1949 p 41 a b c d New 1972 p 13 C P R Laborer Ten Years Ago is Now a Prominent Journalist Calgary Herald 31 July 1912 Archived from the original on 15 February 2020 Retrieved 14 February 2020 via Newspapers com a b c Walker 1989 p 95 a b McCourt 1949 p 40 a b c d Walker 1989 p 97 New 1972 p 14 a b New 1972 p 15 Robinson Noel 29 May 1923 Frederick Niven is Exception to Rule Vancouver Daily World Archived from the original on 15 February 2020 Retrieved 14 February 2020 via Newspapers com New 1972 pp 14 15 Twigg Alan 2010 Niven Frederick ABC Bookworld Archived from the original on 2 February 2020 Retrieved 14 February 2020 Walker 1989 pp 95 96 Fellowes Victor 9 April 1938 Memoirs The Vancouver Sun Archived from the original on 15 February 2020 Retrieved 14 February 2020 via Newspapers com New 1972 p 16 Tour of Nelson s Cemetery kootenay lake ca Archived from the original on 15 February 2020 Retrieved 14 February 2020 For the Scots The Guardian 15 January 1959 Archived from the original on 15 February 2020 Retrieved 14 February 2020 via Newspapers com Frye Northrop Summer 1955 English Canadian Literature 1929 1954 Books Abroad 29 3 273 doi 10 2307 40094452 JSTOR 40094452 Walker 1989 p 105 Wagner 1985 p 13 McCourt 1949 pp 50 55 New 1972 p 3 a b Wagner 1985 pp 4 5 McCourt 1949 pp 44 45 Wagner 1985 p 6 McCourt 1949 pp 47 48 50 Walker 1989 p 101 Walker 1989 p 98 Author Frederick John Niven Author and Book Info Archived from the original on 18 August 2018 References EditKemp Sandra Mitchell Charlotte Trotter David 1997 Edwardian fiction An Oxford companion Oxford New York Oxford University Press p 296 ISBN 9780198117605 McCourt Edward A 1949 The Transplanted The Canadian West in Fiction Toronto The Ryerson Press pp 39 54 New W H 1972 A Life and Four Landscapes Frederick John Niven Articulating West essays on purpose and form in modern Canadian literature Toronto new press pp 3 19 ISBN 9780887707049 Wagner Jeanie MacNair 1985 The Two Worlds of Frederick Niven International Review of Scottish Studies 13 4 14 via University of Guelph Walker John 1989 Scotland is a Kingdom of the Mind The Novels of Frederick Niven Studies in Scottish Literature 24 1 Art 9 92 106 via Scholar Commons External links EditFrederick Niven fonds at Glenbow Museum Works by Frederick Niven at Faded Page Canada Works by Frederick Niven at Project Gutenberg Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Frederick Niven amp oldid 1135287515, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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