Claire Mowat
Travels with Farley (2005) recounts the Mowats’ experiences, primarily in the Magdalen Islands, between 1969 and 1977. But we also learn about their life in Port Hope, Ontario, and see them in their normal routines, by themselves, and with their friends and extended family.
More by Claire Mowat
Memoirs
The Outport People. 1983
Pomp and Circumstances: A Journey into the Palaces of Europe with a Canadian Lady-in-waiting. 1989.
Children’s Books
The Girl from Away Trilogy:
The Girl from Away. 1992.
The French Isles. 1994.
Last Summer at Louisburg. 1998.
About Claire Mowat
In this instance, it’s difficult to find material on Claire, without its including, or being more about Farley.
“A Visit with Farley Mowat,” The Independent, December 8, 1998.
Key Porter Books
Mowat, Farley. Bay of Spirits: A Love Story. 2006.
Interviews
“Daily Life with a Cultural Icon,” Culture.ca, March, 2006.
“Engaging the Word,” JaneTutoring.com [audio interview]
Family Relationships
When Claire married Farley, he had been married before, so she became a stepmother. Farley’s father had also remarried, and there were patent difficulties with Farley’s stepmother along with the usual father/son conflicts between Farley and Angus, his father (the retired Director of Provincial Library Service in Ontario). When they were in Ontario, then, family conflict was not unusual.
Ackerley, J. R. My Father and Myself. 1968.
Callaghan, Barry. Barrelhouse Kings: A Memoir. 1998.
Gosse, Edmund. Father and Son: A Study of Two Temperaments. 1912.
Johnston, Wayne. Baltimore’s Mansion. 1999.
Miller, Sue. The Story of My Father: A Memoir. 2003.
Canadian History and Politics
The time covered in this memoir was an important slice of Canadian history, with the FLQ crisis in Quebec, Prime Minister Trudeau’s evoking of the War Measures Act, and the general unrest between the French and the English. Claire was particularly aware of this hostility because the Magdalen Islands are part of Quebec.
Canada: A People’s History [DVD – a 17-episode set (32 hours), produced by CBC]
MacLennan, Hugh. Two Solitudes. 1945. [Fiction]
Moore, Brian. The Revolution Script. 1971.
Trudeau, Pierre Elliott. Memoirs. 1993.
Vallières, Pierre. White Niggers of America: The Precocious Autobiography of a Quebec Terrorist. 1971.
Canadian Writing
Not only was Claire Mowat a writer, but she was also a writer’s wife, although she herself never felt she played second fiddle to Farley’s greater fame. When they first set out in their writing careers, Canadian Literature had not yet come in to its own, but it did have very recognizable names already, some of whom worked together to create the Writer’s Union of Canada, the national organization of professional writers. The memoirs listed below are of people who spent their lives around Canadian writers.
The Writers’ Union of Canada
Dobbs, Kildare. Running the Rapids: A Writer’s Life. 2005.
Fulford, Robert. Best Seat in the House: Memoirs of a Lucky Man. 1988.
Hemingway, Ernest. A Moveable Feast. 1964. [a memoir during his time in Paris with Canadian expatriate writers]
King, James. Jack: A Life with Writers: The Story of Jack McClelland. 1999.
Spicer, Keith. Life Sentences: Memoirs of an Incorrigible Canadian. 2004.
Travel in Canada
Before they went to the Magdalen Islands, the Mowats had spent several years in Newfoundland. Farley had grown up out west, so it was not unusual for them to get in their car or camper and travel. In addition, Farley’s writing took him to the far corners of Canada, and his friendship with Ed Schreyer led them to more travel adventures.
Cruise, David and Alison Griffiths, Working the Land: Journeys into the Heart of Canada. 1999.
Engel, Marian and J. A. Kraulis. The Islands of Canada. 1981. [Engel came to the Magdalen Islands for this book when the Mowats were there.]
Finkelstein, Max and James Stone. Paddling the Boreal Forest: Rediscovering A .P. Low. 1999.
Kingscote, Barbara. Ride the Rising Wind: One Woman’s Journey across Canada. 2006.
Rees, Barb. RV Canada on a Dime and a Dream. 2006.
Conservationism
Farley Mowat, as attested to by many of his books, and by his activities in Travels with Farley, is an ardent conservationist.
Adams, Douglas. Last Chance to See. 1990.
Kurlansky, Mark. Cod. 1997.
Suzuki, David. The David Suzuki Reader: A Lifetime of Ideas from a Leading Activist and Thinker. 2003.
Vasil, Adria. Ecoholic: Your Guide to the Most Environmentally Friendly Information, Products and Services in Canada. 2007.
Watson, Paul. Seal Wars: Twenty-five Years on the Front Lines with the Harp Seals. 2002. [Interesting sidebar: in 2002, Paul Watson re-named his flagship, “Ocean Warrior,” “The MV Farley Mowat.”]
Conservationist Books by Farley Mowat
Rescue the Earth: Conversations. 1990.
Virunga: The Passion of Dian Fossey. 1987
Sea of Slaughter. 1984.
A Whale for the Killing. 1972.
People of the Deer. 1952.
(Created with the help of the Toronto Public Library Workshop participants.
Comments (0)
You don't have permission to comment on this page.