Grenfell of Labrador: A Biography - Hardcover

Rompkey, Ronald

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0802059198 ISBN 13: 9780802059192

Publisher: University of Toronto Press, 1993

Synopsis

When the 23-year-old British doctor Wilfred Grenfell first set foot in Newfoundland in 1892, bent upon serving migrant fishermen, he had no clear idea who his patients were or how they lived. But his first few weeks on the Labrador coast changed all that. Moved by the natural beauty and the lack of the most elementary comforts, he was seized by a desire for reform and devoted the rest of his life to the task. At first an evangelical missionary of the Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen, Grenfell would become the instrument of philanthropic movements on both sides of the Atlantic and a beloved symbol of unselfish service.
After raising funds in Canada and the United States, he founded a network of hospitals, nursing stations, schools, and home industries that exists in a modified form to this day. In 1908, after surviving a night marooned on a drifting patch of ice, he was further transformed into a popular hero and one of the most successful lecturers of his time.
Ronald Rompkey carefully documents Grenfell's manly education, his Anglo-Saxonism, and his devotion to broader issues of hygiene and public health. He also brings into the picture the contributions of Lady Grenfell and the officers of the Grenfell Mission. Above all, Rompkey views Grenfell not as a doctor or as a missionary but as a cultural politician who intervened in a colonial culture. He provides a vivid picture of the man himself and the social movements through which he worked.

About this title

Review

"A tale well-told ... one welcomes the revival of a hero who was a legend within living memory." The Northern Mariner "This critical yet empathetic biography should be required reading for those interested in outpost life in Newfoundland or Labrador in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries." --Canadian Book Review

"A meticulous and fascinating biography ... there is little doubt in my mind that this will become the standard biography of Grenfell for years to come." Newfoundland Quarterly "Well-written, informative, and a joy to read." Social History of Medicine "There is an abundance of social history here and all of it is worth knowing." The Globe and Mail "The book's strength is its definitive portrait of Grenfell himself - willful, disorganized, childish, authoritarian, enthusiastic and genuine, a son of the 19th century who had to be shunted aside as 20th century professionals secularized the mission and saved it from its founder's mismanagement." --The Toronto Star

"Rompkey's book is an impressive portmanteau of long-needed facts about Grenfell and his dedicated band, rather than just successful evocation of a remarkable individual." --The Independent

About the Author

Ronald Rompkey is University Research Professor, Department of English, Memorial University of Newfoundland. He is the author or editor of eleven books, including three others on Labrador.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Toronto Press
• Publication date: 1993
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0802059198
• ISBN 13: 9780802059192
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 366