Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Tinder Press (2015), Kindle Edition, 354 pages
Description
"A privileged elder son, and stammeringly shy, Harry Cane has followed convention at every step. Even the beginnings of an illicit, dangerous affair do little to shake the foundations of his muted existence - until the shock of discovery and the threat of arrest cost him everything. Forced to abandon his wife and child, Harry signs up for emigration to the newly colonized Canadian prairies. Remote and unforgiving, his allotted homestead in a place called Winter is a world away from the golden suburbs of turn-of-the-century Edwardian England. And yet it is here, isolated in a seemingly harsh landscape, under the threat of war, madness and an evil man of undeniable magnetism that the fight for survival will reveal in Harry an inner strength and capacity for love beyond anything he has ever known before. In this exquisite journey of self-discovery, loosely based on a real life family mystery, Patrick Gale has created an epic, intimate human drama, both brutal and breathtaking. It is a novel of secrets, sexuality and, ultimately, of great love."--Page [4] of cover.… (more)
Media reviews
— 1 more
Harry Cane is one of many, the disappeared who were not wanted by their families or their societies and whose stories were long shrouded with shame. This fascinating novel is their elegy.
User reviews
LibraryThing member charl08
A Place called Winter opens with Harry's affluent but rather boring life in late Victorian England, and the discovery that he prefers a man to his wife follows. In a parallel narrative, Harry is in an asylum for the mentally ill, horribly lost and unsure of how he became incarcerated.
Forced to
Such a great read, gripping and heart breaking. Unafraid to challenge the idea of a straight historic past, or one where men and women accepted Victorian ideas of gender roles, as well as the diverse gender roles some other 'inferior' cultures embraced. It also is humane in addressing those who couldn't cope with frontier life, and acknowledges the myth of empty spaces via the presence of a 'non-treaty' group of Cree living near Harry's land. But this is not Dr Quinn medicine woman either: prejudice and cruelty aren't solvable via a worthy speech.
Can't recommend it highly enough.
Forced to
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leave his family by the threat of scandal, he emigrates to Canada, unwittingly meeting a man on the boat who promises help in becoming a farmer, and finding a good plot to farm, but who will have his own reasons for the farm he finds, near a new railway town: Winter.Such a great read, gripping and heart breaking. Unafraid to challenge the idea of a straight historic past, or one where men and women accepted Victorian ideas of gender roles, as well as the diverse gender roles some other 'inferior' cultures embraced. It also is humane in addressing those who couldn't cope with frontier life, and acknowledges the myth of empty spaces via the presence of a 'non-treaty' group of Cree living near Harry's land. But this is not Dr Quinn medicine woman either: prejudice and cruelty aren't solvable via a worthy speech.
Can't recommend it highly enough.
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LibraryThing member thorold
An ambitious historical novel, in which Gale projects an imagined life onto the little he knows about his great-grandfather. Harry Cane, the son of a successful businessman, drifts through life in Edwardian London. He allows himself to be manipulated into marrying a woman he feels sorry for, and to
At this point the story changes gears, as Harry finds a new determination to make something of himself as a farmer in the West of Canada, and finds himself drawn into real, deep friendships with his farming neighbours. And of course there's a crisis and a lot of bad things happen, not least a world war and an influenza epidemic.
As always, it's family relationships (for the widest possible definition of "family") that seem to interest Gale most, and that bring out his most interesting writing, but this time there's also a lot of very convincing historical detail, especially about pioneer farmers in Canada. The part of the book about the Edward-Carpenter-quoting psychiatrist who runs an experimental community in the wilds of Canada but doesn't quite have the courage of his convictions is interesting too, but it doesn't really get enough space in such a very wide-ranging book.
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be led into a pleasant routine of sexual encounters with an actor who is supposed to be giving him speech lessons. And then, when it all comes to light, he lets himself be pushed off by his family to lose himself in the colonies with much the same good grace.At this point the story changes gears, as Harry finds a new determination to make something of himself as a farmer in the West of Canada, and finds himself drawn into real, deep friendships with his farming neighbours. And of course there's a crisis and a lot of bad things happen, not least a world war and an influenza epidemic.
As always, it's family relationships (for the widest possible definition of "family") that seem to interest Gale most, and that bring out his most interesting writing, but this time there's also a lot of very convincing historical detail, especially about pioneer farmers in Canada. The part of the book about the Edward-Carpenter-quoting psychiatrist who runs an experimental community in the wilds of Canada but doesn't quite have the courage of his convictions is interesting too, but it doesn't really get enough space in such a very wide-ranging book.
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LibraryThing member stef7sa
A 3.5 really. A difficult book to rate as the part that is latest in time is very good but the oldest part in England feels detached, difficult to relate to and at times improbable. All in all a worthwhile read but it might have been much better. Unremarkable style. I havent highlighted a single
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passage. Show Less
LibraryThing member gypsysmom
Those of us from a rural Canadian background have grown up with tales of the homesteaders who were enticed to the prairies with offers of free land. It is part of our heritage, our folklore. But when an Englishman who grew up on the Isle of Wight and then London and Winchester takes on that prairie
Harry Cane (nicknamed Windy because his name sounds like hurricane) lived the life of a gentleman in England at the beginning of the twentieth century. He was never indolent but he also did not have to worry about money. Even when an investment his brother-in-law persuaded him to make went bad and he moved into his mother-in-law's home he still didn't have to work. But an introduction to a member of the chorus in a musical turned his comfortable life upside down. When his affair with this man was discovered he was made to leave England and his wife and child. He decided to go to Canada to homestead 160 acres in Saskatchewan although he was quite ignorant about farm work. A man he met on the boat, Troels Munck, persuaded him to go work for a year and a day for some relatives who lived near Moose Jaw. Although farmer Jorgenson was initially sceptical about Cane he grew to respect his abilities and work ethics. Munck comes back exactly a year and a day later and takes Harry off to North Battleford. He has learned of an Englishman who wants to abandon his homestead near Winter. It is a remote area but there are a brother and sister, Paul and Petra Slaymaker, who are homesteading nearby. Munck knew the Slaymakers back in Toronto but he is certainly not a friend of theirs. These four people are destined to impact each other far into the future.
I especially enjoyed Gale's descriptions of the harvesting. I've seen threshing done by the big steam engines at museums and my parents told lots of stories about the threshing gangs. The amount of food consumed by the gang in this book is not an exaggeration. When you think how much work was involved in getting the crops sown and then harvested with just horses to provide the pulling power, it is a wonder farmers managed to farm 160 acres (a quarter-section). Hail to the pioneers!
That one little discrepancy I mentioned was some muffins Petra made. Gale said they were made with chokecherries but chokecherries are very bitter and have big central pits. The name really is descriptive of what they are like. You can make wonderful jelly, great syrup and even drinkable wine with chokecherries but no-one would make muffins with them. I'm surprised that Marina Endicott,a great prairie writer, who Gale acknowledges as assisting him did not catch that.
Other than that very minor slip this is a great book. I'll be looking for more of Patrick Gale's books.
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life you have to wonder how accurately the stories will be told. I'm here to tell you that Patrick Gale has captured that place and time (with one small exception which I will get to later) wonderfully.Harry Cane (nicknamed Windy because his name sounds like hurricane) lived the life of a gentleman in England at the beginning of the twentieth century. He was never indolent but he also did not have to worry about money. Even when an investment his brother-in-law persuaded him to make went bad and he moved into his mother-in-law's home he still didn't have to work. But an introduction to a member of the chorus in a musical turned his comfortable life upside down. When his affair with this man was discovered he was made to leave England and his wife and child. He decided to go to Canada to homestead 160 acres in Saskatchewan although he was quite ignorant about farm work. A man he met on the boat, Troels Munck, persuaded him to go work for a year and a day for some relatives who lived near Moose Jaw. Although farmer Jorgenson was initially sceptical about Cane he grew to respect his abilities and work ethics. Munck comes back exactly a year and a day later and takes Harry off to North Battleford. He has learned of an Englishman who wants to abandon his homestead near Winter. It is a remote area but there are a brother and sister, Paul and Petra Slaymaker, who are homesteading nearby. Munck knew the Slaymakers back in Toronto but he is certainly not a friend of theirs. These four people are destined to impact each other far into the future.
I especially enjoyed Gale's descriptions of the harvesting. I've seen threshing done by the big steam engines at museums and my parents told lots of stories about the threshing gangs. The amount of food consumed by the gang in this book is not an exaggeration. When you think how much work was involved in getting the crops sown and then harvested with just horses to provide the pulling power, it is a wonder farmers managed to farm 160 acres (a quarter-section). Hail to the pioneers!
That one little discrepancy I mentioned was some muffins Petra made. Gale said they were made with chokecherries but chokecherries are very bitter and have big central pits. The name really is descriptive of what they are like. You can make wonderful jelly, great syrup and even drinkable wine with chokecherries but no-one would make muffins with them. I'm surprised that Marina Endicott,a great prairie writer, who Gale acknowledges as assisting him did not catch that.
Other than that very minor slip this is a great book. I'll be looking for more of Patrick Gale's books.
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LibraryThing member sianpr
Patrick Gale is a wonderful story teller. This is a heart rending read in which I became totally engrossed.
LibraryThing member jayne_charles
You can rely on Patrick Gale for many things - a good human story, clear sense of place, and at least one gay character. He delivers again here. It's like three stories in one - courting and marriage in Edwardian England, a tough farming life on the Canadian Prairies in colonial times, and life in
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a mental institution, also in Canada. It was the third one that I found patchy and difficult to get a grip on. The others were full of the sort of compelling detail that is instructive and interesting in the hands of this author, and could easily have been dull as ditchwater in the hands of another. Show Less
LibraryThing member presto
Harry Cane, born in the late 1880s, enjoyed the privileged upbringing of a young English gentleman. Although losing his mother while quite young and having a more than distant father; he was very close to and protective of his younger brother. Gaining his inheritance early and having ensured his
Allotted a hundred and sixty acres of untouched prairie in Saskatchewan near a small settlement named Winter, Harry must have it all fenced and under cultivation within three years to secure his right to the land. With little more than a few text books he must battle against the virgin land, the unforgiving weather, a charismatic yet sinister man, and not least himself. The struggle will prove the making of Harry as he grows in strength both physically and inwardly. With the help of his kindly new neighbours, a brother and sister from Scotland, he might make a success of it, but above all he may find the very thing denied him in England.
This is a novel of great breadth that takes us from a stilted and formal Victorian/Edwardian London to a hostile untamed land, through war and epidemic, madness and discovery, embracing a period of thirty years or so told in two interwoven parts. As so often with Patrick Gale's chief characters Harry is perhaps not a remarkable man, yet he rises to the challenge and one cannot but care for him.
Beautifully written and very descriptive, A Place Called Winter is and absorbing and very moving story, one of those rare novels that left me close to tears and pondering deeply the simultaneously heart-breaking yet heart-warming conclusion.
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young brother was well set up the shy and often stuttering Harry, soon with a wife and child, could surely look forward to a life of leisure. However he harboured a secret even he was unaware of but which others so inclined could detect, and so he was drawn into a dangerous liaison by a male dancer and speech therapist, an affair which continued undetected for about a year until by chance it was revealed. To avoid the inevitable scandal and shame for his family and imprisonment with hard labour for himself he took the only option offered him, and in 1908 fled to Canada where those willing to take on and cultivate the land were then welcome.Allotted a hundred and sixty acres of untouched prairie in Saskatchewan near a small settlement named Winter, Harry must have it all fenced and under cultivation within three years to secure his right to the land. With little more than a few text books he must battle against the virgin land, the unforgiving weather, a charismatic yet sinister man, and not least himself. The struggle will prove the making of Harry as he grows in strength both physically and inwardly. With the help of his kindly new neighbours, a brother and sister from Scotland, he might make a success of it, but above all he may find the very thing denied him in England.
This is a novel of great breadth that takes us from a stilted and formal Victorian/Edwardian London to a hostile untamed land, through war and epidemic, madness and discovery, embracing a period of thirty years or so told in two interwoven parts. As so often with Patrick Gale's chief characters Harry is perhaps not a remarkable man, yet he rises to the challenge and one cannot but care for him.
Beautifully written and very descriptive, A Place Called Winter is and absorbing and very moving story, one of those rare novels that left me close to tears and pondering deeply the simultaneously heart-breaking yet heart-warming conclusion.
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LibraryThing member oldblack
Slightly different from the other books I've read by Gale - this is historical fiction, complete with a list of reference sources and acknowledgements of the real people upon whose lives the story was constructed. That aspect gave me a slightly distant perspective in comparison with his books set
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more in my time. Nonetheless, this story did satisfyingly engage me. The story does not follow a linear time-path, but the scenes are managed very well by Gale so even simple people, like me, can fit them together in time. The Canadian setting for much of the book interested me because of similarities and differences from my own (Australian) culture and history, and because many of my favourite authors are Canadian and they've been helping me understand what Canada is all about. This work adds a few more pieces to that complicated jig-saw puzzle. Show Less
LibraryThing member louis69
This is a compelling story with a surprising ending.
The depiction of the way in which the indigenous peoples of Canada were treated by the colonial powers rings very true for a New Zealand reader. However the character - a Cree Indian - Ursula (Little Bear) is a puzzle. Could they have been done
The way in which we learn about the social history of Canada is admirable.
Why couldn't Paul have written from his German hospital to let them know in Winter that he was still alive?
In spite of these quibbles, I enjoyed this novel immensely.
The depiction of the way in which the indigenous peoples of Canada were treated by the colonial powers rings very true for a New Zealand reader. However the character - a Cree Indian - Ursula (Little Bear) is a puzzle. Could they have been done
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without? What was their essential purpose? The idea of a 'two-soul' person? The way in which we learn about the social history of Canada is admirable.
Why couldn't Paul have written from his German hospital to let them know in Winter that he was still alive?
In spite of these quibbles, I enjoyed this novel immensely.
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LibraryThing member bookenthusiast100
Seems like a perfect story
LibraryThing member LARA335
Beautifully written evocative story of a young Edwardian gentleman emigrating to the Canadian prairie. Expertly structured to add suspense, the novel begins in a frightening mental institution, then retraces Harry's life.
Well-drawn characters and a strong sense of place and period. A haunting,
Well-drawn characters and a strong sense of place and period. A haunting,
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emotional read. Show Less
LibraryThing member DubaiReader
Homesteading in Canada.
I have had several Patrick Gale books on my shelves over the years but it was not until the author attended our local Literary Festival that I finally got around to picking one up and reading it. What particularly interested me about A Place Called Winter, was that Harry
The author proposes a plausible explanation for Harry's sudden departure. Basing his narrative around what was known about Harry Cane, he smoothly interweaves known facts with fictional narrative to create a seamless picture of a young man struggling with his identity and coping with the pressures of his time.
Unfortunately I found this rather a slow read and it took me nearly a month to complete. The story itself was interesting but somehow failed to engage me, although I learnt a lot about the early colonisation of Canada and the hardships endured to create the farms that still stand today.
The descriptions of the land and its people were vivid, and I highlighted several quotes. Unfortunately my Kindle died and with it, my notes.
In spite of my slow progress, I'm glad I read this and will be investigating Patrick Gale's back-list soon.
I have had several Patrick Gale books on my shelves over the years but it was not until the author attended our local Literary Festival that I finally got around to picking one up and reading it. What particularly interested me about A Place Called Winter, was that Harry
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Cane, the lead character, was a real man; in fact he was Gale’s great-grandfather, who emigrated to Canada in the early 1900s. He had been a man of leisure, so it made little sense to the family that he would up-sticks and disappear to the wilds of Canada to become a homesteader, a harsh and difficult life.The author proposes a plausible explanation for Harry's sudden departure. Basing his narrative around what was known about Harry Cane, he smoothly interweaves known facts with fictional narrative to create a seamless picture of a young man struggling with his identity and coping with the pressures of his time.
Unfortunately I found this rather a slow read and it took me nearly a month to complete. The story itself was interesting but somehow failed to engage me, although I learnt a lot about the early colonisation of Canada and the hardships endured to create the farms that still stand today.
The descriptions of the land and its people were vivid, and I highlighted several quotes. Unfortunately my Kindle died and with it, my notes.
In spite of my slow progress, I'm glad I read this and will be investigating Patrick Gale's back-list soon.
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LibraryThing member janismack
Interesting historical story told by one man about his isolation and difficulties as he tries to set up a homestead in the Canadian West in the late 1890s Sexuality is dealt with subtually and deftly. Author has a writing style that I appeciated, not too long winded but able to describe perfectly
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the environment and the feelings of the caracters. Recommended. Show Less
LibraryThing member AlisonY
Set in the early 1900s, A Place Called Winter tells the story of Harry Cane, a wealthy Londoner by dint of his father's trade, and his eventual forced exile as an early homesteader to Western Canada. The book opens with Harry Cane in an asylum, and much of the book is recounted as memories as part
I've not read anything before about the first farming settlers in remote parts of Canada, and whilst I can't comment on how accurate this particular account is it certainly made for interesting reading. Half of the book was set in Canada, half in London, and I think it was a balance that worked fairly well.
Overall this was an enjoyable read with good characters and sense of place. I'm not sure I'll think about it for too long afterwards, but I would say it's good holiday read fodder, and probably sits comfortably in the mass market historical fiction arena. This was my first Patrick Gale read - from the interview at the end of the novel I gather he doesn't usually do historical fiction as a genre - I'm interested if anyone here has read anything else by him?
If you enjoy books such as Brooklyn or Life After Life this is probably a book you'll enjoy well enough.
3.5 stars - in terms of readability this was closer to 4 stars, but it wasn't extraordinary enough to warrant that extra half a star for me.
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of his psychiatric treatment I've not read anything before about the first farming settlers in remote parts of Canada, and whilst I can't comment on how accurate this particular account is it certainly made for interesting reading. Half of the book was set in Canada, half in London, and I think it was a balance that worked fairly well.
Overall this was an enjoyable read with good characters and sense of place. I'm not sure I'll think about it for too long afterwards, but I would say it's good holiday read fodder, and probably sits comfortably in the mass market historical fiction arena. This was my first Patrick Gale read - from the interview at the end of the novel I gather he doesn't usually do historical fiction as a genre - I'm interested if anyone here has read anything else by him?
If you enjoy books such as Brooklyn or Life After Life this is probably a book you'll enjoy well enough.
3.5 stars - in terms of readability this was closer to 4 stars, but it wasn't extraordinary enough to warrant that extra half a star for me.
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LibraryThing member Rdra1962
Lightly based on the author's relative, this book tells an intriguing story of a wealthy man forced by societal norms to leave England and start his life anew as a settler in Canada. The author has done a great deal of research and it serves the novel story well. The indolence of living as a
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wealthy "flaneur" in England did little to prepare Cane for the hardships of Prairie life, he had zero experience with any manual labor, farming, fence building, home building, not to mention cooking, cleaning, preserving food etc, and yet he survives, indeed thrives. There is drama and tension enough to keep a reader engaged, and the historical details are part of the story line rather than a drag on the narrative. Show Less
LibraryThing member runner56
A place called Winter can be correctly described as a novel about loneliness. Harry Cane is a gay man who rather than follow his heart, gives way to convention, finds himself married, and the proud father of a young daughter. However his true feelings and an illicit love affair, very much against
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the misguided moral Edwardians of the time, results in Harry being banished by his family to the harsh winter climate of Saskatchewan Canada. In this desolate location he must eke out an existence, toiling and working the land, ultimately gifted to him if successful. A sensitive, thoughtful read, an unexpected conclusion seeming to offer Harry unbridled happiness he never expected but so richly deserved. Show Less
LibraryThing member fiverivers
Sensitively written, beautiful yet precise prose, seamless environmental detail, and characters who are credible, A Place Called Winter is an historical novel worth a reader's attention and time. Set in late 19th century Saskatchewan, Patrick Gale chronicles the difficult journey, both
Cane, who flees England upon threat of exposure and possible hanging for his homosexuality, leaves behind a wife and daughter to homestead in Canada. He, like so many, is lured by promises of land for the taking, of bountiful harvest, and security. Yet Cane does prevail despite flimflammery, rape, devastating illness, heartbreak and bone-shattering labour. The story is one of quiet triumph, of fluid relationships, and acceptance.
My one quibble with the story is the author's lack of experience with Canadian cold. When Cane indentures himself to a farmer in Moose Jaw, he sleeps in a shed, without heat, throughout the winter, in an area which could see temperatures plummet as low as -36C. There is a high probability he would freeze to death. And there is no mention of the difficulty of travel in winter with blizzard conditions, or of spring thaw and the sucking mud.
However, beyond that truly minor complaint, A Place Called Winter is an engaging and worthy read. Recommended.
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psychological and temporal, of Harry Cane (an actual ancestor of the author's). Cane, who flees England upon threat of exposure and possible hanging for his homosexuality, leaves behind a wife and daughter to homestead in Canada. He, like so many, is lured by promises of land for the taking, of bountiful harvest, and security. Yet Cane does prevail despite flimflammery, rape, devastating illness, heartbreak and bone-shattering labour. The story is one of quiet triumph, of fluid relationships, and acceptance.
My one quibble with the story is the author's lack of experience with Canadian cold. When Cane indentures himself to a farmer in Moose Jaw, he sleeps in a shed, without heat, throughout the winter, in an area which could see temperatures plummet as low as -36C. There is a high probability he would freeze to death. And there is no mention of the difficulty of travel in winter with blizzard conditions, or of spring thaw and the sucking mud.
However, beyond that truly minor complaint, A Place Called Winter is an engaging and worthy read. Recommended.
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LibraryThing member johnwbeha
Two five star reviews in as many weeks, am I growing soft?
In this wonderful book Patrick Gale gave me absolutely no choice about the grading. He writes, as always, with grace and elegance, about the decline and fall (and recovery) of an English gentleman, from London in the early years on the
There is a lot for the reader to gain from reading the notes and interview included after the end of the novel - in which Gale tell us that the story starting point was the life of his great grandfather, albeit that he has fictionalised it heavily. Wonderful
In this wonderful book Patrick Gale gave me absolutely no choice about the grading. He writes, as always, with grace and elegance, about the decline and fall (and recovery) of an English gentleman, from London in the early years on the
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twentieth century, to the wilderness of Saskatchewan. The story is set within the frame of the leading character's period in Bethel, an asylum in Canada and every character leaps out of the page as the story moves along. I do not want to say too much about the plot for fear of spoilers, but it is very very moving. The background to homesteading In the Canadian wilderness is very will depicted and reflects solid researchThere is a lot for the reader to gain from reading the notes and interview included after the end of the novel - in which Gale tell us that the story starting point was the life of his great grandfather, albeit that he has fictionalised it heavily. Wonderful
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Awards
Dublin Literary Award (Longlist — 2017)
Costa Book Awards (Shortlist — Novel — 2015)
Green Carnation Prize (Longlist — 2015)
The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction (Shortlist — 2016)