Georges Vanier: Soldier – The Wartime Letters and Diaries, 1915–1919 ed. by Deborah Cowley (review)

510 letters in canada 2001 university of toronto quarterly, volume 72, number 1, winter 2002/3 phenomenal success as a commercial artist; the consequences of his political activism (he was summoned before the McCarthy committee in 1953); and his steadfast artistic conservatism in an era of increasing modernism. West is an especially perceptive and knowledgeable Kent scholar, and it is regrettable that he was not allowed to contribute more to the discussion of the works in the exhibition. Two rather different but relatively minor problems with the book should be noted. The illustrations (which are one of the catalogue=s main assets) are provided only with titles and dates as captions, and connecting them to the additional information in the exhibition list is cumbersome because of the failure to number the entries. The other problem derives from the exhibition=s inclusion of a series of Kent=s famous illustrations for a 1930 edition of Herman Melville=s Moby-Dick, which is given significant attention in the catalogue. Even though Martin convincingly relates the imagery of these illustrations to some of Kent=s journeys featured in the exhibition, this group of works remains essentially out of place in relation to the exhibit=s theme, and detached from the broader context of Kent=s career as an illustrator in which the works need also to be considered. Overall, however, Distant Shores is a valuable compendium of works relating to a very important aspect of Kent=s career. It is an attractively packaged record of a major exhibition, with basic information, documentation , and brief essays. Even though a more substantial text would have been desired, Constance Martin is to be applauded for curating and documenting this original and provocative exhibit. Her book is a welcome addition to the emerging literature on Kent=s importance as an artist. (DENNIS COSTANZO) Cowley, Deborah, editor. Georges Vanier: Soldier B The Wartime Letters and Diaries, 1915B1919 Dundurn Press. 336. $32.99 Deborah Cowley was part of General Vanier=s household in the 1960s and spent a great deal of time with him and his family. Later, in 1992, she wrote a memoir on Mme Vanier, One Woman=s Journey, which admirably captures the beautiful spirit of that wonderful woman. She has the benefit of reminiscent conversations with their sons and daughter as well as access to their family albums and papers. She has now produced another first-rate book. humanities 511 university of toronto quarterly, volume 72, number 1, winter 2002/3 During his four and a half years in the military during the Great War, Georges Vanier wrote faithfully to his family (over three hundred times) and, at considerable risk because it was frowned upon by the army, he kept a detailed diary. Cowley has made a careful selection among these documents (keeping the thread and avoiding repetitions), and she has added brief clarifying comments. The originals being in both languages B diaries and letters to father in French, letters to mother in English B she has translated the French in a style that remarkably matches the English. She has also added connecting paragraphs to give a context of the war that makes sense, a number of photographs, and two reproductions of works featuring Georges Vanier by the Belgian war artist Alfred Bastien. The result is a compelling continuous story that brings to light both how Georges Vanier=s character was formed in the horror of Flanders mud and death, and how his feelings and opinions crystallized into strong convictions that would carry him through his long and challenging life. Georges Vanier, at twenty-six, had all the idealism of the young at heart. He was among the very first to enlist, full of purpose and energy. He was impelled by a >sense of deep compassion and an active desire to right the heinous wrong done= to the innocent families of Belgium and northern France. Throughout the war he kept faithful to the passionate love for France and French Canada that had been instilled in him by the two people who had most influenced his early education: the French Jesuit priest Pierre Gaume, who taught him at Loyola College, and Camille Martin, the French tutor who...