Anna Ruadh

After 112 years and 50,000,000+ copies sold in nearly 40 languages there is a Gaelic translation of L. M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables. Just out from small Halifax publisher Bradan Press, Anna Ruadh is Morag Anna NicNeill's translation into Scottish Gaelic of the iconic Canadian classic.

There are, unsurprisingly, no early paperback versions of Anne published in Canada. The first Canadian hardcover edition is from Ryerson Press in 1942. I am surprised that there are no early American paperbacks. The only one is a 1940 Pocket Books edition of the fifth title in the series - Anne of Windy Poplars from 1936.

Also below is a recent edition from Penguin (2014).

Star Weekly Novel Part I

The Star Weekly Complete Novel was published, as best I can determine, every week for 36 years from 1938 to 1973. That is about 1880 issues. The novel was part of the Star Weekly insert that Canadians saw every Saturday if they bought the Toronto Star. Until 1956 it was usually 16 pages (15 1/2"x11") with 40,000 - 45,000 words. There were a number of two part novels so I estimate around 1700 titles were published.

I recently bought a few of these including Maysie Greig's That Girl in Nice, published on August 1, 1953. This was months ahead of the book, published by Wm. Collins (London, 1954). The Canadian White Circle paperback imprint was no longer around in 1953 but from 1946 to 1949 there were 12 Grieg novels published.

The artist is American Marland Stone (1895-1975).

Star Weekly Novel - August 1, 1953

White Circle 260 - 1946

White Circle 280 - 1946

White Circle 312 - 1947

White Circle 321 - 1947

153 and Counting

The British North American Act, enacted March 29, 1867 by the British Parliament, provided for Confederation of the three British North American colonies, Canada (Upper and Lower), Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Now much amended as the Constitution Act, 1867, it was proclaimed into law on July 1, 1867 and Canada was born. The first official birthday celebration was in 1868, July 1 being named Dominion Day in 1879 and Canada Day in 1982.

Charles G.D. Roberts (1860-1943) was a Canadian poet. Here is a selection from two of his books - The Iceberg and other poems (Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1934) and Songs of the Common Day and Ave! (Toronto: William Briggs, 1893).