An interesting question arose recently at a literary reading: The
city--the large urban centre--is a familiar subject or setting for
many contemporary Canadian novels and poems (ie, Toronto, Vancouver,
Calgary, etc.). An earlier period focused on small towns and rural
life. But, as far as I can tell, there's virtually no attention to
small city life (cities of, say, less than 150,000). Are you aware of,
and can you list, any Canadian literary works, written within the last
50 years, that feature the small city as a significant point of focus?

Hello.

A web site called BiblioTravel categorizes novels by setting. Canadian
listings begin on this page, hosted by js.dyck.org:
http://js.dyck.org/travel/locale.cfm?locale=28

Using BiblioTravel, I located a number of recent books set in small
Canadian cities (population: 90,000 - 150,000).

Four books set in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia (population 109,330)
Source: BiblioTravel
http://js.dyck.org/travel/locale.cfm?locale=340
- Fall on Your Knees / Anne-Marie MacDonald
Available from Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0743237188/
- The Hydrofoil Mystery / Eric Walters
Available from Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0141302208/
- No Great Mischief / Alister MacLeod
Available from Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0375726659/
- Yellow Pages / Nicole Markotic
Available from Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0889951322/


One book set in Sudbury, Ontario (population 92,884) 
Source: BiblioTravel
http://js.dyck.org/travel/locale.cfm?locale=390
-Hominids / Robert J. Sawyer
Available from Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0765345005/

Three books set in Kingston, Ontario (population 146,838)
Source: BiblioTravel
http://js.dyck.org/travel/locale.cfm?locale=18
- Alias Grace / Margaret Atwood
Available from Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0385490445/
- Blood Pact / Tanya Huff
Available from Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0886775825/
- The Second Summoning / Tanya Huff
Available from Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0886779758/

One book set in Thunder Bay, Ontario (population 121,986):
Source: BiblioTravel
http://js.dyck.org/travel/locale.cfm?locale=703
The Dog Who Wouldn't Be Left Behind / Joan Finnigan 
Available from Abebooks.com
http://dogbert.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=149319254


----------

Other books not listed by BiblioTravel:

Set in Trois-Rivières, Quebec (population 137,507):
- Gambler's Fallacy / Judith Cowan
"Although Judith Cowan's characters in Gambler's Fallacy all muddle
through life in Trois-Rivières..."
Source: Sentex.net: "Gambler's Fallacy"
http://www.sentex.net/~pql/gambler2.html
Available from Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0889842256/

Set in Sherbrooke, Quebec (population 139,000)
- The Marriageable Daughter / aka La Fille à marier/ by Daniel Gagnon
Source: litterature.org
http://www.litterature.org/notice.asp?numero=212
Available from Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0889103763/

Set in Moncton, N.B. (population 117,727):
- Bloupe / Jean Babineau
Library of Congress catalog:
http://catalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v3=1&DB=local&CMD=010a+94222260&CNT=10+records+per+page
Available from Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/2920221329/

Set in Guelph, Ontario (population 117,344):
- Dear Canada: Orphan at My Door / Jean Little
"This book takes place in Guelph, Ontario in 1897"
CBC4Kids: Historical Fiction
http://www.cbc4kids.cbc.ca/books/categories/hisfiction1.html

------

Another work set in Cape Breton:

An Underlying reverence: Stories of Cape Breton
by James O. Taylor, available from Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0920336523/

---------

More works set in Kingston, Ontario:


Blue Heron Press Anthology: New Voices from Kingston
http://www.blueheronpress.ca/blueanth.html

"The Convict Lover: A True Story", by Marilyn Simonds, is a work of
historical fiction set in Kingston, Ontario in the 1920s. It is about
a young village girl and her amorous correspondence with a convict in
the penitentiary. Published by Macfarlane, Walter & Ross, 1996.
Source: CBC radio
http://radio.cbc.ca/programs/thismorning/lfnsound/moments_in_history/moments_in_history_042800.html
Available from Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/092191296X/

Summon the Keeper / Tanya Huff
 "Another bonus: the book's set in Kingston, Ontario!"
Source: Reigningcats.net
http://www.reigningcats.net/books.htm
Available from Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0886777844/

Note that Tanya Huff seems to be Kingston's most prolific writer. 
According to the following web page, Ms Huff was raised in Kingston:
Tanya Huff: THE ESSENTIAL BIOGRAPHY 
http://www.meishamerlin.com/TanyaHuff.html


-------


Population data from:
Sudbury.biz
http://www.sudbury.biz/
Canadian Metropolitan Areas - 2001, hosted by Netscape.com
http://mywebpage.netscape.com/fcsklabrie/canmetro.htm
Immigration-Quebec
http://www.immigration-quebec.gouv.qc.ca/francais/avantages-quebec/estrie.html

search strategy: canadian population, novel, "set in", sudbury,
kingston, sherbrooke, trois-rivieres, thunder bay, moncton, guelph,
cape breton

I hope this helps.

---

Clarification of Answer by juggler-ga on 21 Feb 2003 11:51 PST

Thank you very much for the tip.
-juggler

Some wonderfully thorough sleuthing here!  Many thanks for the intriguing results.

Hi inquiry,

For comparison shopping, you can do a search for some used copies of
the titles juggler listed at Bookfinder.com.

http://www.bookfinder.com

If there are any particular towns that you are interested in, you
could do a keyword search at Abebooks. Just type in the name of the
town, province and Canada and see if anything comes up.

http://www.abebooks.com

Also, TomFolio has a nice category section for browsing - here are two
that might be of interest.

http://www.tomfolio.com
<http://tinyurl.com/2i6d> Canadian Literature
<http://tinyurl.com/2472> Canadian History 

hummer