Book Launch: Mark Zuehlke launches Scoundrels, Dreamers & Second Sons in Courtenay

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Tuesday, May 17th, 2016
7:00 PM

Join award-winning Vancouver Island author Mark Zuehlke as he launches the new edition of Scoundrels, Dreamers & Second Sons: British Remittance Men in the Canadian West (Harbour Publishing, $24.95) with a presentation and book signing.

Beginning in 1880, thousands of young, upper-class British men with few prospects were sent to the Canadian West to distance them from British society. Still supported by their families, thus earning them the title “remittance men,” these men set out to continue their lives of leisure in this new land. With education, respectable breeding and the belief “from birth that they were superior beings,” the remittance men descended upon Western Canada with expectations of accomplishing something great and increasing their wealth.

In reality, they hunted, played games, courted women, and enjoyed distinguished pursuits that squandered their parents’ money and made hard-working Canadians raise their eyebrows. Though their era in Western Canada was short, 1880–1914, “they left an indelible mark perpetuated by the stories and legends that sprung up around them.”

In Scoundrels, Dreamers & Second Sons, first published fifteen years ago, Mark Zuehlke traces the path of the remittance men through Western Canada, highlighting their adventures, limited successes and glorious failures.

Mark Zuehlke grew up in the Okanagan Valley hearing stories of British remittance men. Fascinated by both the actual stories and romantic myths, Zuehlke made them the subject of his first work of history—Scoundrels, Dreamers & Second Sons. Zuehlke’s many books include the Canadian Battle Series; the Military Heritage Series; and his award-winning Elias McCann Series centred around a modern-day remittance man.

In 2014, Zuehlke won the prestigious Governor General’s Award for Excellence in Popular Media, also known as the Pierre Berton Award. He lives in Victoria, BC. For more information about the event, please contact the Courtenay and District Museum at (250) 334-0686, ext. 5.

Admission is $6, or $5 for Historical Society members, and books will be available for sale.

Advance tickets are recommended.