The Firebrand: William Lyon Mackenzie and the Rebellion in Upper Canada

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Dundurn, Jun 30, 2008 - Biography & Autobiography - 326 pages

In The Firebrand, William Kilbourn brings to life the rebel Canadian hero William Lyon Mackenzie. A skilled historian and an entertaining writer, Kilbourn reveals Mackenzie's complex character: able political editor, shrewd recorder of his times, efficient first mayor of Toronto, and gadfly of the House of Assembly.

Kilbourn vividly recreates the ill-fated Mackenzie-led march on Toronto during the Upper Canada Rebellion of 1837, an uprising of brave but comical farmers unprepared to meet musket and cannon, and deftly portrays the rebellion's aftermath and Mackenzies subsequent escape and exile. A reprint of William Mackenzie's own account of the Upper Canada Rebellion is featured.

This touching, frequently hilarious book was originally published by Clarke, Irwin in 1956 and remained in print through numerous reprintings and editions for several decades, garnering praise such as "The Firebrand is a major step on the path to nationhood" (Globe and Mail).

 

Contents

General Introduction by Ronald Stagg
9
Introduction
22
Chapter Two
35
Chapter Four
55
Chapter Five
73
Chapter Six
93
Chapter Seven
107
Chapter Nine
129
Chapter Ten
142
Chapter Eleven
161
Chapter Twelve
178
Chapter Fourteen
216
Chapter Fifteen
234
Epilogue
268
Bibliographical Note
292
Copyright

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About the author (2008)

William Kilbourn (1926â??1995) was a noted author, activist, and Toronto politician. He was a Toronto alderman and the founding chairman of the Humanities Division at York University. His books include Toronto Observed: Its Architecture, Patrons, and History and Toronto Remembered: A Celebration of the City.

Ronald Stagg is the chair of the Department of History at Ryerson University in Toronto and is the co-author of The Upper Canada Rebellion of 1837.

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