Ernest Buckler, The Mountain and The Valley

Andrew Lesk (University of Toronto)
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Ernest Buckler’s first and most successful novel,

The Mountain and the Valley

, appeared in 1952 to wide acclaim and popular success. A detailed and philosophically-inspired portrait of an aspiring artist, the novel had its genesis in a number of stories Buckler had earlier published in magazines. The Annapolis Valley, where Buckler grew up and to which he returned as an adult, provides the backdrop, both in terms of geography and rural life.

An adult David Canaan appears in the novel’s Prologue and in the Epilogue, which borrows and repeats some of the Prologue’s language as a frame through which to view David’s life. Between Prologue and Epilogue are six parts that chronologically depict the course of David’s emotional and intellectual development (or lack thereof), from the

914 words

Citation: Lesk, Andrew. "The Mountain and The Valley". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 04 February 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=16708, accessed 19 March 2024.]

16708 The Mountain and The Valley 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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