A Yankee in Canada

A YANKEE IN CANADA is Henry Thoreau’s description of his excursion into the French-Canadian province of Quebec in the fall of 1850. Although he later remarked that what he “got by going to Canada was a cold,” this book is fascinating account of the great American writer’s culture shock experienced during his only international experience.

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In the fall of 1850 Henry Thoreau embarked upon an excursion into the French-Canadian province of Quebec, with stops in Montreal and Quebec City. His reactions to the foreign country are mixed and ambivalent: he is critical of Canada’s Old World Catholicism, feudalism, and an alien British military presence while most of his references to America and Americans are favorable. But if one looks closely, positive reactions to Canadian society and negative reactions to American society do exist within the essay. A YANKEE IN CANADA is a study in paradox, the paradox being due to a man stunned by his only international experience. In this sense A YANKEE IN CANADA parallels Mark Twain’s INNOCENTS ABROAD in that both authors are experiencing culture shock expressed with all the elements of a mental twilight zone of grays, not just black and white.

Unlike the many facsimile reproductions available, this edition features a modern design that enhances readability. A YANKEE IN CANADA is now part of the Literary Naturalist Series and features a new foreword by noted literary scholar Richard F. Fleck.