The first book to expose the turbulent personal life of this fascinating Father of Confederation. Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald once remarked, "I had no boyhood," an understatement if there ever was one. Indeed, John A.'s Dickensian childhood, filled with poverty, alcoholism, and the beating death of his five-year-old brother at the hands of a drunken babysitter (a friend of his father, Hugh's), set the stage for a political power grab that has seen no equal in Canadian history. In Private Demons , bestselling ...
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The first book to expose the turbulent personal life of this fascinating Father of Confederation. Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald once remarked, "I had no boyhood," an understatement if there ever was one. Indeed, John A.'s Dickensian childhood, filled with poverty, alcoholism, and the beating death of his five-year-old brother at the hands of a drunken babysitter (a friend of his father, Hugh's), set the stage for a political power grab that has seen no equal in Canadian history. In Private Demons , bestselling author Patricia Phenix explores through Macdonald's family journals, diaries, and never-before-seen letters the troubled man behind Canada's most successful politician. Phenix describes a man of myriad contradictions: patient, yet prone to settle fights with his fists; ethical, yet capable of pilfering corporate profits to pay private debts; shy, yet wildly flirtatious; sociable, yet so desirous of solitude he built escape hatches into the walls of his homes. She also examines reports that Macdonald's depression became so deep that he once attempted suicide. Ultimately, in an obsessive need to escape his childhood demons, he sacrificed friends, family members, and financial security to achieve his single greatest ambition -- to design and control the destiny of Canada. Private Demons paints a vivid portrait of nineteenth-century society while exploring the amazingly tumultuous domestic life of our most famous prime minister.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good in Fine jacket. Book. 8vo-over 7¾-9¾" tall. Hardcover, in dust jacket. Some highlighting to text and markings to front endpaper. Otherwise clean, tight and unmarked. Very neat--a sound and handsome copy!
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Seller's Description:
Fine. Size: 8x6x1; no remainder mark. first canadian edition thus. paperback. 328 pages with the index. based on your address. -We can ship from USA and Canada. Specializing in academic, collectible and historically significant, providing the utmost quality and customer service satisfaction. For any questions feel free to email us.
