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Emperor of the North: Sir George Simpson and the Remarkable Story of the Hudson’s Bay Company

The adventure-filled story of the legendary Hudson’s Bay Company, and its larger-than-life governor, Sir George Simpson, is inextricably linked to the formation of a Canadian nation stretching from sea to sea to sea. In an absorbing and lively new book on The Bay, James Raffan explores the forces that moulded a man, a company and a country.

Raffan captures the many contradictions of this remarkable man: a master planner who laid the foundations for the greatest business enterprise of its day; a pompous dandy who was at home in a canoe; a man ashamed of his out-of-wedlock birth who sired at least 13 children from 8 different women. George Simpson rose from humble Scottish beginnings to become governor of a far-flung business empire, and he knew how to face down his opponents with a mixture of cunning, bravery and flattery. A wide cast of characters strides through the pages of this gripping story—frontier voyageurs, skilled native trappers, intrepid explorers, impoverished settlers and lord and ladies of the realm.

Richly illustrated with original documents and images, Emperor of the North recreates a time in our history when one extraordinary business could shape the destiny of a nation.
Emperor of the North: Sir George Simpson and the Remarkable Story of the Hudson's Bay Company

About the author: James Raffan is one of Canada’s foremost authorities on the North, the wilderness and the canoeing tradition. He is the author and editor of a number of books and is a fellow and former governor of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. Currently, Raffan serves as the curator of the Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough, Ontario.

Written by James Raffan. Published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd., 2007.
   
Catalogue No. 978-0-00-200783-2
Price $34.95
Format Hardcover
Pages 484
Language English only
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This page last modified: December 6, 2007

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