THE MAGNIFICENT FAILURE

A dramatic and fast-moving novel about the star-crossed rebellion of the mongrel Metis against the Canadian government in the late nineteenth century, this is a readable and accurate account of one of those shameful suppressions that splatter the history of the western democracies. The Metis, a mixture of Indian and French stock inhabiting central Canada, asked nothing more than to be left alone with their traps and traditions; the bureaucrats, a thousand miles away in Ottawa, insisted on imposing the benefits of Anglo-Saxon civilization. Rebellion flared briefly, then faded, taking with it the dreams of a hardy, industrious, and fiercely independent people. Author Lutz draws on the fabric of history, supplements the characters of the tragedy: Janvier Ouelette, the hapless pawn in the game of war; Louis Reil, the dreamer at whose touch resentment fired into revolt; Gabriel Dumont, the practical and realistic executor of Reil's fantastic vision. There is a rather idealistic element of romance in the person of Reine McIntosh, Janvier Ouelette's amie. A good adventure story--with a persuasive moral.