Annette, the Metis Spy: A Heroine of the N.W. Rebellion

Joseph Edmund CollinsProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 2.2

Word count: 260K words
Chapters: 26

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Annette, the Metis Spy: A Heroine of the N.W. Rebellion by J. E. CollinsAuthor: Collins, J. E. (Joseph Edmund), 1855-1892,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Oct 1, 2004

Editor's review

Set against the North-West Rebellion in Canada, this novel portrays Annette, a Métis woman spy, and belongs to late nineteenth-century English-language popular historical adventure fiction. Collins weaves frontier war, ethnic conflict, and a woman’s secret operations together; the plot advances through hidden identity, intelligence passing, and dangerous maneuvering, with a clear flavor of popular romance. Its value for reading lies not in the accuracy of historical reconstruction but in offering a textual sample for observing how the English-speaking world of the time imagined the Métis, Indigenous peoples, and the northwestern frontier; its treatment of women’s agency also merits comparison with adventure fiction of the same period. Readers should be warned that the work carries nineteenth-century ethnic narrative perspectives, and some descriptions may feel marked by the limitations of their time; readers should keep a critical eye. As a public-domain eBook, it has no modern introduction or notes, so historical background must be supplied by the reader. It suits readers interested in Canadian historical fiction, frontier adventure narratives, and images of women spies.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in northwestern Canadian history and Métis themes
Readers who enjoy nineteenth-century English adventure fiction and spy plots
Literary enthusiasts studying images of women in colonial-era literature
Mature readers willing to examine historical narrative perspectives critically while reading

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting strict historical verification or editions with modern notes
Readers sensitive to the period biases in nineteenth-century ethnic narratives
Genre-fiction readers who prefer contemporary pacing and a concise style

Reading tips

First learn a brief background of the North-West Rebellion, then enter the plot; this makes the characters’ positions easier to understand.
As you read, note Annette’s choices of action and consider how the narrator constructs her “heroism.”
Keep a critical distance from ethnic descriptions, distinguish fictional narrative from historical fact, and consult sources when necessary.
Read alongside frontier adventure fiction of the same period to observe similarities and differences in images of women spies.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What is the historical background of this book?

The novel is set against the North-West Rebellion in Canada and involves conflict among the Métis, Indigenous peoples, and the colonial regime. Readers must consult other sources for specific historical facts; the novel itself is closer to popular adventure narrative and should not be cited directly as a history book.

Was Annette a real historical figure?

According to available materials, Annette is a fictional Métis woman spy created in the novel and is a literary character. Readers should not treat her as a verifiable historical figure but rather as an entry point for understanding the literary imagination of the time.

What background knowledge should I acquire before reading?

It is advisable first to learn the general situation of ethnic relations and conflict in northwestern Canada in the late nineteenth century, as well as basic background on the Métis. Extensive academic preparation is unnecessary, but a brief background helps in understanding character motives and plot conflicts.

Does the public-domain electronic edition have notes?

The Project Gutenberg edition is usually a plain electronic text without modern editorial notes, introduction, or historical chronology. Readers must deal on their own with old-fashioned expressions and gaps in background; it suits readers who can accept a raw text.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Joseph Edmund Collins Author · Canadian · 1855–1892

Joseph Edmund Collins (1855–1892) was a Canadian journalist and writer. Born in Newfoundland in 1855, he served as city editor of Toronto's Globe. Public information on his early education and private life is limited, and his career is known mainly through his newspaper work and literary writings. Collins wrote history and biography in an accessible, readable style. Three of his works are held in this collection: The Story of Louis Riel: The Rebel Chief, The Four Canadian Highwaymen; or, The Robbers of Markham Swamp, and Annette, the Metis Spy: A Heroine of the N.W. Rebellion. These works draw largely on the political unrest, frontier lawlessness and North-West Rebellion of nineteenth-century Canada, combining documentary elements with popular narrative appeal for contemporary readers. He died in New York in 1892.