Guy Vanderhaeghe
"You and I have seen these things, but what if our grandchildren
have no knowledge of them? I do not want the grandchildren
to be frightened when they pass into the mystery world and
encounter beings which may be strange to them."
(Strong Bull in The Englishman's Boy, 331)

Guy Vanderhaeghe's two most recent novels, The Last Crossing and The Englishman's Boy transport the reader to the strange world of the Canadian and American western frontier in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Both novels depict first nations peoples whose lives are being shattered by exposure to European "civilization." In both cases, the western frontier is contrasted with equally strange worlds: Victorian England in the first case and Hollywood in the 1920's in the latter case. Vanderhaeghe reveals the nobility of individuals who are perceived as social underdogs as they struggle to see justice done and find a place for themselves in the world.

Vanderhaeghe was born in Esterhazy, Saskatchewan in 1951. He studied history before beginning his career as a writer of fiction. Although his early writing enjoyed critical success, Vanderhaeghe had to teach creative writing at a Saskatoon night school, and seek grants to help support himself and his wife, Margaret, a painter. At the time of the publication of The Englishman's Boy, Vanderhaeghe was a visiting professor of English at Saint Thomas More College of the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon.