Major John Richardson Collection, 1821-2013, n.d.
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Cameron, Chantal
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Abstract
The collection contains books and photocopied writings by Major John Richardson, as well as material about him and his writing. The books include various editions of novels by Richardson, including Wacousta, The Canadian Brothers, Écarté, Frascati’s, Hardscrabble, and The Monk Knight of St. John. Other writings by Richardson include A Canadian Campaign by a British Officer, Eight Years in Canada, The Guards in Canada and the poem Tecumseh.
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Major John Richardson was a Canadian author and military officer. He joined the military shortly after war broke out between the United States and Great Britain in 1812 and participated in several military engagements near Lake Erie, fighting alongside Indian forces led by Tecumseh. His experience with the Indians proved useful when he wrote novels portraying them, such as Wacousta, Hardscrabble, and Wau-nan-gee. He fought at the Battle of Moraviantown in 1813, was captured, and imprisoned in Kentucky. He was released the following year and was sent to Europe with the military to fight Napoleon’s army.Eventually he settled in London and then moved to Paris. His experiences in Paris provided material for his first novels Écarté (1829) and Frascati’s (1830). By 1826 he had moved back to London. He concentrated on writing, publishing the poem Tecumseh and his personal narrative A Canadian Campaign, producing novels, and working in journalism. It was his third novel, Wacousta; or, The Prophecy (1832), that proved to be his most successful work. He returned to Canada as a correspondent for the London Times to cover the Rebellions of 1837-1838. In 1845 he was hired as superintendent of police on the Welland Canal, a post that proved to be difficult and short-lived.
In 1849, Richardson decided to relocate to New York. In America he was recognized as an author of some stature, while in Canada his work was largely ignored. His new novels Hardscrabble, or the fall of Chicago (1850) and Wau-nan-gee; or, the massacre at Chicago were well received, as were republished editions of Écarté, Wacousta, and The Canadian brothers (retitled Matilda Montgomerie). However, this success did not improve his financial situation, as his lack of money forced him to sell his works to publishers for reduced lump sums. He died in New York in 1852 of an infection caused by malnutrition.
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