The Wars

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Wars is a 1977 novel by Timothy Findley telling the story of a young Canadian officer in World War I. First published by Clarke Irwin, it won the Governor General's Award for fiction in 1977.

The novel follows the experiences of Robert Ross, an officer in the Canadian army who was 19 when World War I broke out, and is narrated by a historian who is researching Ross's life, in particular a controversial wartime incident he instigated. The story is told through the memories of the few living people who knew him, and the historian's reconstructions based on archive materials. It portrays the life of a family in Canada in the early 20th century, and warfare on the Western Front.

Robert Ross, the protagonist, was inspired by T. E. Lawrence and the author's uncle, Thomas Irving Findley, to whom the novel is dedicated. Findley named the character after Canadian literary figure Robert Baldwin Ross. Robert Ross's sister, Rowena, was inspired by Mary Macdonald, daughter of Sir John A. Macdonald.

Preceded by: Bear

Governor General's Award for English language fiction recipient 1977

Succeeded by: Who Do You Think You Are?