The Watch That Ends the Night
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The Watch That Ends the Night is a novel by Canadian author and academic Hugh MacLennan. The title refers to a line in Isaac Watts' interpretation of Psalm 90. It was first published in 1959 by Macmillan of Canada.
The novel, which earned MacLennan the Canadian Governor General's Award for literature, was a sort of catharsis for MacLennan, whose first wife Dorothy Duncan was dying as he wrote it. The female protagonist, Catherine, who suffers from a rheumatic heart, was inspired by MacLennan's wife. Another major character, Jerome Martell, is generally thought to have been inspired by Norman Bethune, a claim the author denied. Maclennan's biographer, Elspeth Cameron, points to F. R. Scott and Samuel MacLennan, the author's father, as models for Martell. One minor character, Huntly McQueen, was inspired by Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King.
[edit] Trivia
- A passage from the book was adapted for use in the song "Courage (for Hugh MacLennan)" by Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip.
| Preceded by Execution |
Governor General's Award for English language fiction recipient 1959 |
Succeeded by The Luck of Ginger Coffey |
[edit] References
Brian Busby, Character Parts: Who's Really Who in Canlit, Toronto: Knopf, 2003. p. 163-164, 171, 245. ISBN 0-676-97579-8
