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Book Review
Canada and the United States
| Ruby L. Gough. Robert Edwards Holloway: Newfoundland Educator, Scientist, Photographer, 1874–1904. Ithaca, N.Y.: McGill-Queen's University Press. 2005. Pp. xvii, 274. $49.95.
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| Ruby L. Gough undertakes a labor of love in this fascinating biography of Robert Edwards Holloway (1850–1904). English born and trained, Holloway emigrated to St. John's, Newfoundland, in 1874 to become principal of Wesleyan Academy, so marking the institution's growth into Methodist College (1887) that the community ultimately renamed it Holloway School (1929). Holloway's career is interesting beyond the local level for three reasons: first, he ranks among the pioneers who introduced cutting-edge science into secondary education. Second, as an early photographer Holloway created a remarkable visual record of nineteenth-century Newfoundland; McGill-Queen's University Press deserves praise for interspersing examples of Holloway's stunning photographs throughout this volume. Third, Holloway's active life offers important insights into late Victorian culture on the edge of empire, continent, and dominion (Newfoundland remained outside of the Canadian Confederation until 1949). Sickness loomed as a constant threat, from Holloway's lifelong battle with tuberculosis to an 1888 diphtheria epidemic that swept away two of his four children, along with faculty and students at the college. Fire lurked not far behind, the worst destroying the school and half the town in 1892. Music, art, and sports round out a poignant picture of family, school, and community life intertwining almost inextricably in Holloway's experience. |
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