Customer Reviews

The Dream of Nation: A Social and Intellectual History of Quebec (Carleton Library)

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Dr. Mann Trofimenkoff's history of Quebec is a fascinating read for anyone interested in Quebec or French Canada. Her analysis of the underlying intellectual and social conditions that frame major historical moments makes the book a pleasurable read for all of its 300+ pages. Of particular interest is Mann's thorough and conscientious mapping of women's roles in the history of Quebec, a quality lacking in other popular and scholarly historical works on the province. Though no one book can do everything, the single greatest shortcoming of the book is the absence of a meaningful discussion of the profound antisemitism and clericly led fascist movements in Quebec of the early 20th century. The chapters on that period deal with several important themes but Mann, who is clearly well-versed in the region's history, seems to have chosen to ignore these phenomena, giving precedence to other spheres of social and intellectual history at the time.