Mackenzie King

About the Book

'Dead men', they say, 'tell the most interesting tales'. In Mackenzie King's case that is certainly true. While he did not write his own life story because time simply ran out, he did leave behind his extensive diaries and personal letters which are an author's dream come true. Many writers accessed this material with the result that more has been written about King than about any other Canadian Prime Minister. The primary interest was in him as a politician and, as a result, the personal side of his life was either neglected or used to ridicule his memory. You need only mention his name and you are told of his intense love for his mother, of his interest in spiritualism (to the extent of 'talking' to the departed, including his little dogs) and then there were the reconstructed 'ruins' at his summer house in Kingsmere. It does not go much deeper than that.

What might have been learned about King's personal life had he written his autobiography? At one time he had considered doing this saying, '[I] should write my own memoirs when the right time comes, not lay bare my soul before others.' Had he written, it would surely have been a heavily censored story. It is difficult to think that he would have told the reader of his storms of passion or details of his sessions at the 'little table'. This book, Mackenzie King: Friends & Lovers, takes the reader into its confidence, introducing first his family background, then his closest friends, male and female. As well, there is a chapter on his association with the various Governors-General of Canada from 1900 to 1950. Yes, knowing King's life story as we now do, it would be interesting to learn how he would have written about it. Spiritualism seems to be on the decline but has anyone consulted the weegieboard recently?

About the Author

Louise Reynolds lives in Comox, on Vancouver Island, the other side of Canada from Prince Edward Island where she was born and spent her early years. The intervening time was partly spent out of Canada with her husband whose career was in the Canadian Foreign Service. There were postings to Prague, Geneva, Copenhagen, London, Addis Ababa and San Jose, Costa Rica. After some years back in Ottawa, and following the death of her husband, she decided to move to British Columbia, something she has not regretted.

Prior to writing Mackenzie King: Friends & Lovers, she became interested in the life of Lady Macdonald, wife of another well-known Canadian Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald. The result was the publication in 1979 of Agnes: The Biography of Lady Macdonald. Shortly after this she was approached by the Historical Division of the then-called Department of External Affairs in Ottawa who were preparing to write their history. Her role there was to research and write papers on the role of women in the Department from support staff to women as Foreign Service Officers, as heads of post and to a category which she knew well, that of the Foreign Service wife. She subsequently prepared similar reports for the McDougall Commission on Conditions of the Foreign Service.

Her next project is to finish researching her family tree for the sake of her four children and their families.