Who was Andrew Macphail?

Commentary
OPINION
IAN ROSS ROBERTSON
as published in The Guardian - Jan 28, 2010

Recent Guardian articles highlight the immediate problem of paying the bills for everyday maintenance of the Macphail Homestead.

The homestead is undoubtedly a jewel in the Island's cultural heritage: an excellently preserved farmhouse from the early part of the 19th century, in public hands. What Islanders should also be aware of is the importance of the person whose name is associated with it.

Sir Andrew Macphail was a native of Orwell, born in 1864, one of a family of 10 surviving children, seven of whom attained university degrees. A physician who became McGill University's first professor of the History of Medicine, in 1911 he was founding editor of the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

But beyond his medical career, Macphail was a distinguished literary figure. As an essayist he had an international reputation which survives into the present era. He wrote on such varied subjects as Canadian identity, politics, diplomacy, social issues, education, and literature. He was also an extremely versatile author who created poetry, drama, short stories, and a novel, and did translations.

Within Canadian literature he ranks as Canada's best example of the "man of letters," a non-specialized writer who touched on many areas and attempted many genres. Macphail's leading theme as a commentator on contemporary Canadian life was the importance of farming, particularly to Prince Edward Island. He argued in favour of the traditional family farm, based on mixed agriculture. As has been noted in The Guardian, he was an innovator in Island agriculture, carrying out field experiments during the summers he spent at Orwell early in the 20th century. This was in a period when the Island was suffering from large-scale out-migration, and in his outspoken view, Canadian economic policy was promoting industrialization at the expense of farmers.

He also contributed to the modernization of Island fisheries in the 1890s by carrying out, for the Dominion government, an investigation of the lobster canning industry, and recommending improvements to retain markets.

In the 1920s, Macphail started work on his semi-autobiographical memoir, The Master's Wife, an account of life in rural Prince Edward Island during his youth, as seen through the eyes of a child. This remarkably original literary work was non-fiction; the characters are real. The setting for the stories is the Macphail Homestead, which he deliberately kept unmodernized throughout his life. Macphail's writing - especially The Master's Wife - entitles him to rank with L.M. Montgomery and Milton Acorn among the leading literary figures to emerge from Prince Edward Island. His house is a direct link to his writing and to his vision for the Island.

If "cultural tourism" is to be promoted, then its value to that segment of the tourism industry would be unmatched because of its authenticity.

Ian Ross Robertson, a native of Mermaid, is a professor emeritus of history, University of Toronto at Scarborough. His most recent book is Sir Andrew Macphail: The Life and Legacy of a Canadian Man of Letters (Montreal & Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2008). He is also the 2009 recipient of the Prince Edward Island Museum and Heritage Foundation's Award of Honour, which recognizes outstanding contribution to the preservation of Island heritage.