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To Canadians of this century the name of Henry Alline is almost unknown. This biography introduces him to the general reader. Through the story of his life it also recreates the early settlement of the Maritime provinces, and examines the origins of one of the most dominant and continuing themes in Canadian life, evangelical pietism. Henry Alline emigrated from Rhode Island to Nova Scotia with his parents in 1760. Following his religious conversion during adolescence, he became an evangelical preacher and travelled throughout Nova Scotia spreading the gospel. But Alline was more than an itinerant preacher. Drawing on British (and indirectly on German) mythical writings, he rejected the tenets of Calvinism in favour of universal salvation and human free will. He emphasized Christian asceticism and mysticism. His writings, and his attempts to develop an intellectual rationale for his evangelical position, made him Canada's first metaphysical and mystical philosopher.In the history of early British settlement in Nova Scotia the name of Alline stands out because of his participation in the process and problems of settlement and his leadership during the trying times of the American Revolution. His career embodied a rejection of both the United States (by a rejection of Puritanism) and of Britain (by a rejection of church and state in Nova Scotia), and put Alline in a classic Nova Scotia position, neutrality, which could be justified by the importance of Christ and the relative unimportance of government. The years in which Alline lived were particularly critical ones for Canada, and his career both mirrors and dominates a period of pioneer hardships, political crises, and spiritual concern born of the uncertainties of human existence.

Although there were abundant hardships, early life in Upper Canada was romantic and colourful in many ways. However, despite important contributions to the social and economic history of Canada, few good, comprehensive accounts have been generally available. Early Life in Upper Canada, originally published in 1933, is by far the finest history yet compiled, and it is now being reprinted in order to make available to a new generation an important and engrossing description of this area of Canadian history. The author, a distinguished Canadian historian, has drawn on contemporary letters, diaries, newspapers, and periodicals, as well as consulting all the existing histories, and he has supplemented these researches with interviews with persons who had personal contacts with early life in the Province. Mr. Guillet has compiled a thorough, accurate and delightfully readable history, that brings vividly to life the early settlers and their experiences. This is in accordance with the author's profound desire to make the study of Canadian history a delight rather than a chore. He has not concealed the unpleasant aspects of pioneer life, nor does he attempt to glamorize its difficulties. There is a tendency at times to forget that the founders of Upper Canada include hundreds of thousands of men and women of many nationalities, and fur traders, lumbermen, and voyageurs, as well as settlers. Their contributions, too, are acknowledged and recorded here. This book is profusely illustrated, with drawings made, in many cases, by army cartographers, who were skilled creative artists as well. Their paintings, fortunately, have been better preserved than were written accounts of the times, and are accurate depictions of pioneer life. The extensive bibliography and carefully prepared index will make this work invaluable for historians as well as for general readers.