In 1927 an unknown Canadian writer won the Atlantic's 10,000 prize with her novel, Jalna. Since then Jalna has been translated into a dozen different languages. It scored an enormous hit as a play in London and in New York, where Ethel Barymore played the part of Gran. With the Building of Jalna, Mazo de la Roche has now written nine books with the warmth and tenacity of Trollope which have established her as Canada's leading novelist.
In her new novel, Miss de la Roche goes back to the year 1850. She shows us Adeline, the impulsive, passionate young bride with her Irish temper and her blazing loyalty; she shows us handsome Captain Whiteoak who sold his commission in the Hussars in order to migrate to the superb virgin country on the shots of Lake Ontario. Here is a story which breathes with the spaciousness and beauty of uncut Canada. Here are the skating parties and the swimming, and here are the jealousies, the fierce attachments, the tart and unexpected humor which possess those who come within range of the Whiteoaks.
The building of Jalna brings to any American the sweep of untamed country and the refreshment of watching something build up when so much of the world is being blasted to bits.