last duel.
Pride.
Death. Passion. Mystery. All at the heart of a new offering from author David
Mulholland.
His
latest novel DUEL weaves a fictional story about the last fatal duel in Upper Canada, set against the backdrop of Perth in the early 1800s.
Though
many know the tale of the duel between John Wilson and Robert Lyon - how it
took place in Perth,
June 13, 1833, mystery surrounds the events that lead up to the famous
incident. Mulholland’s tome crafts an intricate tale around a “newly-discovered
report” he claims to have found, which was written 50 years after the duel.
“When I got the blacksmith’s manuscript, I thought
it would make a good story,” he told the Perth Courier from his home in Ottawa.
Mulholland writes that
the 126-year-old ‘report’ describes in detail what happened in the days before
the duel, from an eye-witness standpoint, a blacksmith who was even personally
involved in the ordeal.
He explains that the
day before the duel, Wilson and Lyon came to some sort of a consensus: Lyon
would apologize for assaulting Wilson, if the
latter would acknowledge the views expressed in a letter he had written were
not intended to slander Lyon’s character.
But even with the
agreement, by the following morning, Lyon
refused to apologize, with no one knowing his reasoning. Mulholland said it is
assumed that Lyon’s Second convinced him to go
ahead with the duel. This book fictionally delves into the truth behind that
assumption.
Mulholland said as
with his first novel, McNab, he enjoys writing dramatized history.
“Some historians aren’t
comfortable with it because they think it skews the historical record. But to
quote Napoleon: ‘History is the version of past events that people have decided
to agree upon.’ There is no one version,” he said.
In
addition to being an entertaining read, the book pulls on the event and the
time period to breathe life into its characters. It gives familiar names in
history a narrative voice, while also giving the reader a glimpse of life in Upper Canada, and Perth,
in the early 1800s.
“For a
novelist, social and cultural elements are material for weaving a good story,” Mulholland
said. “However, as with McNab,
I try to be true to the historical record, but will change it for the purposes
of relating a good story.”
Mulholland
is no stranger to the place where his story is set. Perth is his father, Harold’s, hometown.
Mulholland also already knows the museum well, as he spent time going through
files at the local centre while researching his book.
“I
wanted to compare the ‘historical record’ with the blacksmith’s manuscript,”
Mulholland said, adding that he also looked at 19th century newspapers
at the Algonquin Campus library.
Mulholland is guarded as to the subject of his
next work, but said he is already getting started on it – and none too soon. He
expects it could take up to seven years to complete.
“I've started researching a story that also takes
place in eastern Ontario
in the 19th century,” he said. But right now I prefer not to say what it’s
about because until I finish the first draft, I won’t know if there’s going to
be a story.
“No one has given me a manuscript to draw upon
for this one.”
Readers
can get their hands on a copy of DUEL during a book launch set for Oct. 3 at 2
p.m. at the Perth
Museum. The public is
encouraged to attend, hear a reading from the book and meet the author.