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.infobox-subbox{padding:0;border:none;margin:-3px;width:auto;min-width:100%;font-size:100%;clear:none;float:none;background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .infobox-3cols-child{margin:auto}.mw-parser-output .infobox .navbar{font-size:100%}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme)>div:not(.notheme)[style]{background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme) div:not(.notheme){background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media(min-width:640px){body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table{display:table!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>caption{display:table-caption!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>tbody{display:table-row-group}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table tr{display:table-row!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table th,body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table td{padding-left:inherit;padding-right:inherit}}</style><table class="infobox vcard"><caption class="infobox-title" style="font-size:125%; font-style:italic; padding-bottom:0.2em;">Execution <span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Execution&rft.author=%5B%5BColin+McDougall%5D%5D&rft.date=1958&rft.pub=%5B%5BNew+Canadian+Library%5D%5D&rft.place=Canada&rft.pages=312"></span></caption><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-image"><span class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Frameless"><a href="/wiki/File:ExecutionNovel.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/9d/ExecutionNovel.jpg/220px-ExecutionNovel.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="357" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9d/ExecutionNovel.jpg 1.5x" data-file-width="248" data-file-height="402" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Author</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Colin_McDougall" title="Colin McDougall">Colin McDougall</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Language</th><td class="infobox-data">English</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Genre</th><td class="infobox-data">War</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Set in</th><td class="infobox-data">Italy</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Publisher</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/New_Canadian_Library" title="New Canadian Library">New Canadian Library</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><div style="display: inline-block; line-height: 1.2em; padding: .1em 0;">Publication date</div></th><td class="infobox-data">1958</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Publication place</th><td class="infobox-data">Canada</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Media type</th><td class="infobox-data">Print (paperback)</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Pages</th><td class="infobox-data">312</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Awards</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Governor_General%27s_Award_for_English-language_fiction" title="Governor General's Award for English-language fiction">Governor General's Award for English-language fiction</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a></th><td class="infobox-data"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0771094392" title="Special:BookSources/978-0771094392">978-0771094392</a></td></tr></tbody></table> <p><i><b>Execution</b></i> is a 1958 <a href="/wiki/War_novel" title="War novel">war novel</a> by <a href="/wiki/Canadians" title="Canadians">Canadian</a> novelist and <a href="/wiki/Second_World_War" class="mw-redirect" title="Second World War">Second World War</a> veteran <a href="/wiki/Colin_McDougall" title="Colin McDougall">Colin McDougall</a> (1917–1984). Although it won McDougall the 1958 <a href="/wiki/Governor_General%27s_Award_for_English-language_fiction" title="Governor General's Award for English-language fiction">Governor General's Award for English-language fiction</a>, it was his only novel, and after publishing it to wide acclaim he retreated into a quiet life as Registrar of <a href="/wiki/McGill_University" title="McGill University">McGill University</a> in <a href="/wiki/Montreal" title="Montreal">Montreal</a>. Nevertheless, <i>Execution</i> stands with <a href="/wiki/Timothy_Findley" title="Timothy Findley">Timothy Findley</a>'s <i><a href="/wiki/The_Wars" title="The Wars">The Wars</a></i> and <a href="/wiki/Hugh_MacLennan" title="Hugh MacLennan">Hugh MacLennan</a>'s <i><a href="/wiki/Barometer_Rising" title="Barometer Rising">Barometer Rising</a></i> as one of the most widely read and studied Canadian war novels of the twentieth century. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Plot_summary">Plot summary</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Execution_(novel)&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Plot summary"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Based in part on McDougall's experience as an officer with <a href="/wiki/Princess_Patricia%27s_Canadian_Light_Infantry" title="Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry">Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry</a>, <i>Execution</i> follows the fictional Canadian 2nd Rifles Brigade during the <a href="/wiki/Italian_Campaign_(World_War_II)" class="mw-redirect" title="Italian Campaign (World War II)">Italian Campaign</a> of 1943. Led by the flamboyant Brigadier Ian Kildare (a modern <a href="/wiki/Miles_gloriosus" class="mw-redirect" title="Miles gloriosus">miles gloriosus</a>, or braggart soldier), the Canadians <a href="/wiki/Allied_invasion_of_Sicily" title="Allied invasion of Sicily">invade</a> <a href="/wiki/Sicily" title="Sicily">Sicily</a> where they meet with little resistance from the <a href="/wiki/Royal_Italian_Army" title="Royal Italian Army">Italian Army</a>, composed mostly of hapless conscripts who want no part in the war. </p><p>Despite Kildare's strict orders for his men to shoot Italian <a href="/wiki/Deserters" class="mw-redirect" title="Deserters">deserters</a> on sight, the Canadians take kindly to a pair of buffoonish Italian deserters, more notable for their culinary skills than military prowess. Impetuously, Kildare orders the Canadians to execute the Italians. The Canadians are caught between the obligation to follow orders and the sense that executing the two Italians in cold blood is ethically unjustifiable—not to mention it being a violation of the <a href="/wiki/Geneva_Convention" class="mw-redirect" title="Geneva Convention">Geneva Convention</a>. The brutal execution of the two Italians forces the Canadians to confront the <a href="/wiki/Ethics_(philosophy)" class="mw-redirect" title="Ethics (philosophy)">ethics</a> of warfare, now that "the enemy" is no longer a distant and faceless target. Major Bunny Bazin, the most battle-hardened and philosophical of the Canadians, voices the novel's central theme when he states that "execution is... the ultimate degradation of man." Here the term "execution" works both literally (the killing of the Italians as a brutal act) and as a <a href="/wiki/Metaphor" title="Metaphor">metaphor</a> (war as a form of mass execution). </p><p>The novel's main protagonist, Lieutenant (later Major) John Adam (a semi-autobiographical foil for McDougall), is an efficient soldier and leader, who nevertheless finds "the vulture fear" inhabiting his soul after the execution of the Italians. Bound to protect and lead his men as they march through Italy, from <a href="/wiki/Ortona" title="Ortona">Ortona</a> to the <a href="/wiki/Hitler_Line" title="Hitler Line">Hitler Line</a> near <a href="/wiki/Monte_Cassino" title="Monte Cassino">Monte Cassino</a>, Adam finds himself struggling to maintain the composure fitting a commander, as an inner "horror" gnaws at his conscience (Adam's reflections occasionally resemble those of Marlow in <a href="/wiki/Joseph_Conrad" title="Joseph Conrad">Joseph Conrad</a>'s <i><a href="/wiki/Heart_of_Darkness" title="Heart of Darkness">Heart of Darkness</a></i>). </p><p>Eventually, Adam and his men stumble on a chance to redeem themselves when one of their own comrades, Rifleman Jones, a mildly retarded but efficient infantryman, is sentenced to be executed for treason by his own army, after he falls in with a ring of corrupt soldiers who murder an American. Although everyone, including a newly promoted General Kildare, knows that "Jonesy" is a scapegoat for the real murderers, the execution must go ahead out of political expediency. Led by Adam, the men wage a tenacious campaign to have Jonesy freed, but all efforts eventually fail. When Jonesy is led out to be executed, the officer in charge of the execution faints, and Adam is forced to command the firing squad himself. </p><p><i>Execution</i> ends with Adam and the other men regaining a measure of their lost confidence, although Major Bazin dies on the battlefield. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Themes_and_symbolism">Themes and symbolism</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Execution_(novel)&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Themes and symbolism"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The novel espouses McDougall's thesis that although the Canadians inhabit a brutal and unforgiving world, they are not intrinsically immoral. War makes men act brutally and inhumanely, but at their root is an essential goodness that even war cannot subsume completely. As <a href="/wiki/Warren_Cariou" title="Warren Cariou">Warren Cariou</a> shows in his <a href="/wiki/Afterword" title="Afterword">afterword</a> to the <a href="/wiki/New_Canadian_Library" title="New Canadian Library">New Canadian Library</a> edition of <i>Execution</i>, the novel is not a <a href="/wiki/Literary_realism" title="Literary realism">realist novel</a>, but an <a href="/wiki/Existentialism" title="Existentialism">existential</a> meditation on the ethics of war. Like <a href="/wiki/Herman_Wouk" title="Herman Wouk">Herman Wouk</a>'s <i><a href="/wiki/The_Caine_Mutiny" title="The Caine Mutiny">The Caine Mutiny</a></i> or <a href="/wiki/Leo_Tolstoy" title="Leo Tolstoy">Leo Tolstoy</a>'s <i><a href="/wiki/War_and_Peace" title="War and Peace">War and Peace</a></i>, both of which were key models for McDougall, <i>Execution</i> is a novel that combines visceral depictions of combat with philosophical questions about the blurred boundaries between good and evil. Jones is considered to be a scapegoat. </p><p>Other important themes include the abuse of military power, especially in one scene involving Allied <a href="/wiki/General" class="mw-redirect" title="General">generals</a> planning an attack against the Germans that is bound to fail, and the isolation and <a href="/wiki/Social_alienation" title="Social alienation">alienation</a> of front-line soldiers from mainstream society. </p><p>The second execution scene establishes Jonesy as a <a href="/wiki/Christ" class="mw-redirect" title="Christ">Christ</a>-like figure, and his death is a symbolic atonement for the Canadians' "sin" of murdering the two Italians. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Historical_basis">Historical basis</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Execution_(novel)&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Historical basis"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Jonesy's execution is based in part on the real-life execution of Private <a href="/wiki/Harold_Pringle" title="Harold Pringle">Harold Pringle</a>, a Canadian soldier executed by his own army in Italy and given a full historical treatment in Andrew Clark's book, <i><a href="/wiki/A_Keen_Soldier" title="A Keen Soldier">A Keen Soldier</a></i> (2002). </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="TV_versions">TV versions</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Execution_(novel)&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: TV versions"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>There have been at least two dramatic presentations of the novel on television. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Four_Star_Playhouse"><i>Four Star Playhouse</i></h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Execution_(novel)&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Four Star Playhouse"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Episode 87 of <i>Four Star Playhouse</i> featured a story called "<a href="/wiki/The_Firing_Squad_(TV_episode)" class="mw-redirect" title="The Firing Squad (TV episode)">The Firing Squad</a>" and was televised originally on 6 October 1955 (Episode 1 of Season 4). </p><p>The play was directed by Robert Florey, and writing credits went to Frederick Brady (for adaptation) and Colin McDougall (for story). </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Firing_Squad"><i>Firing Squad</i></h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Execution_(novel)&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Firing Squad"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>A made-for-television movie inspired by the novel titled <i>Firing Squad</i> aired in 1991. The film differed from the book significantly, taking place in France in the winter of 1944 (oddly enough, during the timeframe depicted, the Canadians in Northwest Europe were concentrated in the Nijmegen Salient). A fictional unit, the Alberta Fusiliers, is depicted, as part of a fictional formation - presumably a "Sixth Division" wearing black formation patches. </p><p>Like the book, the film seems inspired by the real-life story of Private Pringle, yet focuses not on the alleged criminal but on the other men of his unit. Unlike the book, there are no combat scenes, as the action takes place during the winter stalemate, and in fact given the French location, lack of front line positions, and other evidence given in dialogue, the soldiers in the film are located well behind the front line. </p><p>The main characters include a Provost Corps officer sent by higher headquarters to oversee the execution, the infantry officer who had lost his nerve in the fighting in Normandy and wanted to gain redemption by carrying out the execution, and the men of the firing squad including a stereotypical French-Canadian sergeant and an equally stereotyped halfwit with the comically unlikely name of "Smedley". </p><p>The movie was a typical low-budget Canadian affair, with a small dirt road in back-woods Ontario masquerading as <a href="/wiki/Maple_Leaf_Route" class="mw-redirect" title="Maple Leaf Route">Maple Leaf Route</a>, and little sense of scale in terms of equipment, locations, or number of characters on screen. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Execution_(novel)&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1259569809">.mw-parser-output .portalbox{padding:0;margin:0.5em 0;display:table;box-sizing:border-box;max-width:175px;list-style:none}.mw-parser-output .portalborder{border:1px solid var(--border-color-base,#a2a9b1);padding:0.1em;background:var(--background-color-neutral-subtle,#f8f9fa)}.mw-parser-output .portalbox-entry{display:table-row;font-size:85%;line-height:110%;height:1.9em;font-style:italic;font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .portalbox-image{display:table-cell;padding:0.2em;vertical-align:middle;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .portalbox-link{display:table-cell;padding:0.2em 0.2em 0.2em 0.3em;vertical-align:middle}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .portalleft{clear:left;float:left;margin:0.5em 1em 0.5em 0}.mw-parser-output .portalright{clear:right;float:right;margin:0.5em 0 0.5em 1em}}</style><ul role="navigation" aria-label="Portals" class="noprint portalbox portalborder portalright"> <li class="portalbox-entry"><span class="portalbox-image"><span class="mw-image-border noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Book_collection.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="icon" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/Book_collection.jpg/32px-Book_collection.jpg" decoding="async" width="32" height="25" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/Book_collection.jpg/48px-Book_collection.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/Book_collection.jpg/64px-Book_collection.jpg 2x" data-file-width="299" data-file-height="238" /></a></span></span><span class="portalbox-link"><a href="/wiki/Portal:Novels" title="Portal:Novels">Novels portal</a></span></li></ul> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Ortona" title="Battle of Ortona">Battle of Ortona</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Battle_of_Monte_Cassino" title="Battle of Monte Cassino">Battle of Monte Cassino</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Canadian_Army" title="Canadian Army">Canadian Army</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Execution_(novel)&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li>Warren Cariou. "Afterword." <i>Execution</i> by Colin McDougall. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart (New Canadian Library), 2005. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-7710-5434-3" title="Special:BookSources/0-7710-5434-3">0-7710-5434-3</a>.</li> <li>Andrew Clark. <i>A Keen Soldier: The Execution of Second World War Private Harold Pringle</i>. Toronto: Vintage, 2002.</li> <li>Colin McDougall. <i>Execution</i>. (1958). Toronto: McClelland and Stewart (New Canadian Library), 2005. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-7710-5434-3" title="Special:BookSources/0-7710-5434-3">0-7710-5434-3</a>.</li> <li>Colin McDougall. Papers and Manuscripts. Rare Books and Special Collections Division, McGill University Libraries.</li> <li>W.H. New, ed. <i>The Encyclopedia of Literature in Canada</i>. Toronto: <a href="/wiki/University_of_Toronto_Press" title="University of Toronto Press">University of Toronto Press</a>, 2002.</li></ul> <div class="navbox-styles"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ul{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist .mw-empty-li{display:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dt::after{content:": "}.mw-parser-output .hlist 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style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239400231">.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:inline;font-size:88%;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .navbar-collapse{float:left;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .navbar-boxtext{word-spacing:0}.mw-parser-output .navbar ul{display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;line-height:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::before{margin-right:-0.125em;content:"[ "}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::after{margin-left:-0.125em;content:" ]"}.mw-parser-output .navbar li{word-spacing:-0.125em}.mw-parser-output .navbar a>span,.mw-parser-output .navbar a>abbr{text-decoration:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-mini abbr{font-variant:small-caps;border-bottom:none;text-decoration:none;cursor:inherit}.mw-parser-output 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English fiction"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Winners_of_the_Governor_General&#039;s_Award_for_English-language_fiction" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em">Winners of the <a href="/wiki/Governor_General%27s_Award_for_English-language_fiction" title="Governor General's Award for English-language fiction">Governor General's Award for English-language fiction</a></div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">1930s</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Bertram_Brooker" title="Bertram Brooker">Bertram Brooker</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/Think_of_the_Earth" title="Think of the Earth">Think of the Earth</a></i> (1936)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Laura_Salverson" title="Laura Salverson">Laura Salverson</a>, <i>The Dark Weaver</i> (1937)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gwethalyn_Graham" title="Gwethalyn Graham">Gwethalyn Graham</a>, <i>Swiss Sonata</i> (1938)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Franklin_D._McDowell" title="Franklin D. McDowell">Franklin D. McDowell</a>, <i>The Champlain Road</i> (1939)</li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">1940s</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Ringuet" class="mw-redirect" title="Ringuet">Ringuet</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/Thirty_Acres" title="Thirty Acres">Thirty Acres</a></i> (1940)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Alan_Sullivan" title="Alan Sullivan">Alan Sullivan</a>, <i>Three Came to Ville Marie</i> (1941)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/G._Herbert_Sallans" title="G. Herbert Sallans">G. Herbert Sallans</a>, <i>Little Man</i> (1942)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Thomas_Head_Raddall" title="Thomas Head Raddall">Thomas Head Raddall</a>, <i>The Pied Piper of Dipper Creek</i> (1943)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gwethalyn_Graham" title="Gwethalyn Graham">Gwethalyn Graham</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/Earth_and_High_Heaven" title="Earth and High Heaven">Earth and High Heaven</a></i> (1944)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hugh_MacLennan" title="Hugh MacLennan">Hugh MacLennan</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/Two_Solitudes_(novel)" title="Two Solitudes (novel)">Two Solitudes</a></i> (1945)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Winifred_Bambrick" title="Winifred Bambrick">Winifred Bambrick</a>, <i>Continental Revue</i> (1946)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gabrielle_Roy" title="Gabrielle Roy">Gabrielle Roy</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/The_Tin_Flute" title="The Tin Flute">The Tin Flute</a></i> (1947)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hugh_MacLennan" title="Hugh MacLennan">Hugh MacLennan</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/The_Precipice_(MacLennan_novel)" title="The Precipice (MacLennan novel)">The Precipice</a></i> (1948)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Philip_Child" title="Philip Child">Philip Child</a>, <i>Mr. Ames Against Time</i> (1949)</li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">1950s</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Germaine_Gu%C3%A8vremont" title="Germaine Guèvremont">Germaine Guèvremont</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/The_Outlander_(Canadian_novel)" title="The Outlander (Canadian novel)">The Outlander</a></i> (1950)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Morley_Callaghan" title="Morley Callaghan">Morley Callaghan</a>, <i>The Loved and the Lost</i> (1951)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/David_Walker_(author)" title="David Walker (author)">David Walker</a>, <i>The Pillar</i> (1952)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/David_Walker_(author)" title="David Walker (author)">David Walker</a>, <i>Digby</i> (1953)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Igor_Gouzenko" title="Igor Gouzenko">Igor Gouzenko</a>, <i>The Fall of a Titan</i> (1954)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lionel_Shapiro" title="Lionel Shapiro">Lionel Shapiro</a>, <i>The Sixth of June</i> (1955)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Adele_Wiseman" title="Adele Wiseman">Adele Wiseman</a>, <i>The Sacrifice</i> (1956)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gabrielle_Roy" title="Gabrielle Roy">Gabrielle Roy</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/Street_of_Riches" title="Street of Riches">Street of Riches</a></i> (1957)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Colin_McDougall" title="Colin McDougall">Colin McDougall</a>, <i><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Execution</a></i> (1958)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hugh_MacLennan" title="Hugh MacLennan">Hugh MacLennan</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/The_Watch_That_Ends_the_Night" title="The Watch That Ends the Night">The Watch That Ends the Night</a></i> (1959)</li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">1960s</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Brian_Moore_(novelist)" title="Brian Moore (novelist)">Brian Moore</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/The_Luck_of_Ginger_Coffey_(novel)" title="The Luck of Ginger Coffey (novel)">The Luck of Ginger Coffey</a></i> (1960)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Malcolm_Lowry" title="Malcolm Lowry">Malcolm Lowry</a>, <i>Hear Us O Lord from Heaven Thy Dwelling Place</i> (1961)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kildare_Dobbs" title="Kildare Dobbs">Kildare Dobbs</a>, <i>Running to Paradise</i> (1962)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hugh_Garner" title="Hugh Garner">Hugh Garner</a>, <i>Hugh Garner's Best Stories</i> (1963)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Douglas_LePan" title="Douglas LePan">Douglas LePan</a>, <i>The Deserter</i> (1964)</li> <li>[no award] (1965)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Margaret_Laurence" title="Margaret Laurence">Margaret Laurence</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/A_Jest_of_God" title="A Jest of God">A Jest of God</a></i> (1966)</li> <li>[no award] (1967)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Alice_Munro" title="Alice Munro">Alice Munro</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/Dance_of_the_Happy_Shades" title="Dance of the Happy Shades">Dance of the Happy Shades</a></i> (1968)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Robert_Kroetsch" title="Robert Kroetsch">Robert Kroetsch</a>, <i>The Studhorse Man</i> (1969)</li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">1970s</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Dave_Godfrey" title="Dave Godfrey">Dave Godfrey</a>, <i>The New Ancestors</i> (1970)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mordecai_Richler" title="Mordecai Richler">Mordecai Richler</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/St._Urbain%27s_Horseman" title="St. Urbain's Horseman">St. Urbain's Horseman</a></i> (1971)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Robertson_Davies" title="Robertson Davies">Robertson Davies</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/The_Manticore" title="The Manticore">The Manticore</a></i> (1972)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rudy_Wiebe" title="Rudy Wiebe">Rudy Wiebe</a>, <i>The Temptations of Big Bear</i> (1973)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Margaret_Laurence" title="Margaret Laurence">Margaret Laurence</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/The_Diviners" title="The Diviners">The Diviners</a></i> (1974)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Brian_Moore_(novelist)" title="Brian Moore (novelist)">Brian Moore</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/The_Great_Victorian_Collection" title="The Great Victorian Collection">The Great Victorian Collection</a></i> (1975)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Marian_Engel" title="Marian Engel">Marian Engel</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/Bear_(novel)" title="Bear (novel)">Bear</a></i> (1976)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Timothy_Findley" title="Timothy Findley">Timothy Findley</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/The_Wars" title="The Wars">The Wars</a></i> (1977)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Alice_Munro" title="Alice Munro">Alice Munro</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/Who_Do_You_Think_You_Are%3F_(book)" title="Who Do You Think You Are? (book)">Who Do You Think You Are?</a></i> (1978)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Jack_Hodgins" title="Jack Hodgins">Jack Hodgins</a>, <i>The Resurrection of Joseph Bourne</i> (1979)</li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">1980s</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/George_Bowering" title="George Bowering">George Bowering</a>, <i>Burning Water</i> (1980)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mavis_Gallant" title="Mavis Gallant">Mavis Gallant</a>, <i>Home Truths: Selected Canadian Stories</i> (1981)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Guy_Vanderhaeghe" title="Guy Vanderhaeghe">Guy Vanderhaeghe</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/Man_Descending" title="Man Descending">Man Descending</a></i> (1982)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Leon_Rooke" title="Leon Rooke">Leon Rooke</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/Shakespeare%27s_Dog" title="Shakespeare's Dog">Shakespeare's Dog</a></i> (1983)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Josef_%C5%A0kvoreck%C3%BD" title="Josef Škvorecký">Josef Škvorecký</a>, <i>The Engineer of Human Souls</i> (1984)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Margaret_Atwood" title="Margaret Atwood">Margaret Atwood</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/The_Handmaid%27s_Tale" title="The Handmaid's Tale">The Handmaid's Tale</a></i> (1985)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Alice_Munro" title="Alice Munro">Alice Munro</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/The_Progress_of_Love" title="The Progress of Love">The Progress of Love</a></i> (1986)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/M._T._Kelly" title="M. T. Kelly">M. T. Kelly</a>, <i>A Dream Like Mine</i> (1987)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/David_Adams_Richards" title="David Adams Richards">David Adams Richards</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/Nights_Below_Station_Street" title="Nights Below Station Street">Nights Below Station Street</a></i> (1988)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Paul_Quarrington" title="Paul Quarrington">Paul Quarrington</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/Whale_Music_(novel)" title="Whale Music (novel)">Whale Music</a></i> (1989)</li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">1990s</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Nino_Ricci" title="Nino Ricci">Nino Ricci</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/Lives_of_the_Saints_(Ricci_novel)" title="Lives of the Saints (Ricci novel)">Lives of the Saints</a></i> (1990)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rohinton_Mistry" title="Rohinton Mistry">Rohinton Mistry</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/Such_a_Long_Journey_(novel)" title="Such a Long Journey (novel)">Such a Long Journey</a></i> (1991)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Michael_Ondaatje" title="Michael Ondaatje">Michael Ondaatje</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/The_English_Patient" title="The English Patient">The English Patient</a></i> (1992)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Carol_Shields" title="Carol Shields">Carol Shields</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/The_Stone_Diaries" title="The Stone Diaries">The Stone Diaries</a></i> (1993)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rudy_Wiebe" title="Rudy Wiebe">Rudy Wiebe</a>, <i>A Discovery of Strangers</i> (1994)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Greg_Hollingshead" title="Greg Hollingshead">Greg Hollingshead</a>, <i>The Roaring Girl</i> (1995)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Guy_Vanderhaeghe" title="Guy Vanderhaeghe">Guy Vanderhaeghe</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/The_Englishman%27s_Boy" title="The Englishman's Boy">The Englishman's Boy</a></i> (1996)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Jane_Urquhart" title="Jane Urquhart">Jane Urquhart</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/The_Underpainter" title="The Underpainter">The Underpainter</a></i> (1997)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Diane_Schoemperlen" title="Diane Schoemperlen">Diane Schoemperlen</a>, <i>Forms of Devotion</i> (1998)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Matt_Cohen_(writer)" title="Matt Cohen (writer)">Matt Cohen</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/Elizabeth_and_After" title="Elizabeth and After">Elizabeth and After</a></i> (1999)</li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">2000s</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Michael_Ondaatje" title="Michael Ondaatje">Michael Ondaatje</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/Anil%27s_Ghost" title="Anil's Ghost">Anil's Ghost</a></i> (2000)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Richard_B._Wright" title="Richard B. Wright">Richard B. Wright</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/Clara_Callan" title="Clara Callan">Clara Callan</a></i> (2001)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gloria_Sawai" title="Gloria Sawai">Gloria Sawai</a>, <i>A Song for Nettie Johnson</i> (2002)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Douglas_Glover_(writer)" title="Douglas Glover (writer)">Douglas Glover</a>, <i>Elle</i> (2003)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Miriam_Toews" title="Miriam Toews">Miriam Toews</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/A_Complicated_Kindness" title="A Complicated Kindness">A Complicated Kindness</a></i> (2004)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/David_Gilmour_(writer)" title="David Gilmour (writer)">David Gilmour</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/A_Perfect_Night_to_Go_to_China" title="A Perfect Night to Go to China">A Perfect Night to Go to China</a></i> (2005)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Peter_Behrens_(writer)" title="Peter Behrens (writer)">Peter Behrens</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/The_Law_of_Dreams" title="The Law of Dreams">The Law of Dreams</a></i> (2006)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Michael_Ondaatje" title="Michael Ondaatje">Michael Ondaatje</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/Divisadero_(novel)" title="Divisadero (novel)">Divisadero</a></i> (2007)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nino_Ricci" title="Nino Ricci">Nino Ricci</a>, <i>The Origin of Species</i> (2008)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kate_Pullinger" title="Kate Pullinger">Kate Pullinger</a>, <i>The Mistress of Nothing</i> (2009)</li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">2010s</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Dianne_Warren" title="Dianne Warren">Dianne Warren</a>, <i>Cool Water</i> (2010)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Patrick_deWitt" title="Patrick deWitt">Patrick deWitt</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/The_Sisters_Brothers" title="The Sisters Brothers">The Sisters Brothers</a></i> (2011)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Linda_Spalding" title="Linda Spalding">Linda Spalding</a>, <i>The Purchase</i> (2012)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Eleanor_Catton" title="Eleanor Catton">Eleanor Catton</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/The_Luminaries" title="The Luminaries">The Luminaries</a></i> (2013)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Thomas_King_(novelist)" title="Thomas King (novelist)">Thomas King</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/The_Back_of_the_Turtle" title="The Back of the Turtle">The Back of the Turtle</a></i> (2014)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Guy_Vanderhaeghe" title="Guy Vanderhaeghe">Guy Vanderhaeghe</a>, <i>Daddy Lenin and Other Stories</i> (2015)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Madeleine_Thien" title="Madeleine Thien">Madeleine Thien</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/Do_Not_Say_We_Have_Nothing" title="Do Not Say We Have Nothing">Do Not Say We Have Nothing</a></i> (2016)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Joel_Thomas_Hynes" title="Joel Thomas Hynes">Joel Thomas Hynes</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/We%27ll_All_Be_Burnt_in_Our_Beds_Some_Night" title="We'll All Be Burnt in Our Beds Some Night">We'll All Be Burnt in Our Beds Some Night</a></i> (2017)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sarah_Henstra" title="Sarah Henstra">Sarah Henstra</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/The_Red_Word" title="The Red Word">The Red Word</a></i> (2018)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Joan_Thomas" title="Joan Thomas">Joan Thomas</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/Five_Wives" title="Five Wives">Five Wives</a></i> (2019)</li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">2020s</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Michelle_Good" title="Michelle Good">Michelle Good</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/Five_Little_Indians_(novel)" title="Five Little Indians (novel)">Five Little Indians</a></i> (2020)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Norma_Dunning" title="Norma Dunning">Norma Dunning</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/Tainna" title="Tainna">Tainna</a></i> (2021)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sheila_Heti" title="Sheila Heti">Sheila Heti</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/Pure_Colour" title="Pure Colour">Pure Colour</a></i> (2022)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Anuja_Varghese" title="Anuja Varghese">Anuja Varghese</a>, <i>Chrysalis</i> (2023)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Jordan_Abel" title="Jordan Abel">Jordan Abel</a>, <i>Empty Spaces</i> (2024)</li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></div>    </div><noscript><img src="https://login.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?type=1x1&useformat=desktop" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; 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