Trying to find an excellent Canadian tale is not that hard to do- after all, there have been several Canadian authors in the past several hundred years that have made Canada proud. However, when looking for that show-stopping page-turning book, it's hard to come up with the right book, not to mention the top 100 books. The Literary Review of Canada took the work out of finding the best Canadian books in 2006 when they made their list of the Most Important Canadian Books.
So what made the list, what didn’t and who are the great authors behind these works of art? Read on to find out what books written in the time period 1970 to 1982 made the top 100. During these twelve years, many talented authors, including Alice Munro, Pierre Burton, Margaret Atwood and Joy Kogawa, became a part of Canadian history. The 70’s and 80’s were certainly an inspirational time for Canadian authors who truly found their footing on the literary stage.
Canadian Lit in the Early 70’s
51. Fifth Business (1970) by Robertson Davies
52. Gentlemen, Players and Politicians (1970) by Dalton Camp
53. Silent Surrender: The Multinational Corporation in Canada (1970)by Kari Levitt
54. The Blacks in Canada: A History (1971) by Robin Winks
55. The Bush Garden: Essays on the Canadian Imagination (1971)by Northrop Frye
56. Lives of Girls and Women (1971) by Alice Munro
57. Paul Kane’s Frontier (1971) by J. Russell Harper
58. Red Lights on the Prairies (1971) by James H. Gray
59. La Sagouine (1971) by Antonine Maillet
60. The Last Spike (1972) by Pierre Berton
The Mid 70’s
61. Leaving Home (1972) by David French
62. Survival (1972)by Margaret Atwood
63. Howie Meeker’s Hockey Basics (1973)by Howie Meeker
64. The Temptations of Big Bear (1973)by Rudy Wiebe
65. Ten Lost Years: 1929–1939 (1973)by Barry Broadfoot
66. Alligator Pie (1974)by Dennis Lee
67. The Siren Years: A Canadian Diplomat Abroad (1974)by Charles Ritchie
68. Bear (1976) by Marian Engel
69. A Very Double Life: The Private World of Mackenzie King (1976) by C.P. Stacey
70. Duplessis (1976) by Conrad Black
The Late 70’s/ Early 80’s
71. A New Athens (1977)by Hugh Hood
72. The Wars (1977)by Timothy Findley
73. Obasan (1981)by Joy Kogawa
74. None Is Too Many: Canada and the Jews of Europe, 1933–1948 (1982) by Irving Abella and Harold Troper
75. Radical Tories: The Conservative Tradition in Canada (1982)by Charles Taylor
Further Reading
For more of the Most Important Books that topped the charts in different time areas, check out:
- The Ultimate List of Canadian Literature Books 1-25
- The Ultimate List of Canadian Literature Books 26-50
- The Ultimate List of Canadian Literature Books 76-100
Or, you can view the complete list, along with reviews on each of the books at The Literary Review of Canada . The world of Canadian literature is rich with nonfiction accounts, fictitious tales, hilarious screenplays and endearing children's book. Explore what made books helped shape and past, the present and the future of Canada.
