Agnes Christina Laut
Agnes Christina Laut was a prominent Canadian author born in 1871 in Stanley Township, Ontario, whose work aimed to popularize Canadian history through both historical novels and nonfiction. Raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the frontier influences of her upbringing inspired much of her writing. After briefly teaching and working at the University of Manitoba, Laut became an editorial writer for the Manitoba Free Press, using her journalistic skills to travel across North America and share her experiences. Her first novel, "Lords of the North: A Romance of the Northwest," published in 1900, resonated with Canadian readers eager for patriotic literature, establishing her as a significant figure in the literary landscape.
Despite her financial success and the popularity of her works, critics have pointed out shortcomings in her technical writing, particularly regarding characterization and language. However, her journalistic contributions, which focused on Canadian nationalism and social issues, were noted for their clarity and personal touch. Laut was also an activist, advocating for child welfare and labor rights, and she testified before the U.S. Senate on related topics. She passed away in 1936 at her estate in New York, leaving behind a legacy of literature that reflects both the historical narrative and social concerns of her time.
Subject Terms
Agnes Christina Laut
Canadian, novelist, children's literature author, historian, journalist, and activist.
- Born: February 11, 1871
- Birthplace: Stanley Township, Ontario, Canada
- Died: November 15, 1936
- Place of death: Wassaic, New York
Biography
Canadian author Agnes Christina Laut wrote historical novels and nonfiction intended to popularize Canadian history. Laut was born in Stanley Township, Ontario, Canada, in 1871. She was raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and the frontier history of her home was the inspiration for her later writing. She worked as a teacher in Winnipeg before a short stint at the University of Manitoba. After dropping out due to illness, she became an editorial writer for the Manitoba Free Press and a freelance journalist, traveling throughout North America and writing about her experiences, a practice she would continue throughout her life.
She published her first novel, Lords of the North: A Romance of the Northwest, in 1900. Its patriotic themes and retelling of colorful episodes in early Canadian history made it immediately popular with Canadians eager for a national literature. Although Laut moved to upstate New York the following year for health reasons, she continued dramatizing Canadian history in her subsequent novels and stories, written for both adults and children. All of her books were immensely popular and they made her financially very secure.
Despite her success, scholars criticize Laut’s writing as technically flawed, with poor characterization and frequently arcane language. Her journalistic writing, however, is personal and lucid, focusing on Canadian nationalism and on labor issues and the plight of the poor. Laut was an activist for these causes, working with the Childhood Conservation League and testifying before the U. S. Senate on her research regarding child welfare in Mexico. She died at her New York estate in 1936.
Author Works
Children's Literature:
The "Adventurers of England" on Hudson Bay: A Chronicle of the Fur Trade in the North, 1914
Pioneers of the Pacific Coast: A Chronicle of Sea Rovers and Fur Hunters, 1915
The Cariboo Trail: A Chronicle of the Gold-Fields of British Columbia, 1916
Long Fiction:
Lords of the North: A Romance of the Northwest, 1900
The Story of the Trapper, 1902
Heralds of Empire: Being the Story of One Ramsay Stanhope, Lieutenant to Pierre Radisson in the Northern Fur Trade, 1902
The Freebooters of the Wilderness, 1910
The New Dawn, 1913
The Quenchless Light, 1924
Nonfiction:
Pathfinders of the West: Being the Thrilling Story of the Adventures of the Men Who Discovered the Great Northwest, 1904
Vikings of the Pacific: The Adventures of the Explorers Who Came from the West, Eastward, 1905
The Conquest of the Great Northwest: Being the Story of the Adventurers of England Known as the Hudson's Bay Company, 1908
Canada, the Empire of the North: Being the Romantic Story of the New Dominion's Growth from Colony to Kingdom, 1909
Through Our Unknown Southwest, the Wonderland of the United States, Little Known and Unappreciated, the Home of the Cliff Dweller and the Hopi, the Forest Ranger and the Navajo, the Lure of the Painted Desert, 1913
Am I My Brother's Keeper?, 1913
The Canadian Commonwealth, 1915
Canada at the Cross Roads, 1921
The Fur Trade of America, 1921
The Blazed Trail of the Old Frontier, 1926
Enchanted Trails of Glacier Park, 1926
The Conquest of Our Western Empire, 1927
The Overland Trail; The Epic Path of the Pioneers to Oregon, 1929
The Romance of the Rails, 1929
Cadillac, Knight Errant of the Wilderness, Founder of Detroit, Governor of Louisiana from the Great Lakes to the Gulf, 1931
Pilgrims of the Santa Fe, 1931
Bibliography
Braz, Albert. “The Duelling Authors: Settler Imperatives and Agnes Laut’s Denigration of Pierre Falcon.” Home Ground and Foreign Territory: Essays on Early Canadian Literature, edited by Janice Fiamengo, U of Ottawa P, 2014, pp. 157–173. Essay discusses Laut’s portrayal of the Métis poet Pierre Falcon in Lords of the North.
Dagg, Anne Innis. “Laut, Agnes Christina.” The Feminine Gaze: A Canadian Compendium of Non-Fiction Women Authors and Their Books, 1836–1945, Wilfrid Laurier UP, 2001, pp. 161–162. A brief biographical profile of the author, which discusses Laut’s work as a historian.
Gerson, Carole. Canadian Women in Print, 1750–1918. Wilfrid Laurier UP, 2011. Presents essays on the published work of a variety of Canadian women, including Laut, who were active from the mid-eighteenth century to the early twentieth century.
Legge, Valerie. “‘Why Go Abroad?’: Agnes Laut in Wonderland.” Literary Environments: Canada and the Old World, edited by Britta Olinder, Peter Lang, 2006, pp. 61–73. Discusses Laut and Through Our Unknown Southwest: The Wonderland of the United States.
McMullen, Lorraine. “Laut, Agnes Christina (1871–1936).” Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature, Oxford UP, 1997, pp. 635–636. An encyclopedia entry on Laut.