McGill Library
McLennan Library Building3459 rue McTavish
Montreal, Quebec
H3A 0C9
William McLennan Fonds
Fonds
25 cm of textual records
William McLennan, the son of grain merchant Hugh McLennan, was born in Montréal. After obtaining a law degree from McGill (1880), he practiced as a notary. His major life's work, however, lay in literature. McLennan played an active role in the contemporary movement to popularize Québec history and culture through his translations of folk-songs and through short stories and novels set in Québec, such as Spanish John (1898), Old France and New (1899) and As Told to His Grace (1891). Another historical romance, The span of life (1899) was written in collaboration with Jean McIlwraith.
McLennan's manuscripts of his literary works include drafts of Old Canadian Songs, 1885, Eighteen Poems, 1885-1898, The Indiscretion of Grosse Boule, ca 1890, Une soeur, ca 1890, As Told to His Grace, 1891, Mon compère Melchior and an early version of A King for a Week, 1892, John McDonnell of Scotus, 1896; probably an early version of Spanish John, A Question of Courage, 1896?, The Span o' Life, 1897, translations of 8 poems from Henri Murger's La Vie de Bohème, 1885, the outline of a projected novel, The Losing Side, and his Notes pour servir à l'histoire de la ville de Montréal, 1880-1888.
Originals