Geoffrey Bilson (27 January 1938 – 25 July 1987) was a Welsh Canadian academic and author. Between 1964 and 1987, Bilson worked for the University of Saskatchewan in their history department as a professor. During this time period, Bilson primarily released children's books while also publishing non-fiction books. Some of the topics that Bilson wrote about include the Boston Massacre, cholera and the Winnipeg general strike. Following his 1987 death, his non-fiction book titled The Guest Children was released in 1988. The following year, the Geoffrey Bilson Award was first presented by the Canadian Children's Book Centre.

Early life and education

Bilson's birth occurred at Cardiff, Wales, on 27 January 1938.[1] During his childhood, Bilson lived in Liverpool.[2] After he became interested in journalism, Bilson worked in newspaper publishing and editing while completing his education.[3] For his post-secondary education, Bilson first attended Aberystwyth University. Throughout the 1960s to 1970s, Bilson also went to the University of Omaha and Stanford University.[4] While at Omaha during 1961, the University of California, Berkeley, gave Bilson a graduate assistant position.[5]

Career

Academics and publications

During his tenure between 1964 and 1987, Bilson worked at the University of Saskatchewan as a professor. For his academic career, Bilson focused on historical events throughout North America.[6][1] While at Saskatchewan, his articles about cholera were released in the 1970s and 1980s.[7][8] For a 1984 book by Charles G. Roland, Bilson wrote about Canadian healthcare for immigrants.[4] The following year, Bilson's journal article on Frederick Montizambert was published.[9] Bilson had continued studying healthcare for immigrants before he died in 1987.[4]

Writings

As a writer, Bilson had a book in 1977 about the 1770 Boston Massacre.[10][11] Bilson's book, A Darkened House: Cholera in 19th Century Canada, was made available in 1980.[12] When his kids left the country for a vacation, Bilson decided to become a children's author. His first two written books for children were released out of order.[13] In 1981, Bilson's first published book for children was Goodbye Sarah.[14] After Bilson converted his 1919 Winnipeg general strike work into a stage production, Goodbye Sarah was performed in 1984.[15]

In 1982, Bilson continued his children's writings with Death Over Montreal.[16] To make the book, Bilson used his previous research he performed for A Darkened House.[17] In Death Over Montreal, Bilson wrote about a Scottish family experiencing cholera after moving to Canada.[18] With his 1984 children's work titled Hockeybat Harris, Bilson wrote about a Guest Child who moved from Great Britain to live in Canada during World War II.[19] In the late 1980s, Bilson had begun writing a children's book about "a sort of conventional child who wants things to go right".[20] Bilson's non-fiction book, The Guest Children: The Story of the British Child Evacuees Sent to Canada during World War II, was posthumously released in 1988.[1][21]

Writing style and themes

While raising a family, Bilson used ideas provided by his children to create bedtime stories.[22][13] To create his children's books, Bilson handwrote his manuscripts before he typed them up. During the editing stage, he wrote on his physical copies.[22] For his children's books, Bilson used "lesser-known...events and showed how they influenced the lives of young teenagers."[23]

Bilson wrote the draft of his cholera book for children under the title of Yellow Flags in Montreal. The title was changed to Death Over Montreal after a book with a similar name was released before Bilson's book.[24] In his written draft, Bilson "wanted both parents to die from cholera" in the book. He later edited his book to only include the death of the main character's father.[17] To create The Guest Children, Bilson conducted interviews with fourteen former Guest Children and incorporated their recollections. He also added the background of the Overseas Reception Board project for the book.[25]

Death and personal life

Prior to his death, Bilson was experiencing brain cancer.[4] He had two children during his marriage. On 25 June 1987, Bilson's death occurred in Saskatoon.[11]

Honours

A year after his death, the Canadian Children's Book Centre began presenting the Geoffrey Bilson Award.[26] During the early 1990s, the Geoffrey Bilson Memorial Lecture was created.[27] Leading up to the 2020s, some of the scheduled speakers for the Saskatchewan lecture included Janet Lunn and Bathsheba Demuth.[28][29]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Peacock, Scot, ed. (1998). "Bilson, Geoffrey 1938-1987". Contemporary Authors. Vol. 160. Detroit and London: Gale. p. 25. ISBN 0787619930. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  2. ↑ Jenkinson, Dave (September–October 1986). "Geoffrey Bilson, Professor, Writer of Children's Historical Fiction". Emergency Librarian. 13 (1): 53.
  3. ↑ Noyes, Stacey; Pearson, Nancy, eds. (1994). "Geoffrey Bilson". Writing Stories, Making Pictures. Toronto: The Canadian Children's Book Centre. pp. 33–34. ISBN 092909512X. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Miquelon, Dale (Summer 1988). "Obituary". Canadian Bulletin of Medical History. 5 (1): 90. doi:10.3138/cbmh.5.1.89. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  5. ↑ "British Graduate Studies Continue". Omaha World-Herald. 16 April 1961. p. 13-F.
  6. ↑ Miquelon 1988, pp. 89-90
  7. ↑ Bilson, Geoffrey (October 1977). "The first epidemic of Asiatic cholera in Lower Canada, 1832". Medical History. 21 (4): 411–433. doi:10.1017/s0025727300039041. PMC 1082085. PMID 337003.
  8. ↑ Bilson, Geoffrey (September–October 1984). "Cholera and Public Health in Canada". Canadian Journal of Public Health. 75 (5): 352–355. JSTOR 41990304. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  9. ↑ Bilson, Geoffrey (October 1985). "Dr Frederick Montizambert (1843–1929): Canada's first Director General of Public Health". Medical History. 29 (4): 386. doi:10.1017/s0025727300044707. PMC 1139979.
  10. ↑ "Booklets on trials". The Leader-Post. March 27, 1978. p. 58.
  11. 1 2 Hedblad, Alan, ed. (1999). "Bilson, Geoffrey 1938-1987". Something about the Author. Vol. 99. Detroit and London: Gale. p. 21. ISBN 0787619817. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  12. ↑ "Canadian Books in Brief". The Province. 16 November 1980. sec. The Magazine p. 9.
  13. 1 2 Lewis, Karen (17 November 1983). "Necessity the reason for author's invention". The Sault Star. p. B3.
  14. ↑ Stott, Jon C.; Jones, Raymond E. (1988). "Bilson, Geoffrey (1938—1987)". Canadian Books for Children: A Guide to Authors & Illustrators. Toronto and Sydney: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Canada. p. 13. ISBN 0774730811. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  15. ↑ "Labor backs play". The Edmonton Journal. Canadian Press. 5 May 1984. p. D7.
  16. ↑ Marsh, James H., ed. (1990). "Bilson, Geoffrey". The Junior Encyclopedia of Canada. Vol. 1. Edmonton: Hurtig Publishers. p. 167. ISBN 0888303351. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  17. 1 2 Burt, Eric O. (24 December 1982). "Historian furthers children's knowledge of Canada". Star-Phoenix. p. E7.
  18. ↑ Douglas, Lorraine (March 1983). "Death Over Montreal (Book Review)". School Library Journal. 29 (7): 169–70.
  19. ↑ Mowat, Suzanne (10 November 1984). "Second World War Child Guest program basis of absorbing book". The Ottawa Citizen. p. C16.
  20. ↑ Jenkinson 1986, p. 53
  21. ↑ MacKay, Donald (12 November 1988). "Strangers in a strange land". The Gazette. p. K-12.
  22. 1 2 Noyes and Pearson eds. 1994, p. 34
  23. ↑ Jones, Raymond E.; Stott, Jon C. (2000). "Geoffrey Bilson". Canadian Children's Books: a critical guide to authors and illustrators. Don Mills, Ontario: Oxford University Press. pp. 31–32. ISBN 0195412222.
  24. ↑ Jenkinson 1986, pp. 53-54
  25. ↑ Mortin, Jenni (12 November 1988). "'Guest children' first sign of war". Star-Phoenix. sec. Accent Sunday p. 18.
  26. ↑ "Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People". The Canadian Children's Book Centre. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
  27. ↑ "Inaugural Geoffrey Bilson Memorial Lecture". The StarPhoenix. 6 March 1992. p. D2.
  28. ↑ "Children's author to give Bilson lecture". The StarPhoenix. 21 September 1993. p. D1.
  29. ↑ "The Bilson Lecture: A talk by author Bathsheba Demuth". University of Saskatchewan. 2 November 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
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