Geoffrey Bilson

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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[edit]

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[edit]

Academics and publications[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

  1. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b c d 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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b 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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