“Your most Obedient and Affectionate Son”: James Wolfe’s Letters to His Parents, 1740–1759

Edited by Lawrence Ostola
© 2021 The Champlain Society

Expected Release Date: October 2021

Specs: “Your most Obedient and Affectionate Son”: James Wolfe’s Letters to His Parents, 1740–1759 will be published in a finely typeset volume with red buckram covers and spine with gilt lettering and crest—an example of high-quality book production in Canada.

From the age of thirteen to just prior to his death at thirty-two at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, Major-General James Wolfe wrote an extensive series of letters to his parents. The letters, which were acquired by the University of Toronto’s Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library in 2012, provide intimate insights into the observations, thoughts, and feelings of a major figure in Canada’s history.

For the first time in over a century this correspondence, accompanied by detailed commentary, is being published by the Champlain Society. Writing on a range of subjects in this outstanding collection of over two hundred letters, Wolfe provides us with fascinating and intimate glimpses of eighteenth-century life as he experienced it. From his life and career aspirations in the army, to questions of human nature, health, and marriage, to observations Wolfe made while posted to Scotland and during a sojourn in Paris, his keen insights make for fascinating reading and a deeper understanding of the character and personality of a significant historical figure. This edition of Wolfe’s letters will take readers far beyond the well-known drama of his final moments and instead provide an illuminating sense of the road he travelled to Quebec.

Lawrence Ostola is a former Vice-President of Heritage Conservation and Commemoration with Parks Canada and Director of Museums and Heritage Services with the City of Toronto. He obtained his Ph.D. in Canadian history from Université Laval. His thesis was entitled “A Very Public Presence: The British Army Garrison in the Town of Quebec, 1759–1838”. In 2008, on the occasion of Quebec City’s four hundredth anniversary, Ostola co-authored the publication The Military History of Quebec City, 1608–2008.