Ginger: The Life and Death of Albert Goodwin

Ginger:
The Life and Death of Albert Goodwin
First edition cover of Canadian release
Author	Susan Mayse
Country	Canada
Subject	Organized labor
Genre	non-fiction, book^[1]
Publisher	Harbour Publishing
Publication date	1 January 1990
Media type	Print (hardback and paperback)
Pages	212 pp., with index and bibliography
ISBN	9781550170184
OCLC	21672611
Dewey Decimal	331.88/122334/092
LC Class	HD6525.G66

Ginger: The Life and Death of Albert Goodwin is a non-fiction book written by Canadian writer, Susan Mayse; first published in January 1990, by Harbour Publishing. In the book, the author gives a narrative account of the life and "untimely" death of Albert "Ginger" Goodwin;^[2] a migrant coal miner from Treeton, England. In 1910, Goodwin arrived on Vancouver Island to work in the Cumberland mines. He became an active labour leader, organizing local unions for collective bargaining.

The book chronicles Goodwin's rise to prominent heights of leadership and labour advocacy, to become vice president of the British Columbia Federation of Labour and president of both the Trail Trades and Labour Council and the International Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers.^[3] When Goodwin reached the pinnacle of his career, his biography took an unanticipated turn; rapidly declining to the point of Goodwin's death – from a single bullet fired by a Constable of the Dominion Police. The controversy around Goodwin's death remains as of 2014, and Mayse provides a thorough account of the events in Ginger.^[2]^[3]

Background

Susan Mayse, a Vancouver Island resident, had written in many formats prior to Goodwin's biography, including newspaper articles, radio plays, and novels. The book had its beginnings in a script for a radio play for CBC Ideas, written by Mayse in 1989, titled "The Shooting of Ginger Goodwin".^[2]^[4] In researching the book, she consulted newspapers, pamphlets, personal correspondence, journals, books, dissertations, papers, photographs and transcripts from the period. Personal interviews with residents of British Columbia also informed the book's content.^[5] Mayse has traced her roots to the mining towns of Yorkshire, very close to Goodwin's home town.^[2]

Synopsis

Ginger focuses on Albert Goodwin's life from his arrival on Vancouver Island in late 1910, to his death on 27 July 1918, which is surrounded in controversy.^[6] When Goodwin began working the Cumberland mines, he found the working conditions appalling and convinced his local union to "down tools" in protest. These actions spread encouragement for others to join in civil disobedience and led to the coal mining strike of 1912. The strike failed to achieve the workers' goals but is measured as one of Canada's most expensive economic burdens. Goodwin was "blackballed"^[6] for his role and never found employment in mining operations again.^[2]

Goodwin went on to work in the local smelters union where he again organized labour, steadily gaining prominence. By 1917, he became vice-president of the British Columbia Federation of Labour, president of the International Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers (IUMMSW), and president of the Trail Trades and Labour Council.^[3] Using his influence, Goodwin rallied for the adoption of a standard eight-hour work day but would be shot dead by Constable Daniel Campbell of the Dominion Police before achieving this goal.^[3] Goodwin was killed in a wilderness area near Cumberland while on the run for draft evasion.^[3] As Mayse states in the book, "there is still controversy about the circumstances of the shooting."^[2] Goodwin's death ignited Canada's first general strike and he is still called a "martyr" as of 2014.^[6]^[7] The biography runs 212 pages, and includes a topical index, maps of locations involved, and black-and-white archival photographs.^[5]

Reception

Canadian Materials noted Mayse's good organisation of content and extensive bibliography, but critiqued the lack of solid biographical details that would "justify a full-blown biography." The reviewer felt that the character sketch "is inadequate." The book was recommended as a good background for readers interested in World War I-era labour politics in Canada.^[5] Mark Leier of the Canadian Historical Review debated Mayse's interpretation of class struggles and early-twentieth-century Canadian politics, concluding that the writer "is at her best when reflecting on life in company towns." Leier challenged some of Mayse's conclusions regarding the forensic evidence in Goodwin's death.^[8] A Books in Canada reviewer wished more details of Goodwin's life were included, acknowledging that Mayse organises her available material effectively and "presents it in an engaging manner".^[4] BC Studies felt the book was "a well-written account, enhanced by the skilful use of both photographic and oral evidence," but criticized some of Mayse's tone and characterization, and pointed out that the author had excluded some scholarly literature on Goodwin.^[9]

Awards and honours

Susan Mayse received the first Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction ever awarded; in 1991, for Ginger.^[2] The book also earned Mayse the Arthur Ellis Award from the Crime Writers of Canada for "Best True Crime" for the same year.^[10]

References

↑ Goodreads. Ginger. Book review. Retrieved 2012-11-22.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "1991: Susan Mayse". Wilfrid Laurier University. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
1 2 3 4 5 Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online. Goodwin, Albert (Ginger). 1911–1920 (Volume XIV). Retrieved 2012-11-18.
1 2 Contemporary Authors. (1 January 2006). Mayse, Susan 1948–. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
1 2 3 Hurt, Howard (November 1990). "Book Review – Ginger: The Life and Death of Albert Goodwin". CM: A Reviewing Journal of Canadian Materials for Young People. 18 (6). Retrieved 2014-12-26.
1 2 3 United Brotherhood of Carpenters. "Ginger" Knew What Side He Was On. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
↑ Working TV. Miner's Memorial Day. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
↑ Leier, Mark. (22 March 1997). Plots, shots, and liberal thoughts: conspiracy theory and the death of Ginger Goodwin (in 1918). Labour/Le Travail. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
↑ Mouat, Jeremy (1991). "Book Reviews". BC Studies. Vancouver, B.C.: University of British Columbia. 91/92 (Autumn/Winter): 201–204. ISSN 0005-2949. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
↑ The Writers Union of Canada. Member Profile-Susan Mayse. Retrieved 2012-11-18.

External links

Harbour Publishing. Susan Mayse. Retrieved 2012-11-18

Recipients of the Edna Staebler Award and shortlist honours

Edna Staebler

1990s Winners	Winning writer, Winning title, (award year), ISBN Susan Mayse, Ginger, (1991), ISBN 9781550170184 – Marie Wadden, Nitassinan, (1992), ISBN 9781550540017 – Liza Potvin, White Lies (for my mother), (1993 co-winner), ISBN 9780920897133 – Elizabeth Hay, The Only Snow in Havana, (1993 co-winner), ISBN 9780920953808 – Linda Johns, Sharing a Robin's Life, (1994), ISBN 9781551090559 – Denise Chong, The Concubine's Children, (1995), ISBN 9780140254273 – George G. Blackburn, The Guns of Normandy, (1996), ISBN 9780771015038 – Anne Mullens, Timely Death, (1997), ISBN 9780394280844 – Charlotte Gray, Mrs. King, (1998), ISBN 9780670866748 – Michael Poole, Romancing Mary Jane, (1999), ISBN 9781550547498

1990s Shortlist nominees	Nominated writer, Nominated title, (nomination year), ISBN Phil Jenkins, Fields of Vision, (1992), ISBN 9780771044014 – Anne Kershaw and Mary Lasovich, Rock-a-bye Baby (1992), ISBN 9780195412680 – Sherrill MacLaren, Invisible Power, (1992), ISBN 9780770425265 – Marlene Webber, Street Kids, (1992), ISBN 9780802067050 – Rosalind MacPhee, Picasso's Woman, (1995), ISBN 9781568361383 – Jack Kuper, After the Smoke Cleared, (1995), ISBN 9780773728325 – Rita Moir, Survival Gear, (1995), ISBN 9780919591813 – Patricia Pitcher, Artists, Craftsmen and Technocrats, (1996), ISBN 9780773728585 – Tom Connors, Stompin' Tom, (1996), ISBN 9780670864874 – Frances Backhouse, Women of the Klondike, (1996), ISBN 9781770500174 – William Aide, Starting from Porcupine, (1997), ISBN 9780778010470 – Phil Jenkins, An Acre of Time (1997), ISBN 9781551990026 – Douglas Chambers, Stony Ground, (1997), ISBN 9780394281544 – Elisabeth Raab, And Peace Never Came, (1998), ISBN 9780889202924 – Lois Sweet, God In The Classroom, (1998), ISBN 9780771083198 – A.C. Lewis, Nahanni Remembered, (1998), ISBN 9781896300184 – Will Ferguson, I Was a Teenage Katima Victim, (1999), ISBN 9781550546521 – James Mahar and Rowena Mahar, Too Many to Mourn (1999), ISBN 9781551092409 – Joni Smith, Charlevoix County, (1999), ISBN 9780494516690

2000s Winners	Winning writer, Winning title, (award year), ISBN Wayson Choy, Paper Shadows, (2000), ISBN 9780312284152 – Taras Grescoe, Sacré Blues, (2001), ISBN 9781551990811 – Tom Allen, Rolling Home, (2002), ISBN 9780670884735 – Alison Watt, The Last Island, (2003), ISBN 9781550172966 – Andrea Curtis, Into the Blue, (2004), ISBN 9780679311355 – Anne Coleman, I'll Tell You a Secret, (2005), ISBN 9780771022784 – Francis Chalifour, After, (2006), ISBN 9780887767050 – Linden MacIntyre, Causeway, (2007), ISBN 9780002007245 – Bruce Serafin, Stardust, (2008), ISBN 9781554200337 – Russell Wangersky, Burning Down the House, (2009), ISBN 9780887623295

2000s Shortlist nominees	Nominated writer, Nominated title, (nomination year), ISBN Beth Powning, Shadow Child, (2000), ISBN 9780786707201 – Ellen Stafford, Always and After, (2000), ISBN 9780670886203 – Kevin Patterson, The Water In Between, (2000), ISBN 9780385498845 – Andrew Steinmetz, Wardlife, ISBN 9781550651218 – Howard Hewer, In For A Penny, In For A Pound, (2001), ISBN 9780385660778 – Mary Pratt, Mary Pratt, (2001), ISBN 9780864923165 – Trevor Herriot, River In A Dry Land, (2001), ISBN 9780773732711 – Nicholas Pashley, Notes on a Beermat, (2002), ISBN 9781554682560 – Gabriel Bauer, Waltzing the Tango, (2002), ISBN 9780199744480 – Ron Corbett, The Last Guide, (2002), ISBN 9781894673051 – Cornelia Johanna Baines, Under Syndenham Skies, (2002), ISBN 9781550416152 – Peter McSherry, Mean Streets, (2003), ISBN 9781550024029 – Adam Killick, Racing the White Silence, (2003), ISBN 9780141003733 – Dawn Rae Downton, Seldom, (2003), ISBN 9781559706650 – Ellen Bielawski, Rogue Diamonds, (2004), ISBN 9780295984193 – Kevin Bazzana, Wondrous Strange, (2004), ISBN 9780195182460 – Ralph Osborne, From Somewhere Else, (2004), ISBN 9781550225501 – Alex M. Hall, Discovering Eden, (2004), ISBN 9781552632215 – Tilda Shalof, A Nurse’s Story, (2005), ISBN 9780771080876 – Geoff Heinricks, A Fool and Forty Acres, (2005), ISBN 9780771040566 – Elizabeth Hudson, Snow Bodies, (2005), ISBN 9781896300740 – Michael Mitchell, The Molly Fire, (2005), ISBN 9781550226768 – Lisa Rochon, Up North, (2006), ISBN 9781552636909 – Rosalind B. Penfield, Dragonslippers, (2006), ISBN 9780802170200 – John Vaillant, The Golden Spruce, (2006), ISBN 9780393328646 – Kim Bolan, Loss of Faith, (2006), ISBN 9780771011306 – Marcello De Cintio, Poets & Pahlevans, (2007), ISBN 9780676977325 – Rachel Lebowitz, Hannus, (2007), ISBN 9781897141113 – Patrick Friesen, Interim Essays & Mediations, (2007), ISBN 9780973972702 – Nathan M. Greenfield, Baptism of Fire, (2008), ISBN 9780002007276 – Chantal Hébert, French Kiss, (2008), ISBN 9780676979077 – Jane Hall, The Red Wall, (2008), ISBN 9781897113684 – Martin Mitchinson, The Darien Gap, (2009), ISBN 9781550174212 – Cathy Ostlere, Lost, (2009), ISBN 9781554700431 – Andrew Westoll, The Riverbones, (2009), ISBN 9780771088759

2010s Winners	Winning writer, Winning title, (award year), ISBN John Leigh Walters, A Very Capable Life, (2010), ISBN 9781897425411 – Helen Waldstein Wilkes, Letters from the Lost, (2011), ISBN 9781897425534 – Joshua Knelman, Hot Art, (2012), ISBN 9781553658917 – Carol Shaben, Into the Abyss, (2013), ISBN 9780307360229

2010s Shortlist nominees	Nominated writer, Nominated title, (nomination year), ISBN Allan Casey, Lakeland, (2010), ISBN 9781553653080 – Else Poulsen, Smiling Bears, (2010), ISBN 9781553653875 – Benjamin Errett, Jew and Improved, (2011), ISBN 9781554684274 – Grant Lawrence, Adventures in Solitude, (2011), ISBN 9781550175141 – Robyn Michele Levy, Most of Me, (2012), ISBN 9781553656326 – Andrew Westoll, The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary, (2012), ISBN 9781554686490

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