“.
. . constantly compelling . . . The Convict Lover
is a virtuoso performance that combines the factualness of
a “true story” with the techniques of fiction.
It conveys historical truth with unfailing accuracy because
it is told with the vitality of imagination.”
—The Financial Post
“The writing in The Convict Lover is consistently
fine, and at times inspired . . . the book’s themes
are grand ones: the enduring power of words on a page, and
how communication with another human being can make the unbearable
bearable. For all the pain and darkness it describes,
The Convict Lover is less a book about a dungeon than
about letter as lifeline, which makes it a book about hope.”
—The Ottawa Citizen
“The Convict Lover is a riveting story that
reclaims an obscure segment of Canadian history. Pushing the
boundaries between fiction and nonfiction, the author illuminates
the experience of imprisonment . . . She also tells secrets
— a private one, about a forbidden relationship, and
a larger and darker one, about Canada’s penitentiaries.”
—Queen’s Quarterly
“This is a beautifully controlled story that makes speculative
use of intriguing materials. Simonds provocatively pushes
the genre to its limits.”
—Jury citation, 1996 Governor General Literary Awards
For further comment, see:
“Love, Trust, and High Stone Walls,” by Christine
Hamelin, Queen’s Quarterly, Vol. 103, No. 2,
Summer 1996.
“Mining for Truth and Fiction,” by Robin Laurence,
The Georgia Staight, October 17-24, 1996.
“The Convict Lover Unlocks Prisoner's Past,” by
Wilder Penfield III, Toronto Sun, November 7, 1996.
www.canoe.ca/JamBooksFeatures/simonds_merilyn.html
“Liars and Damned Liars,” by Merilyn Simonds,
Brick Magazine, No. 56, Spring 1997.
Interviews
“Embellishing Private Lives,” by Val Ross,
The Globe and Mail, May 4, 1996.
“Merilyn Simonds: An Interview,” by Jess Joss,
The Queen’s Journal Reader, November 8, 1996.
