Inventing Canada

Zeller taps a wide range of archival and published sources to document the prominent place of Victorian science in British North American thought and society. Her focus on the creative functions of Victorian geological, geophysical, and botanical sciences highlights the formation of a Canadian community of scientists, politicians, educators, journalists, businessmen, and others who promoted public support of scientific activities and institutions. By moving beyond the eighteenth-century mechanical ideals that had forged the United States, they reassessed the land and its possibilities to redefine the transcontinental future of a northern variant of the British nation. Inventing Canada is a must-read for anyone interested in the scientific background of Canada's history, including its environmental history.

Suzanne Zeller teaches history, history of science, and environmental history at Wilfrid Laurier University.

"For a nation seemingly intent on showing that its components have little in common, Zeller's Inventing Canada is an important reminder of common bonds. Beyond that, it is refreshing evidence that while good historical scholarship and writing are enjoyable to read they are also stimulating to the mind and relevant to our existence, identity, and future." Manitoba History