From Montreal’s civic affairs to historical fiction

Aubin, 66, loved to read historical fiction. Not just any kind of history books appealed to him. Only those written about significant events like the First World War or the Spanish Armada were what made him sit down and devour.

Many writers gave him a thrill when he picked up their books as a young boy, but there’s one specific English novelist he really enjoyed. “Along with the Hardy Boys, I liked G.A. Henty,” Aubin said.

A passion for history and literature was carried on into his adult life and made Aubin the man he is today.

As a journalist, he’s writing and recording history as it happens in his civic affairs column for the Montreal Gazette. And as an author, he’s taking historical events and making a story that’s exiting to read. “When you write about history, you’re dealing with events that are worth remembering. It’s fun to make people understand those events,” he said.

Aubin’s latest book Rise of the Golden Cobra tells the tale of a teenage boy in an ancient African civilization known as the Kushites. “In this case, the events of the 8th century BCE were very important in shaping today’s world,” he said. “When Kushites were in control of Egypt they did some remarkable things.” A reading and discussion with Aubin took place Friday Apr. 24 at the Westmount Public Library, as part of the second edition of Blue Metropolis Children’s Festival.

Local kids showed up to the library on this sunny, warm afternoon to hear Aubin recount the tale of how the Kushite conquest of Egypt made them masters of the eastern Mediterranean for half a century. “I like to make history relevant to people today,” he said. “A lot of the story is true. Many of the characters are fiction.”

After Aubin read the first chapter, which he calls “The Attack”, he admitted writing it with a specific audience in mind. “I wrote this basically for boys so there’s a lot of action,” he said. “There’s battles every other chapter.”

Wendy Wayling, organizer of the event and children’s librarian at the Westmount Public Library, believes it’s important to have events like this to connect young readers to local writers. “It makes the kids realize that there are authors amongst them and its something that they can aspire to do,” she said. “That’s why I wanted to show them that he writes for the Gazette as well.”

Working at the library for the last 16 years, Wayling has read many kids books and finds Aubin’s <@R>Rise of the Golden Cobra<@$p> a great addition to their collection. “I finished his book and it’s fantastic. It’s really well researched. It’s fast-paced but it’s historical too so you’re learning a lot,” she said. “I’m sure a lot of the kids will read it after his talk.”

As for Aubin, he remembers the pleasure he found in books as a young boy, and sees the challenge in making today’s youth actually take the time to sit down and read.

But as long as there are events for kids at Blue Metropolis, extolling the benefits of reading, Aubin is glad to be involved. “The festival is a wonderful idea. It shows such vitality in the arts scene in Montreal.”