Book sheds light on Bell

BY HOLLIE WATSON



He was a visionary genius, and one of the most brilliant minds Canada has ever known. Alexander Graham Bell, who revolutionized the way we communicate with his invention of the telephone, was as complex as he was gifted. His fascinating story and his impact on the world in which we live has been brought to life in a newly-released book by award-winning author Charlotte Gray.

The Ottawa writer will speak about her richly detailed portrayal of the 19th-century inventor when she touches down in Pointe Claire Thursday night.

In Reluctant Genius — The Passionate Life and Inventive Mind of Alexander Graham Bell, Gray explores his legacy and the influence on Bell by his wife Mabel, whose strength and support helped shape his future.

“I’ll be talking about Bell and Mabel and the portrait of their fascinating relationship. They met when he was 26 and she 15. He was a teacher of the deaf, and she herself was deaf,� she explained.

“I’ll also talk about what’s involved in writing a biography,� said Gray, who has just returned from Cape Breton, where the Bells lived until Alexander’s death in 1922.

“I did all my research there at Little Baddeck, where they have the Bell Museum,� said Gray, who has also made appearances in Vancouver, Calgary, and other major cities since the biography was published in mid-September by HarperCollins. More dates are planned in southern Ontario.

While this marks her first visit to the West Island, “I love Montreal, and I’ve spoken here frequently. The last time was at the McCord Museum.� Gray, who emigrated from England in 1979, is a prolific author with six books to her credit since her 1997 biography, Mrs. King: The Life and Times of Isabel Mackenzie King. Her last biography, Flint & Feather: The Life and Times of E. Pauline Johnson, Tekahionwake, won the University of British Columbia Medal for Canadian Biography, and the Drummer General’s Award for Non-fiction in 2002. Prior to that was another award-winning profile of Susanne Moodie and Catharine Parr Traill, which was made into a CBC docudrama and was nominated for a Gemini. Gray has also written two other books on Canadian history.

“Like the others, Reluctant Genius has gone straight to the best-sellers’ list,� Gray said. “My next book, which is about Nellie McClung, is already in the works. It should be released in 2008.�

Thursday’s talk at 7:30 p.m. has been organized by Pointe Claire Library, but will be given in the council room at city hall (451 St. John’s Blvd.) to accommodate a larger audience. All are welcome.