Dennis Duffy’s book resembles a survey that analyzes the use of historical settings and themes in Canadian historical novels from the nineteenth-century to the 1980s. The novels he discusses include both French-Canadian and English-Canadian texts, emphasizing the importance of both perspectives. In the first chapter, the main novels Duffy explores are from 1832-1919, including Wacousta; The Golden Do;, Une de perdue, deux de trouvée;, Les anciens Canadiens; The Seats of the Mighty; and Jacques et Marie. Duffy outlines the romantic motifs in these novels and argues that the romantic, idealist tradition influenced the narratives written during this time. In the second chapter, Duffy explores novels written from approximately 1919-1966, including texts from authors such as Laure Conan (pseudonym for Félicité Angers), Thomas B. Costain, Thomas Raddall, Charles William Gordon, Grace Campbell, Philip Child, and Louis Vaczek. The second chapter highlights the endurance of the romantic, idealist tradition and indicates how realism began to play a greater role in narratives. In the third and final chapter, Duffy discusses Canadian historical fiction written during the period between 1970 and 1983 by authors such as Anne Hébert, Leonard Cohen, David Kevan, Brian Moore, Jacques Ferron, Donald Jack, Richard Wright, Timothy Findley, Graeme Gibson, and Ruby Wiebe to explain how Canadian historical novels experienced a revitalization that began with Anne Hébert’s Kamouraska in 1970.