WINNER OF THE 1999 CLIO AWARD OF THE CANADIAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION
’There can be few scholars on either side of the Atlantic who succeed in combining such a wide range of skills . . . Margaret Bennett embodies all that is best of the spirit of Scotland’ – Hamish Henderson
’a meticulously researched and well-written book’ – History Teaching Review
Oatmeal and the Catechism is the story of emigrants from the Outer Hebrides to Quebec in the latter half of the 19th century. Most were crofting families from Lewis who had suffered the severe effects of the potato famine of 1846-51. As a solution to the increasing pressure on landlords and government relief bodies, they were offered free passage to ‘Lower Canada’ and given land grants in the Eastern Townships. To this day place-names such as Stornoway, Tolsta, Ness and Dell in Canada testify to the strong links these communities kept with their homeland.
In this updated edition of her much acclaimed book, Margaret Bennett traces the historical background of emigration and settlement in this part of Canada. By means of recorded interviews with descendants of the original settlers, she builds up a detailed picture not only of the social and religious aspects of their lives, but also of how they set about building a new community in the wilderness. For more than a century people in the Outer Hebrides have been asking what happened to those who left for the New World. Oatmeal and Catechism answers that question.
Originally from the Isle of Skye, Margaret Bennett comes from a long line of traditional singers, pipers and story tellers – Gaelic on her mother’s side, Lowland Scots on her father’s. She has sung at folk festivals and concerts world wide and has featured in films, documentaries and on radio. She has an MA in folklore and a PhD in ethnology. She specialises in traditional song, customs, folk medicine, and emigrant traditions and has taught in both Glasgow and Edinburgh. She has published several books and large number of articles.
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