Edward Alexander McCourt (October 10, 1907 – January 6, 1972) was a Canadian writer.
. Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan. Born in

Mullingar Mullingar ( ; ) is the county town of County Westmeath in Ireland. It is the third most populous town in the Midland Region, Ireland, Midland Region, with a population of 22,667 in the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census. The Counties of M ...

, Ireland, McCourt's family emigrated to Kitscoty,

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

when he was two years old. He was educated at the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

, becoming a

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international Postgraduate education, postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Esta ...

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 126 ...

, and earned an MA from

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

. Returning to Canada, he worked at

Upper Canada College Upper Canada College (UCC) is an independent day and boarding school for boys in Toronto, Ontario, operating under the International Baccalaureate program. The college is widely described as Canada's most prestigious preparatory school, and ha ...

, Queen's University and the

University of New Brunswick The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a public university with two primary campuses in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English language, English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public universiti ...

before joining the faculty of the

University of Saskatchewan The University of Saskatchewan (U of S, or USask) is a Universities in Canada, Canadian public university, public research university, founded on March 19, 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatch ...

in 1944. McCourt published five novels—''Music at the Close'' (1947), ''Home Is the Stranger'' (1950), ''The Wooden Sword'' (1956), ''Walk Through the Valley'' (1958) and ''Fasting Friar'' (1963).Winnifred M. Bogaards
"Edward McCourt: A Reassessment"
''Studies in Canadian Literature'', Volume 05, Number 2 (1980). His non-fiction titles included ''The Canadian West in Fiction'' (1949), a critical analysis of regional literature from the

Canadian Prairies The Canadian Prairies (usually referred to as simply the Prairies in Canada) is a region in Western Canada. It includes the Canadian portion of the Great Plains and the Prairie provinces, namely Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. These provin ...

, ''Revolt in the West'' (1958), about the

North-West Rebellion The North-West Rebellion (), was an armed rebellion of Métis under Louis Riel and an associated uprising of Cree and Assiniboine mostly in the District of Saskatchewan, against the Government of Canada, Canadian government. Important events i ...

, and ''Remembering Butler'' (1967), a biography of Sir William Butler, as well as works of

travel writing The genre of travel literature or travelogue encompasses outdoor literature, guide books, nature writing, and travel memoirs. History Early examples of travel literature include the '' Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'' (generally considered a ...

. ''Music at the Close'' won the

Ryerson Fiction Award The Ryerson Fiction Award, also known as the All-Canada Prize, was a Canadian literary award, presented irregularly between 1942 and 1960. Presented by Ryerson Press,"Ryerson Award Winner". '' The Gazette'', March 13, 1954. the award was given to a ...

in 1947, and was republished by the

New Canadian Library The New Canadian Library is a publishing imprint of the Canadian company McClelland and Stewart. The series aims to present classic works of Canadian literature in paperback. Each work published in the series includes a short essay by another not ...

in 1972. McCourt died on January 6, 1972.

References

Theme and form in the novels of Edward A. McCourt
by Neil Graham, Thesis M. A.,

University of Windsor The University of Windsor (UWindsor, U of W, or UWin) is a public university, public research university in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's southernmost university. It has approximately 17,500 students. The university was incorporated by ...

, 1968 (with a bibliography) 1907 births 1972 deaths 20th-century Canadian novelists Canadian male novelists Canadian literary critics Canadian male biographers Canadian travel writers Canadian Rhodes Scholars Irish emigrants to Canada Academic staff of the University of Saskatchewan Novelists from Alberta People from Mullingar 20th-century Canadian biographers 20th-century Canadian male writers Alumni of Merton College, Oxford Novelists from Saskatchewan {{Canada-writer-stub