''Rockbound'' is a

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

published in 1928 by Canadian writer

Frank Parker Day Frank Parker Day (9 May 1881 – 30 July 1950) was a Canadian athlete, academic and author. Since Day's father was a Methodist minister who moved to a new congregation every three years, Day spent his youth living throughout Nova Scotia, living ...

Overview

The "Rockbound" mentioned in the title is name of small fictitious island inspired by East Ironbound, a remote island near Big Tancook Island off the coast of

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

. Surrounded by rich but dangerous fishing grounds, Rockbound is isolated by

storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmos ...

fog Fog is a visible aerosol consisting of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. Reprint from Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud usually resembling stratus, and is heavily influ ...

and winter

weather Weather is the state of the atmosphere, describing for example the degree to which it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. On Earth, most weather phenomena occur in the lowest layer of the planet's atmosphere, the ...

. Two feuding families, the Jungs and the Krauses are dominated by the "king of Rockbound", the sternly righteous and rapacious Uriah Jung. When the young David Jung arrives on Rockbound to claim his

inheritance Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, Title (property), titles, debts, entitlements, Privilege (law), privileges, rights, and Law of obligations, obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ ...

, a small share of the island, he is forced to confront an unforgiving, and controlled world. His conflicts—both internal and external—lock him in a struggle for survival. His enemies are many: sometimes the

ocean The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the wo ...

, sometimes his own rude behaviour, sometimes his own best friend, sometimes his secret love for the island teacher, but always his relatives and their ambitions for money and power. ''Rockbound'' paints a portrait of hard toil, cunning bitterness and family strife in the years leading to

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The novel evokes the infinite power, the terror and the cruel beauty of the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

including the terrifying sinking of a fishing

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

based on the loss of the schooner ''Sylvia Mosher'' on August 9, 1926, during the 1926 August Gales at

Sable Island Sable Island (french: île de Sable, literally "island of sand") is a small Canadian island situated southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia, and about southeast of the closest point of mainland Nova Scotia in the North Atlantic Ocean. The island i ...

Inspiration

''Rockbound'' was based on the island of

East Ironbound East Ironbound is an inhabited island located off the Aspotogan Peninsula in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, between St. Margarets Bay and Mahone Bay.Nautical chart #4386 ''St. Margarets Bay'', published by Canadian Hydrographic Service, 2004 ...

. Day spent the summer of 1926 on East Ironbound telling the families who welcomed him and shared their stories that he was working on a book about

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

. East Ironbound became a thinly disguised Rockbound while Tancook became the novel's Outer Island; Lunenburg became Liscomb; and Pearl Island became Barren Island. East Ironbound's two main families the Fincks and the Youngs inspired Rockbound's rival families the Krauses and the Jungs. Day's interpretation, distortion and exaggeration of community and personal lives on East Ironbound offended the residents of the island who felt betrayed. They published a letter in the Lunenburg and Halifax papers accusing Day of exploiting them for money.

Cultural impact

''Rockbound'' was one of the selected novels in the 2005 edition of ''

Canada Reads ''Canada Reads'' is an annual "battle of the books" competition organized and broadcast by Canada's public broadcaster, the CBC. The program has aired in two distinct editions, the English-language ''Canada Reads'' on CBC Radio One, and the Frenc ...

'', where it was championed by

Donna Morrissey Donna Morrissey (born in The Beaches, Newfoundland) is a Canadian author. At age 16, Morrissey left her birthplace of The Beaches, a small outport on the west coast of Newfoundland. She lived in various places in Canada before returning to St. J ...

. ''Rockbound'' eventually won the competition. ''Rockbound'' was adapted as a musical by Allen Cole, commissioned by Two Planks and a Passion Theatre Company in Nova Scotia and presented at the Ross Creek Centre in July 2009."Production History" (2009) ''Two Planks and a Passion Theatre''
/ref> 'Rockbound' was first adapted as a full-length musical in 1998 by Whistling Fish Productions based in Mahone Bay, NS. The musical, which was publicly workshopped in Halifax, at Dalhousie University, was arranged by musician, Skip Beckwith, and featured songs and lyrics by Geoff Noble, with book by Susan Shillingford. The local cast of performers including noted actors Zach Fraser, Marguerite McNeil, and Elizabeth Richardson. Two stage productions ensued - -at the historical Capitol Theatre in Nelson, BC (2001), and the Mary Winspear Centre in Sidney, BC (2003). Ref: www.whistlingfishproductions.com

References

{{reflist 1928 Canadian novels Canadian historical novels Novels set in Nova Scotia Novels by Frank Parker Day