The Forest Lover

New York: Viking, 2004. First Edition. Hard Cover. Near Fine/Near Fine. 6x1x9. Signed by author. First edition. Signed by author without inscription on front flyleaf. Tiny smudges on front board and fore edge, otherwise an excellent copy. 2004 Hard Cover. xii, 331 pp. Map showing tribes of British Columbia and southern Alaska on endpapers. From an early age, it is clear that Emily Carr is not like her sisters - not satisfied with the pious and rigid world she is expected to fit into. Her creative talent and fiercely independent spirit are far too strong to be suppressed by her father's wishes that she marry and settle down into polite white Vancouver society. Drawn to the danger and beauty of a vast wilderness and its people, Emily defies her family's better judgment, spurns suitors, and establishes herself as an art teacher, venturing off whenever possible to the wild coast of British Columbia. There she begins to paint the native tribal villages in an effort to portray the rich culture of these people, their canoes, totems, and artfully decorated communal houses before they are destroyed forever.