Northern Lights

Northern Lights is a novel written by Gilbert Parker. The story takes place in the Canadian province of Quebec in the late 19th century. The main character Sergeant Fones is a member of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police whose job is to maintain law and order in the Canadian frontier. The novel revolves around the search for a missing French-Canadian trapper named Sebastian Dolores who is suspected of murder. Sergeant Fones is tasked with finding Dolores who has disappeared into the wilderness along with his love interest a young French-Canadian woman named Justine Caron. As Fones pursues Dolores he becomes increasingly conflicted about his duty to bring the trapper to justice and his growing feelings for Justine. The novel deals with themes of love duty and honor as well as the clash of cultures between the Anglophone and Francophone communities in Canada. Parkers writing is noted for its vivid descriptions of the Canadian wilderness and its portrayal of the complex social and political landscape of the time. Northern Lights was well-received by both critics and readers and is considered a classic of Canadian literature. The novel was adapted into a silent film in 1916 and has been the subject of several critical studies over the years.