Honoré Jaxon: Prairie Visionary

"Honoré Jaxon: Prairie Visionary reminds us that behind every eccentric who lives next door lies a sometimes-fascinating story."

Sam Roberts, The New York Times

"It is Smith’s careful attention to detail that allows us to contemplate the shape and consequences of Jaxon’s appropriation of an essential Métis identity. It would have been easy for Smith to slip towards simple condemnation of Jaxon’s conceits, but in this work we also get a truly humane representation of a final prairie imposter. This work is a fine wrap-up to an intriguing series."

Mike Evans, Literary Review of Canada

"In clearly written prose, and in a dynamic storytelling ability lost to most Canadian historians, Smith writes a highly entertaining account of Jaxon’s life."

Darren R. Préfontaine, New Breed Magazine

"Donald B. Smith’s Honoré Jaxon: Prairie Visionary is a lively page-turner, an engaging narrative of the life of an intriguing chameleon."

Barbara J. Messamore, Journal of Historical Biography

"Smith treats this story with sympathy and understanding. His use of Jaxon’s own letters and interviews enables him to tell it very much as Jaxon saw it, treating all his schemes, ambitions, and pretensions as seriously as possible. It’s a sad but entertaining tale of a talented but unfocused imposter on the margin of history."

A.I. Silver, University of Toronto Quarterly