Title: The Coiners of Pompeii: a Romance
Author: Richard Ryland
Published: 1845, Toronto, H. and W. Rowsell
Language: English
Genre: Adventure, romance
One of the first English-language novels published in the Canada region (predating the Canadian Confederation by twenty-two years). Interestingly, set in a vaguely modern-day Pompeii that is populated, and Vesuvius is mentioned only once. May include an early example of the “it was all a dream” trope. Likely impossible to obtain an original copy, but it exists digitally as a microform scan thanks to Canadiana.ca (formerly the Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions). Probably had a limited run, although its page on Canadiana appears to indicate that their copy is a second edition.
Summary: Alois Farnese is passing through the bustling city of Pompeii when he rescues the Prince of Naples and his daughter Emily from their villainous valet de chambre, Peter Guesclin. Alois and Emily fall instantly in love, and in return for her hand Alois agrees to join her father’s gang of coin forgers. Guesclin continues to seek revenge on Emily, but there is someone else in the gang who plots to ruin their coining operation for good, and soon the two will join forces against Alois and his new friends.
Where to Read:
- Canadiana’s original microform scan on the Canadiana website
- Canadiana’s original microform scan on archive.org
- My digitally restored version on archive.org (a bit easier on the eyes, looks nice on an e-reader and handy for printing your own copy!)
Further Reading:
Coiners is mentioned briefly in The Beginnings of the Book Trade in Canada by George L. Parker (1985), pages 78-79. H. and W. Rowsell’s history is also explored.
The Chesapeake and the Shannon Approach the Canon by Mary Lu MacDonald, published in Canadian Poetry, Vol. 30 (Spring/Summer), focuses on another story but does cite Coiners as being an early Canadian novel – the only one of which is not set in Canada, in fact. Available at: https://canadianpoetry.org/volumes/vol30/macdonald.html
The Social Dimenions of Fiction: On the Rhetoric and Function of Prefacing Novels in the Nineteenth-Century Canadas by Steven Totosy De Zepetnek has a section discussing the frequency of “FFN” statements – writers declaring that their novel is based on facts (which Coiners actually subverts). Available at: https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?params=/context/clcweblibrary/article/1046/&path_info=totosystudyofpreface.pdf
The Other Side of the Coin(ers): the Origins of The Coiners of Pompeii by Grace Haddon. Am I allowed to cite myself? I got very invested in researching this little gem so I wrote an essay exploring the man behind it, Richard Ryland, along with providing some background. Available at: https://vesuvianquest.com/the-other-side-of-the-coiners/