bout de papier, Vol. 8, No. 2 (1991) — Spring 1991 // Printemps 1991, pp. 40–41
Marler: Four Generations of a Quebec
Family, by Howard Marler. Published 1987
under the auspices of the Literary and Historical
Society of Quebec. pp. $12.98.
Sir Herbert Marler is chiefly remembered in the foreign service community for certain foibles of personality and as the inspiration and financial backer of the remarkable property that still serves as the Canadian Embassy residence and chancery in Tokyo. Insights into both are provided by his son in this slim volume, nearly half of which is devoted to the ten years spent by Sir Herbert in the Foreign Service as Canada’s first Minister to Japan and then as Minister to the United States.
The account, which is essentially a family memoir that makes no claim to historical depth, succeeds nevertheless in conveying an impression of Sir Herbert’s character and his not inconsiderable achievement in placing Canada on the map of a Japan poised between its ancient past and the modern world. He was a paradox: a difficult man of uncertain temper held in awe by his family but capable of remarkable acts of kindness as this reviewer, as a child, well remembers. He was Victorian in his attitude to the proprieties, especially in dress, behaviour and protocol, but this must have made his acceptance by the Japanese all the easier. He was meticulous to the point of pedantry but his persistence and attention to detail were positive virtues in this first attempt to forge a new relationship with Japan and without them the Legation would not have been rebuilt.
The rest of the book deals with three generations of Sir Herbert’s ancestors and his own early career. It sketches a background that helps account for the qualities and idiosyncracies that contributed to what was by any standards a most successful life.
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Originally published in bout de papier, Vol. 8, No. 2 (1991) — Spring 1991 // Printemps 1991, pp. 40–41. Read the rest of this issue →
