The acclaimed writer and Globe and Mail columnist Roy MacGregor discusses Northern Light: The Enduring Mystery of Tom Thomson and the Woman Who Loved Him (Random House, 2010), with Joseph Planta.

Northern Light: The Enduring Mystery of Tom Thomson and the Woman Who Loved Him by Roy MacGregor. (Random House, 2010) Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Northern Light

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line. In Vancouver, this is THECOMMENTARY.CA.

One of the country’s finest writers joins me now. Roy MacGregor is on again to discuss his newest book: Northern Light: The Enduring Mystery of Tom Thomson and the Woman Who Loved Him. It’s an engrossing book, reading like a novel in parts about one of Canada’s iconic artists Tom Thomson. This tells Thomson’s story, namely it breaks down the mystery of his death. In July 1917, at the age of 39, Thomson’s swollen body was found in Canoe Lake in Ontario’s Algonquin Park. Since then there’s been fierce debate as to whether it was a murder, a suicide, or an accident. He was buried at the lake, and in 1956, his remains were exhumed and buried in Leith, Ontario, where it’s a major tourist draw today. In this book, MacGregor looks at Thomson’s relationship with one Winnifred Trainor, what sort of relationship it was and whether she was carrying his child. This book is such a fascinating read because it has everything, art, mystery, forensics, romance, a cover-up, maybe murder, suicide perhaps. Roy MacGregor is an award winning writer and a columnist for the Globe and Mail. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada, and his previous books have been bestsellers, as well as prize nominees, if not winners too. He was on last for his book Canadians: A Portrait of a Country and Its People, one of my favourite books of all time. He was also related to Winnie Trainor. Northern Light is published by Random House. From Toronto, this day, please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Roy MacGregor; Good morning, Mr. MacGregor.

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