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The Business of Writing Home: Authorship and the Transatlantic Economies of John Galt’s Literary Circle, 1807-1840 by Jennifer Anne Scott M.A. (English), Simon Fraser University, 2006 B.A. (Hons.), University of Winnipeg, 2005 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of English Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Jennifer Anne Scott 2013 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Summer 2013 Approval Name: Jennifer Anne Scott Degree: Doctor of Philosophy (English) Title of Thesis: The Business of Writing Home: Authorship and the Transatlantic Economies of John Galt’s Literary Circle, 1807-1840. Examining Committee: Chair: Jeff Derksen Associate Professor Leith Davis Senior Supervisor Professor Carole Gerson Senior Supervisor Professor Michael Everton Supervisor Associate Professor Willeen Keough Internal Examiner Associate Professor Department of History Kenneth McNeil External Examiner Professor Department of English Eastern Connecticut State University Date Defended/Approved: May 16, 2013 ii Partial Copyright Licence iii Abstract This dissertation examines nineteenth-century Scottish author John Galt’s dialogue with the political economics of his time. In particular, I argue that both in his practices as an author and through the subject matter of his North American texts, Galt critiques and adapts Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations (1776). Galt’s critique of Smith becomes evident when we examine the relationship between his engagement with political economy in his most important North American literary texts and his overt political interests, specifically those concerning transatlantic land development and colonial expansion, a project he pursued with the Canada Company. In Chapter One, I examine John Galt’s role with the Canada Company. Through a literary analysis of the Canada Company coat-of-arms and charter, I argue that the Canada Company ideologies were written into the very language of the charter as well as reflected in the imagery on the coat-of-arms. In Chapter Two, I examine the group of writers Galt employed in the Canada Company and the texts they wrote as a result of their work in Upper Canada. I argue that this coterie of Canada Company author-agents deployed the British periodical press to promote the Canada Company and its land speculation in Upper Canada. In Chapter Three, I turn to Galt’s most explicit critique of Adam Smith: his 1830 novel, Lawrie Todd. I argue that Lawrie Todd should be read as an adaptation of The Wealth of Nations that ultimately provides a model for British emigration that accommodates a desire for continued British national loyalty. In Chapter Four, I turn to Smith’s theory of authorship as being unproductive labour and examine Galt’s lengthy response to this categorization found in his 1831 novel, Bogle Corbet. I argue that through Bogle Corbet, we can see the central role of a transatlantic literary marketplace for successful middle-class North-American emigration. The project concludes with an evaluation of Galt’s correspondence with British politician Robert Peel. In this correspondence, Galt makes explicit the need for a literary periodical to respond to British political unrest. Keywords: John Galt; the Canada Company; The Wealth of Nations; transatlantic literature; authorship; nineteenth-century literature iv Acknowledgements This project is indebted to a literary community that is as intricate, multifaceted, and transatlantic as the community of authors I treat in the dissertation. First thanks must go to my supervisors, Dr. Leith Davis and Dr. Carole Gerson, without whose unwavering support and wisdom this dissertation would never have been finished. My third reader, Dr. Michael Everton has been generous in time, knowledge, and spirit throughout the last stages of my project. Particular thanks to my external readers, Dr. Willeen Keough, Department of History, Simon Fraser University and Dr. Kenneth McNeil, Department of English, Eastern Connecticut State University for their time and insight. I have been fortunate to have had the support of many mentors throughout my research program, and I would like to especially thank Dr. David Finkelstein, Department of English, University of Dundee, and Dr. Margaret Linley, Department of English, Simon Fraser University. Thank you to Dr. Geoff Mann, Department of Geography, Simon Fraser University for helping me through Adam Smith. The collegiality in the English Department at Simon Fraser University has made even the most arduous writing days of this project that much more pleasurable. Particular thanks to Jeff Derksen, Carolyn Lesjak, Christa Gruninger, Maureen Curtin, Elaine Tkaczuk, Wendy Harris, and Kathy Ward. This project and all of the archival research it entailed would not have been possible without the financial support of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Dean of Graduate Studies office at Simon Fraser University, the Centre for Scottish Studies at Simon Fraser University and the English Department at Simon Fraser University. In Britain, Cath and Alex McBride opened their home to me in the earliest days of archival research for the project. Without their kindness and generosity, this dissertation would not have been possible. Simone and Robbie Best and Bob and Marlies Best have driven me to and from train stations more times than I can count, listened to complaints about eye strain, and opened their homes to me for weeks on end. Robin Koshyk and Dan Wong made multiple trips to the British Library possible by opening their London v home to me and providing me with a quiet writing space in the final stages of this dissertation. Thank you. The librarians I have been lucky to learn from have met my questions with patience, scoured archival records with me, and helped me decipher John Galt’s horrendous handwriting. Thanks to Rebecca Dowson, Yolanda Kolcielski, and Nancy Blake, Simon Fraser University, the librarians in the North Reading Room at the National Library of Scotland, the librarians at the Mitchell Library, Glasgow, the British Library, Senate House Library University of London, the London Metropolitan Archive, and the London Guildhall Library. Thank you to my friends, who believed in this project and in my ability to complete it. I have been blessed with a supportive, generous, and thoughtful community. Marc Acherman, Erin Altomare, Ralph Ball, Ranbir Banwait, Kyle Carpenter, Brigitte Catellier, Livia Chan, Crystal Chokshi, Sarah Creel, Robert Daignault, Kim Driedger, Mich Driedger, Kyla Hingwing, Alison Hurlburt, Erin Keating, Heather Latimer, Sandy Leppky, Alison McDonald, Aidan McQuay, Derek Menard, Jasmine Nicholsfiguerido, Carina Nilsson, Danny Pierson, Kevin Partridge, Tasha Patterson, David Phillips, Emma Pink, Matt Rohweder, Jodie Salter, Karen Selesky, Adrienne Smith, Naava Smolash , Anne Stewart, and Soizic Wadge. To my collaborator and friend, Jasper Schelstraete, for many long distance conversations that helped me work through the final draft of this project, and chapter three especially. To Sarah Bull, for endless conversations about archival research, the difficulty of managing primary source materials, and introducing me to the Marquis de Cornwallis pub. To Amanda Bird, for always answering the phone. To Lian Beveridge, for providing much-needed perspective and reminding me that this project was worth doing. To Myka Tucker-Abramson, for everything. To Christine Lyons, Graham Lyons, Ellis Lyons, and Katherine Crowe, my patient and understanding housemates who lived with me even when I didn’t want to live with myself, made me food, brought me wine, walked my dog, and did a million other things to support me over the years. Thank you. vi Thank you to Piedade, Isabel, and Elisa Coelho who make raising a child while finishing a dissertation possible. To my dear sister, Lindsay Scott, and Michael Jamieson, my in-laws, Tom and Judy Kearns, and my grandmother, Margaret Kilburn, thank you for believing in me. My grandmother, Dorothy Scott, introduced me to Victorian literature and was a kindred spirit. I wish she could have been here to see this project in its completion. To my son Julian Scott-Kearns, who was born in the midst of my programme, thank you for sharing your earliest years with this document. To my parents, Peter and Janine Scott, who have been so supportive of me in every way throughout my programme. I couldn’t have done this without you. My most heartfelt thanks must be given over to my partner, Riley Kearns. His support has taken all forms, from driving me to the airport for yet another archival research trip, to scanning Microfiche, to correcting comma splices, to sight-translating Latin phrases late into the night. He makes my work and our wonderful life together possible, and this dissertation is dedicated to him. vii Table of Contents Approval .......................................................................................................................... ii Partial Copyright Licence ............................................................................................... iii Abstract .......................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................... v Table of Contents .......................................................................................................... viii Introduction

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