Fighting Stars

Although Charles Stanfield was a wealthy man he was far from happy. Everything that money could buy was at his command. He had merely to give the order and it would be fulfilled without delay. From a worldly point of view he was an outstanding example of a prosperous man who had fought his way to the top of the ladder of success. By many he was admired for his keen business qualities; by others he was feared and hated. He was considered a hard man, and merciless in any transaction where money was the object of his pursuit.

Though he had written short stories in his younger years, Cody's focus on fiction came later in his life. H.A. Cody published 25 books, in addition to several poems and newspaper articles. In 1927 he was appointed Archdeacon of Saint John; he served until his retirement in 1943. While more commonly recognized for his work in the ministry than for his writing, H.A. Cody was one of Canada's most widely read authors. His publications, like those of the bestselling Ralph CONNOR, were amongst the first to be mass-produced in North America due to their accessible prose, Christian themes and appeal to a broad audience. It was during his time at King's that Cody had his first prose published. 'An Episode of the Miramichi Fire,' published in the King's College Record (Jan 1895), is a story of survival during the great Miramichi fire of 1825. While a student Cody published other work in the Record, including pieces of literary criticism. Some of his more famous novels include The Frontiersman: A Tale of the Yukon (1910), The Long Patrol: A Tale of the Mounted Police (1912) and The King's Arrow: A Tale of the United Empire Loyalists (1922). Most of Cody's novels adhered to the conventions of the adventure genre. He often included romantic sub-plots in an effort to expand his readership beyond men. His faith played an important part in his novels, which always included a Christian message. While H.A. Cody is not considered a pioneer of Canadian...