First published in 1952, The Bruce Beckons was immediately acclaimed as a delightful guide to a uniquely beautiful and fascinating part of Ontario. Separating Georgian Bay from Lake Huron, the Bruce Peninsula's remarkable natural history and richly varied wildlife today continue to draw thousands of visitors every year. W. Sherwood Fox, a distinguished scholar who was for twenty years president of the University of Western Ontario, knew and loved the Bruce’s history and its folklore throughout his life. During his retirement he served several years as honorary president of the Federation of Ontario Naturalists.

William Sherwood Fox, M.A., Ph.D., D.Litt., F.R.S.C., is President of the University of Western Ontario.

William Fox's profile page

'It is told as such a tale should be told, through the remembered things of those who lived there, through the things of the land and the waters ... a well-loved land seen through understanding eyes.'

Saturday Night

'An ardent and sympathetic treatment of an interesting and unusual region. Those who know and love the Bruce will enjoy comparing notes with the author, and those who have not yet had that privilege will surely be driven to explorations in that district.'

London Free Press

'Fox is an excellent guide through "hard land and moody waters"... He describes the fascinating natural wonders of the Bruce Peninsula, the folklore and the facts. There are pages about adventure and murder and mayhem, about rattlesnakes and shipwrecks, about winds and fogs on the inland seas, about brave parsons and the bad rascals like the moonshining Bradley boys, about the delights of success and the heartbreaks of failure among the people in the land below Tobermory, the rocks on the cold hills, and the lilacs by the doors of the houses that were not abandoned.'

Michigan History