View source for Andrew Macphail

{{Short description|Canadian physician and writer}}
{{Infobox writer <!-- For more information see [[:Template:Infobox Writer/doc]]. -->
| honorific_prefix = 
| image            = Andrew Macphail 1850419f1.jpg
| alt              = 
| caption          = Macphail, {{circa|1907}}
| pseudonym        = 
| birth_name       = John Andrew Macphail
| birth_date       = {{Birth date|1864|11|24}}
| birth_place      = [[Orwell, Prince Edward Island|Orwell]], [[Prince Edward Island]]
| death_date       = {{Death date and age|1938|09|23|1864|11|24}}
| death_place      = [[Montreal]], [[Quebec]], Canada
| resting_place    = 
| occupation       = 
| language         = English
| education        = 
| alma_mater       = 
| period           = 
| genre            = 
| subject          = 
| movement         = 
| notableworks     = ''Three Persons, The Master's Wife''
| spouse           = Georgina Burlan
| partner          = 
| children         = Jeffrey, Dorothy
| relatives        = 
| awards           = Knighthood, FRSC, Lorne Pierce Medal
| signature        = 
| signature_alt    = 
| website          = 
| portaldisp       = 
}}
'''Sir John Andrew Macphail''', {{Post-nominals|country=CAN|OBE|FRSC|sep=,|size=100}} (November 24, 1864 &ndash; September 23, 1938) was a [[Canadians|Canadian]] physician, author, professor of medicine, and soldier. Macphail was a prolific writer, and an influential intellectual during the early twentieth century.<ref name=belanger>Damien-Claude Bélanger, "[http://faculty.marianopolis.edu/c.belanger/quebechistory/bios/johnamacphail.htm John Andrew Macphail (1864-1938)]," Quebec History, Marianopolis College, Web, Apr. 6, 2011.</ref>

==Life and work==
Macphail was born on November 24, 1864, in [[Orwell, Prince Edward Island|Orwell]], on the family's newly purchased 100-acre farm. His father was William Macphail, a schoolmaster; his mother was Catherine Moore Smith formerly of Newton, P.E.I.

Macphail was educated at Prince of Wales College in Charlottetown, and then at [[McGill University]] in [[Montreal]],<ref name=ross/> where he received his medical degree in 1891.<ref name=about/> While studying at McGill, Macphail wrote a number of reviews and articles for the ''[[Montreal Gazette]]'', the ''[[Chicago Times]]'' and other newspapers. Some of the money from this work was spent on a trip around the world.

Mcphail resumed his studies in England, where he became, a member of the [[Royal College of Surgeons]] and was licensed by the [[Royal College of Physicians]].<ref name="belanger"/>

[[File:Canadian Medical Association Journal first issue.jpg|180px|thumb|First issue of ''Canadian Medical Association Journal'', January 1911.]]
In 1892, Mcphail returned to Canada, and the next year he married Georgina Burland of Montreal. They had two children, Jeffrey and Dorothy.

From 1893 until 1905, Macphail practised medicine and taught at the University of Bishop's College.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}} At Bishop's, he was professor of the diseases of children. Beginning in 1895, he also served as a consulting pathologist at the city's Western and Verdun hospitals.<ref name=cmaj/>

In 1903, he became editor of the ''Montreal Medical Journal''. Eight years later this publication merged with another medical periodical, and Mcphail became editor of the resulting ''[[Canadian Medical Association Journal]]''.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}} He was editor of the ''Journal'' until the outbreak of World War I.<ref name=cmaj/>

He was appointed McGill's first Professor of the [[History of Medicine]] in 1907, and held that position until 1937.<ref name=ross/>

Macphail enlisted in [[World War I]], at age 50, and served at the front with a field ambulance corps for 20 months.<ref name=about>"[http://www.islandregister.com/aboutsir.html Sir Andrew Macphail]," Sir Andrew Macphail Foundation, IslandRegister.com, Web, Apr. 5, 2011.</ref> As a member of the Sixth Field Ambulance, he served in several battles, including Vimy Ridge.<ref name=cmaj/>

==Writing==

Macphail wrote ''The Medical Services'', Volume One of the ''Official History of the Canadian Forces in the Great War''.<ref name=belanger/> His volume was published in 1925 and included criticism of the minister of militia and the surgeon general. It "caused a major controversy in political and military circles."<ref name=cmaj/>
 
He wrote an essay on [[Canadian poetry|Canadian poet]] [[John McCrae]], "An essay in character," for the 1919 edition of McCrae's ''[[In Flanders Fields]] And Other Poems''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archivalcollections.library.mcgill.ca/index.php/andrew-macphail-fonds|title=Andrew Macphail Fonds|last=|first=|date=|website=McGill Library Archival Catalogue|language=en|access-date=2018-02-13}}</ref>

Macphail was also a novelist. ''The vine of Sibmah: a relation of the Puritans'' (1906) is a romantic novel set in the Restoration period. In 1921, he published the first translation of [[Louis Hémon]]'s classic ''[[Maria Chapdelaine]]''.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}

Macphail published four one-act plays: ''The land'' (1914), ''The last rising'' (1930), ''Company'' (1936), and ''The new house'' (1937). None of these were performed.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}} ''The Land'', based loosely on ''The Taming of the Shrew'', decried market speculation, class inequality, and changing family values, and promoted a return to a rural way of life.<ref>"[https://archive.today/20070628120912/http://www.uoguelph.ca/shakespeare/a_theland.cfm The Land: A Play of Character, in One Act with Five Scenes]" (1914), Canadian Adaptations of Shakespeare Project, UOGuelph.ca, Web, Apr. 17, 2011.</ref>

In 1929, Mcphail write a book, ''Three persons'', consisted of detailed reviews of the memoirs written by three First World War authors, including [[T. E. Lawrence]].{{citation needed|date=August 2022}} The reviews received attention in both Canada and Europe; the ''London Mercury'' labelled the book 'the most devastating review published in the last hundred years.'"<ref name=cmaj/>

Throughout his career, Macphail wrote many essays; this literary form gave him an outlet for his forceful personality and ideas.<ref name=cmaj/> His 1905 series, ''Essays in puritanism'', presented biographical studies of literary and religious figures; ''Essays in politics'' in 1903 discussed contemporary political issues concerning connections between Canada and Great Britain; and 1910's ''Essays in fallacy'' consisted of detailed critiques of progressive trends of the day.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}

===''University Magazine''===

Many of Macphail's essays were taken from the ''University Magazine,'' a literary journal which he founded in 1907 and (except for the four years of World War I) edited until its closing in 1920. It has been called "an outstanding Canadian quarterly" by Ian Ross Robertson.<ref name=ross>Ian Ross Robertson, "[https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/sir-andrew-macphail/ Sir Andrew Macphail] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060524182805/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0005015 |date=May 24, 2006 }}" ''Canadian Encyclopedia'' (Edmonton: Hurtig, 1988), 1281.</ref> The [[Governor General of Canada|Governor General]], [[Albert Grey, 4th Earl Grey|Earl Grey]], called it "the best periodical published in Canada." Sponsored by [[Dalhousie University|Dalhousie]], McGill and [[University of Toronto|Toronto]] universities, its contributors included [[Rudyard Kipling]], several cabinet ministers, and many Canadian academics and literary figures such as [[Stephen Leacock]] and [[Marjorie Pickthall]].<ref name=cmaj>"S.E.D. Shortt, "[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1817910/ Sir Andrew Macphail: physician, philosopher, founding editor of CMAJ]," ''CMA Journal'', Vol. 118 (February 4, 1978), 326, Web, Apr. 5, 2011.</ref>

===''The Master's Wife''===
Macphail's book ''The Master's Wife'' was published posthumously, in 1939.<ref name=about/> It is the book to which Macphail "devoted most care, and which he considered his best."<ref name=ross/> Part biography of himself and his family ("The Master" was his father), part history of their community, Orwell, the book has been called "an excellent description of 19th century life on P.E.I., a very important social history of P.E.I.'s past."<ref name=about/>

A facsimile of the 1939 edition is sold by the [[University of Prince Edward Island]]'s Institute of Island Studies, with all profits going to the Sir Andrew Macphail Foundation.<ref name=iis>"[http://projects.upei.ca/iis/files/2014/04/The-Masters-Wife-An-Antipodean-Appreciation.pdf "The Master's Wife by Sir Andrew Macphail] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180202190349/http://projects.upei.ca/iis/files/2014/04/The-Masters-Wife-An-Antipodean-Appreciation.pdf |date=2018-02-02 }}," review by Peter Hay, Institute of Island Studies, Web, Apr. 5, 2011.</ref>

==Recognition==
In January 1918, Macphail received a knighthood for his literary accomplishments and military service.<ref name=ross/>

He was awarded an honorary doctorate from McGill. He received the [[Quebec]] government prize for [[literature]] in 1928.<ref name=cmaj/>

Macphail was elected a Fellow of the [[Royal Society of Canada]] in 1910.<ref name=belanger/> In 1930, the Society awarded him its [[Lorne Pierce Medal]].<ref name=cmaj/>

===Sir Andrew Macphail Homestead===
The Andrew Macphail Foundation preserves his birthplace and its 140-acre property in Orwell as a museum, the Sir Andrew Macphail Homestead.<ref>{{cite web|title=Official site|url=http://macphailhomestead.ca/|publisher=Sir Andrew Macphail Homestead Foundation|accessdate=7 December 2016}}</ref> It is the site of the Macphail Woods Ecological Forestry Project, a joint effort of the Foundation and the Environmental Coalition of Prince Edward Island to preserve the old-growth Acadian Forest covering much of the property.<ref>[http://www.macphailwoods.org/aboutus.html About Us] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110325030201/http://www.macphailwoods.org/aboutus.html |date=2011-03-25 }}, Macphail Woods Ecological Forestry Project, Web, Apr. 5, 2011.</ref>

==Publications==
{{Div col}}
* ''Essays in Politics.'' London, New York: Longman's Green, 1903.<ref name=open>[https://openlibrary.org/search?q=andrew+macphail Search results: Andrew Macphail], Open Library, Web, May 9, 2011.</ref>
* ''Essays in Puritanism''. London: T.F. Unwin, 1905.<ref name=open/>
* ''Essays in Fallacy.'' New York: Longmans Green, 1910.<ref name=open/>
* ''The Book of Sorrow.'' London, New York: Oxford U P, 1916.<ref name=open/>
* ''The Cavendish Lecture on a Day's Work.'' London: Lancet, 1917.<ref name=open/>
* ''Official History of the Canadian Forces in the Great War 1914-1919: The Medical Services.'' Ottawa: Acland, 1925.<ref name=open/>
* ''An Address on American Methods in Medical Education.'' London: British Medical Association, 1927.<ref name=open/>
* ''Three Persons.'' London: J. Murray, 1929.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}
* ''The Bible in Scotland.'' London: J. Murray, 1931.<ref name=open/>
* ''Our Canadian Speech.'' Montreal: La Patrie, 1935.<ref name=open/>
* ''The Master's Wife.'' Toronto: McClelland and Stewart.

'''Fiction and drama'''
* ''The Vine of Sibmah: A Relation of the Puritans''. New York: Macmillan, 1906.<ref name=open/>
* ''The Land''. 1914.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}
* ''The Last Rising''. 1930.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}
* ''Company''. 1936.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}
* ''The New House''. 1937.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}

'''Selected articles'''
* "John Knox and the Church of England," ''The University Magazine,'' Vol. VI, 1907.
* "Loyalty — to What," ''The University Magazine,'' Vol. VI, 1907.
* "The Patience of England," ''The University Magazine,'' Vol. VI, 1907.
* "What Can Canada Do," ''The University Magazine,'' Vol. VI, 1907.
* "The American Woman," Part II, ''The Living Age,'' Vol. CCLIX, 1908.
* "The Dominion and the Spirit," ''The University Magazine,'' Vol. VII, 1908.
* "Protection and Politics," ''The University Magazine,'' Vol. VII, 1908.
* "Why the Conservatives Failed,"  ''The University Magazine,'' Vol. VII, 1908.
* "New Lamps for Old," ''The University Magazine,'' Vol. VIII, 1909.
* "British Diplomacy and Canada," ''The University Magazine,'' Vol. VIII, 1909.
* "The Nine Prophets," ''The University Magazine,'' Vol. VIII, 1909.
* "Canadian Writers and American Politics," ''The University Magazine,'' Vol. IX, 1910.
* "Oxford and Working-class Education," ''The University Magazine,'' Vol. IX, 1910.
* "An Obverse View of Education," ''The University Magazine,'' Vol. IX, 1910.
* "A Voice from the East," ''The University Magazine,'' Vol. IX, 1910.
* "The New Theology," ''The University Magazine,'' Vol. IX, 1910.
* "Certain Varieties of the Apples of Sodom," ''The University Magazine,'' Vol. X, 1911.
* "The Cleaning of the Slate," ''The University Magazine,'' Vol. X, 1911.
* "Confiscatory Legislation," ''The University Magazine,'' Vol. X, 1911.
* "Why the Liberals Failed," ''The University Magazine,'' Vol. X, 1911.
* "The Tariff Commission," ''The University Magazine,'' Vol. XI, 1912.
* "The Cost of Living," ''The University Magazine,'' Vol. XI, 1912. 
* "The Navy and Politics," ''The University Magazine,'' Vol. XII, 1913.
* "Unto the Church," ''The University Magazine,'' Vol. XII, 1913.
* "Theory and Practice," ''The University Magazine,'' Vol. XII, 1913.
* "The Hill of Error," ''The University Magazine,'' Vol. XII, 1913.
* "The Dominion and the Provinces," ''The University Magazine,'' Vol. XII, 1913.
* "Patriotism and Politics," ''The University Magazine,'' Vol. XIII, 1914.
* "On Certain Aspects of Feminism," ''The University Magazine,'' Vol. XIII, 1914.
* "Consequences and Penalties," ''The University Magazine,'' Vol. XIII, 1914.
* "The Day of Wrath," ''The University Magazine,'' Vol. XIII, 1914.
* "Val Cartier Camp," ''The University Magazine,'' Vol. XIII, 1914.
* "An Ambulance in Rest," ''The University Magazine'', Vol. XVI, 1917.
* "In this Our Necessity," ''The University Magazine'', Vol. XVI, 1917.
* "The Conservative," ''The University Magazine,'' Vol. XVIII, 1919.
* "Women in Democracy," ''The University Magazine,'' Vol. XIX, No. 1, 1920.
* "The Immigrant," ''The University Magazine,'' Vol. XIX, No. 2, 1920.

'''Other works'''
* ''In Flanders Fields,'' by [[John McCrae]], with an essay by Andrew Macphail, 1919.
* ''A Vista,'' by John Crichton, with a preface by Andrew Macphail, 1921.
* ''Selected Poems,'' by [[Arthur Bourinot]], with a note by Andrew Macphail, 1935.
{{div col end}}

==References==

* Ian Ross Robertson, ''Sir Andrew Macphail: The Life and Legacy of a Canadian Man of Letters'' (Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2008). {{ISBN|978-0-7735-3419-3}}
* S.E.D. Shortt, ''The Search for an Ideal: Six Canadian Intellectuals and their Convictions in an Age of Transition, 1890-1930'' (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1976).

===Notes===
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Portal|history|biography|Canada}}
{{wikisource|works=or}}
* {{Gutenberg author | id=195| name=Andrew Macphail}}
* {{FadedPage|id=Macphail, Sir Andrew|name=Andrew Macphail|author=yes}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Andrew Macphail}}
* [http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Search/Home?lookfor=%22Macphail,%20Andrew,%20Sir,%201864-1938.%22&type=author&inst= Works by Andrew Macphail], at [[Hathi Trust]]
* {{Librivox author |id=10904}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060524182805/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0005015 Sir Andrew Macphail] at [[The Canadian Encyclopedia]]
* [http://archivalcollections.library.mcgill.ca/index.php/andrew-macphail-fonds Andrew Macphail Fonds] McGill University Library & Archives.

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macphail, Andrew}}
[[Category:1864 births]]
[[Category:1938 deaths]]
[[Category:Anglophone Quebec people]]
[[Category:Canadian Knights Bachelor]]
[[Category:Canadian people of Scottish descent]]
[[Category:Canadian pediatricians]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada]]
[[Category:McGill University Faculty of Medicine alumni]]
[[Category:Academic staff of McGill University]]
[[Category:Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada)]]
[[Category:People from Queens County, Prince Edward Island]]
[[Category:Novelists from Prince Edward Island]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:Canadian male novelists]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian novelists]]
[[Category:Canadian male essayists]]
[[Category:Canadian male dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian essayists]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian male writers]]
[[Category:Canadian Officers of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Novelists from Montreal]]