author
Sir Richard Henry Bonnycastle
1791–1847
A British military engineer who turned firsthand experience into vivid writing about Canada, he is remembered both for defending Kingston in a tense era and for documenting life in British North America with an observant eye.
4 Audiobooks
Canada and the Canadians, Vol. 1
by Sir Richard Henry Bonnycastle
Spanish America, Vol. 1 (of 2)
by Sir Richard Henry Bonnycastle
Canada and the Canadians, Vol. 2
by Sir Richard Henry Bonnycastle
Spanish America, Vol. 2 (of 2)
by Sir Richard Henry Bonnycastle
About the author
Born in Woolwich, England, in 1791, Sir Richard Henry Bonnycastle trained at the Royal Military Academy and joined the Royal Engineers while still young. He served in the War of 1812 and later became an important military figure in Upper Canada.
He is especially associated with Kingston, where he supervised work on Fort Henry and played a leading role in the town's defence during the Rebellions of 1837–38. That service brought him a knighthood, and reference works also describe him as an artist as well as an army officer and military engineer.
As an author, Bonnycastle wrote books that drew on his own observations of British North America. His writing is valued not just for military history, but also for its picture of everyday life, landscape, and society in Canada before his death at Kingston in 1847.