BOUSFIELD, (Gerald) Arthur (Harvey) 1943-

PERSONAL: Born September 29, 1943, in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada; son of Gerald Edmund Wheeler (a manager) and Dorothy Phyllis (Starr) Bousfield. Ethnicity: "English and Anglo-Irish." Education: University of Guelph, B.A. (with honors), 1966; University of Toronto, M.A., 1969. Politics: Conservative. Religion: Anglican Catholic. Hobbies and other interests: Anglo-Irish literature, genealogy, walking.

ADDRESSES: Home—Flat 321, 24 Links Rd., Toronto, Ontario, Canada M2P 1T6. Offıce—Fealty Enterprises, Fealty Heritage Centre, 3050 Yonge St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4N 2K6; fax: 416-544-8082. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Research assistant to biographer Esther Fraser, 1971-73; Monarchy Canada, editor, 1975—. Canadian Royal Heritage Trust, historian, 1994—; Fealty Enterprises (heritage consultants and administrators), partner. Riverdale Hospital, member of board of governors, 1989-95.

MEMBER: Monarchist League of Canada (founding member; Toronto chair, 1977-80, 1994; vice chair, 1979—; member of board of directors, 1980—).

AWARDS, HONORS: Queen's 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal, 1992.

WRITINGS:

(With Mary Beacock Fryer and Garry Toffoli) Lives of the Princesses of Wales, Dundurn Press (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1983.

(Editor, with Garry Toffoli) Loyalist Vignettes andSketches, Dundurn Press (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1984.

(With Garry Toffoli) Royal Spring: The Royal Tour of1939, Dundurn Press (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1989.

(With Garry Toffoli) Royal Observations: Canadians and Royalty Dundurn Press (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1991.

(Editor, with Garry Toffoli) Canada's Kings andQueens, Dundurn Press (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1993.

(With Garry Toffoli) The Queen Mother and HerCentury, Dundurn Press (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 2000, published as Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, 1900-2002, 2002.

(With Garry Toffoli) Fifty Years the Queen: A Tribute to Elizabeth II on Her Golden Jubilee, Dundurn Press (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 2002.

WORK IN PROGRESS: An illustrated history of the clubs of Canada; research on the "gentleman emigrant" families of Ontario.

SIDELIGHTS: Arthur Bousfield told CA: "Reared in a family with a literary tradition and an interest in public affairs, I became fascinated with history as a child, partly influenced by that stirring contemporary spectacle, the Coronation of 1953. Becoming a writer, however, was a development that occurred somewhat unexpectedly, mainly through involvement in the Monarchist League of Canada, a national patriotic organization, and its then-magazine Monarchy Canada. As a writer I see my vocation as that of exposing readers to the curative, rewarding, and enjoyable qualities of history. Many of my books were written to give Canadians a greater awareness of their country's identity as a hereditary, constitutional monarchy.

"Influences on my writing range from friends with specialized knowledge of the subjects I deal with to the guidance of my publisher. The fact that all my life I have been a reader of the classics, not only the great classics of English literature, but also those of other western cultures in translation, has had some effect, too.

"Writing is hard work. For me it has more to do with discipline than mood or inspiration. I like to think about a topic at length before attempting to settle down and write about it, but writing has taught me that it is possible to do your research as you write, although that is not my preferred method. From the act of writing I derive satisfaction and fulfillment."