Billy Topsail and Company

Professor Norman Duncan (1871-1916) was an author, journalist and educator. He was educated in the University of Toronto, graduating in 1895. From 1897 to 1901 Duncan was on the staff of The New York Evening Post. In 1902, he was appointed professor of rhetoric at Washington and Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania, a position he held until 1906, when he became adjunct professor of English literature at the University of Kansas. Duncan made several trips to Newfoundland and Labrador, which he then used as a setting for some of his books, including Doctor Luke of the Labrador (1904) a novel featuring a thinly-veiled Wilfred Grenfell as its protagonist. From 1907 to 1908 he was correspondent of Harper's Magazine in Syria, Palestine, Arabia and Egypt. Duncan published over 20 books, including short stories, novels, and travel journalism. Amongst his works are: The Way of the Sea (1904), Dr. Grenfell's Parish: The Deep Sea Fishermen (1905), Every Man for Himself (1906), The Adventures of Billy Topsail (1906), The Cruise of the Shining Light (1907), The Best of a Bad Job (1912) and Harbor Tales Down North (1918).