The House in the Water: A Book of Animal Stories (Illustrated Edition) (Dodo Press)

Sir Charles George Douglas Roberts (1860-1943) was a Canadian poet and prose writer. He is known as the "Father of Canadian Poetry" because he served as an inspiration for other writers of his time. In 1879, he earned a BA from the University of New Brunswick and, in the following year, published his first book of poems, Orion and Other Poems. From 1879 to 1895, he worked as a teacher in Chatham and Frederiction, New Brunswick, as editor of the literary magazine, The Week, and as a professor at the University of King's College. It was during this period that he wrote his two best collections of verse, In Divers Tones (1887) and Songs of the Common Day and Ave! (1893). In 1893, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. In 1897, he moved to New York City, where he turned to fiction, especially stories about animals. He also wrote descriptive text for guide books, such as Picturesque Canada. In 1907, he moved to Paris, later moving to London. He served with the British Army during World War I, then later joined the Canadian War Records Office in London.