Could it be possible, asks Mark Finnan, that Prince Henry Sinclair, Admiral of the Seas, Lord Chief Justice of Scotland, and vassal of the Norwegian king, sailed to Nova Scotia, in 1398. Could this unknown Scottish Lord have founded settlements and left unique structures that have their origins in mystical architecture, as well as becoming the basis for the legendary character of Gooscap in Mi'kmaq mythology? The Nova Scotia historian tells an entertaining tale of Sinclair's life that is sure to convince many readers that Nova Scotia was indeed founded by a Scot two hundred years before Champlain established his settlement. Others may be more skeptical, but they will be intrigued by his research and respectful of his dogged quest.

      Although many Canadian history teachers and students will find Finnan's book intriguing, it deserves a wider audience. He has created a full-bodied historical figure in Prince Henry. If this adventurer prince's story had been limited to his Nova Scotia exploits, it would have been of interest only to Sinclair clansman and sea-loving antiquarians. However, Finnan fashions a multi-dimensional character in this fourteenth century knight-errant and captures much of the spirit of that turbulent time in European history. Sinclair we learn was an adherent of the once powerful and mystical order of the Knights Templar who had been declared heretics by the French king. He fought in the crusades and traveled the known world, was an initiate of the Grail legend and the mysteries of the East, and rose to power in the bleak windswept islands of northern Scotland. This Lord of the Orkney Isles was truly a remarkable medieval man.

      Reading this book should convince students that history is not a dead and moldering subject. Instead, they may see that history is open to new speculations and interpretations that freshen our perspectives of the past, enlivens our imaginations and frees us from the strictures of the dreaded oxymoron, conventional wisdom.

Recommended.