The Eternal Forest

George Godwin (1889-1974) and his wife Dorothy immigrate to Canada in 1912. They remain for four years then return to England for good. “The Eternal Forest” tells the story of their life in Whonnock, a small rural community on the north bank of the lower Fraser River. It is not clear why the Godwins choose Whonnock. It might have been just a whim. Whatever the case, they buy land, clear it, build a house and then try unsuccessfully to make a living from fruit farming. When they attempt to sell their house they fail. (The rest of their story is told in a sequel, "Why stay we here?" (1931). “The Eternal Forest” will appear years later, in 1929. It had good reviews in England but only one printing. Godwin’s great-nephew, Robert Thomson, reprinted the book in 1994 and added several things: a preface by George Woodcock, archival photos, footnotes, and 19 pages from Godwin’s private journal. (In 2002 Thomson also reprinted “Why stay we here?”) There are three main facets to "The Eternal Forest": (a) the Godwins’ struggle to make a living; (b) their somewhat eccentric neighbors in Whonnock; (c) Godwin’s critique of the political, social and economic realities of Canada. He attacks mendacious advertising in real estate and the oil industry; the perplexing boom and bust economic cycles; corruption in the provincial government; the unfairness of Canada’s immigration policy which bans East Indian women; the ghettoization of the Chinese in Vancouver; the low cost of Chinese labor which makes it hard to compete with them; the widespread fears among white settlers that the Japanese receive hidden subsidies from the Tokyo government, etc. On the positive side of the ledger Godwin appreciates the relative unimportance of social standing in Canadian society and the generosity of neighbors. The Swede Johannson helps him clear his land and build a house. The radical Dunn offers friendship and knowledge and the two spend many hours discussing what Canada has become and how far she falls short of her potential. Godwin is enchanted with the great beauty of the Fraser Valley rain forest and spends many hours in it as he reflects on his life, past, present and future. Two of the best reviews to appear on “The Eternal Forest” were written by Brian Elliott and Claire Butler. Here are some snippets from Elliott in BC Studies (summer of 1996): “There are the resourceful Olsens who have all the skills to endure and prosper in the wilderness; the patient Swede, Johansson, who helps Godwin build a house; Old Man Dunn with his socialist and cooperative views; the voluptuous Mrs. Armstrong who runs a boarding house-cum brothel; the vicar’s wife who alientates the whole village with her snobbery; Blanchard the gossipy storekeeper; Stein the Austrian, a model farmer and voyeur. who will suffer ostracizing from 1914 on. On the margins of this society we read of others, identified as Red Men, Orientals, Japs, and Hindus, viewed by the settlers with condescension, but also with fear.” Claire Butler in National History (2000) writes this: “The descriptive passages of the surrounding forest are beautifully written, sensual and evocative. We see it through the Newcomer’s [Godwin’s] eyes, in all seasons and moods: the alluring shimmer of summer; the drumming of rain in the bush; the feel of a damp forest floor. It is here that Godwin’s spiritual self finds genuine succor, for the forest ‘got hold of you and made you think, it gave you your place in the universe, taught you the significance and the insignificance of man; it whispered of God’. This is the forest of Emily Carr’s paintings: rhythmic, animate, a world of secrets and mysteries. (…) This book is that rarest of historical sources: disturbingly relevant." For further details about both books visit Thomson’s website: www.godwinbooks.com

Godwin was born into a large middle-class British family (4 brothers, 3 sisters). At age five he loses his father. He attends private schools (Glenrock, St. Lawrence College) but is so unhappy there that his mother sends him to school in Dresden where he stays with his older sister who is studying voice at the conservatory. Godwin thrives in Germany, learns German, makes good friends and develops a lifelong passion for Goethe, Schiller and Wagner. Godwin’s positive experiences in Germany account for his sympathetic attitude towards German soldiers in Why stay we here? Upon his return to England Godwin works in a bank and studies law by correspondence course. For reasons unknown he sets off for British Columbia in 1912. He sends for his fiancée Dorothy, marries her, and they attempt (unsuccessfully) to make a living fruit farming in Whonnock. This is described in The Eternal Forest. With the outbreak of war in 1914 the Godwins resist involvement and become recluses. By 1916, however, they realize that they must return to England. Godwin signs on with the Canadian Army and sees action in France. After 18 months he is invalided out with T.B. and sent to B.C. to recuperate at a sanitorium. In 1920 Godwin returns to England, finishes his legal studies and settles down to practice law at the Middle Temple. He will lead a productive life, practising law, raising a family (four boys, one girl) and writing books, 17 of them in all, four of which touch on Canada: The Future of Canada (1928); The Eternal Forest (1929); Why stay we here? (1931); and Vancouver, a Life (a biography of the famous mariner), also in 1931. All of Godwin’s books were out of print until his great-nephew, Robert Thomson, reprinted The Eternal Forest (in 1994) and Why stay we here? (in 2002). Thomson added several things to the original editions: an introduction, a preface, a table of contents, footnotes and archival photographs. See www.godwinbooks.com for sample passages, reviews, etc.