The historical Ralph Connor Memorial United Church, built in 1890-91, was named in 1942, after its founder and first minister, Rev. Charles W Gordon, who later wrote stories and novels under his pen name, Ralph Connor.
Dr. Gordon wrote his first novel Black Rock in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Based on his experiences in Canmore and Banff, this was the first of over 35 novels that catapulted him to international fame as a literary figure.
He also wrote a biography of the Rev. James Robertson, Superintendent of Presbyterian Missionaries in Western Canada as well as his own autobiography, ‘Postscript to Adventure’.
The pen name was adopted as it was at that time, considered ‘improper’ for a minister to write novels.
The Full List of Books by Ralph Connor
1894 Beyond the Marshes
1898 Black Rock
1898 Gwen’s Canyon* – reprinted as Gwen
1889 The Sky Pilot
1900 Michael McGrath – Postmaster – reprinted as Ould Michael
1901 Man from Glengarry
1902 Glengarry School Days
1902 The Cape and its Story
1903 The Pilot at Swan Creek
1904 Breaking the Record
1904 Gwen
1904 The Prospector*
1904 The Swan Creek Blizzard
1906 The Doctor* – reprinted as The Doctor of Crow’s Nest
1908 The Life of James Robertson
1909 The Dawn by Galilee
1908 The Angel & The Star
1909 The Foreigner
1909 The Settler
1910 The Recall of Love
1912 Corporal Cameron of the North West Mounted Police
1914 The Patrol of the Sun Dance Trail
1917 The Major
1919 Sky Pilot in No Man’s Land
1921 To Him That Hath
1923 Gaspards of Pine Croft
1925 Treading the Wine Press
1926 The Friendly Four and Other Stories
1929 The Runner
1931 The Rock and the River
1932 The Arm of Gold
1933 The Girl From Glengarry
1934 Torches Through The Bush
1935 The Rebel Loyalist
1936 The Gay Crusader
1936 He dwelt Among Us*
1938 Postscript to Adventure
*Autographed copies in our collection
**Updated 2022 – Our collection is only missing The Cape and its Story
In June 2016 the Church received a donation from the Estate of Helen Spence of Olds, Alberta.
This collection added 21 new books to our collection. These included an autographed signed copy (by Charles W. Gordon) of The Prospector and a copy of The Gay Crusader of which we did not have in our collection.
Thank you to the Spence Estate.
Read the following books online at online-literature.com
Black Rock
Corporal Cameron of the North West Mounted Police
Glengarry Schooldays
The Doctor
The Foreigner
The Major
The Man From Glengarry
The Patrol of the Sun Dance Trail
The Prospector
The Sky Pilot in No Man’s Land
The Sky Pilot: A Tale of the Foothills
To Him That Hath
Michael McGrath, Postmaster
Beyond the Marshes