Vikings of To-Day, W. T Grenfell

Vikings of To-Day, W. T Grenfell

Bibliographic Details

• Author: Wilfred Thomason Grenfell. 

• Full title: Vikings of To-Day: Or, Life and Medical Work among the Fishermen of Labrador.

• Original publication: London: Marshall, 1895. 

• Alternate or later edition: New York/Chicago/Toronto: Fleming H. Revell Company. 

• Format: Illustrated from original photographs; about xvi + ~240 pages. 

Purpose and Content

• Grenfell wrote the book as an account of his early missionary and medical work among the fishing and coastal communities of Labrador. 

• The title “Vikings of To-Day” draws a metaphor: he argues that the hardy fishermen and coastal dwellers of Labrador carry on a spirit of daring, endurance and seafaring akin to the old Norse Vikings. 

• The work combines description of environment (harsh climate, icebergs, remote coastlines), natural history, the social and economic conditions of the fishing communities, and the medical/missional efforts undertaken by Grenfell and his colleagues.

Significance

• For Grenfell the book served not only as a travel/mission narrative but as a tool of advocacy: highlighting the needs of the remote Labrador coast, the harsh living conditions of the populations, and the necessity of medical, social and mission infrastructure. 

• It’s an important historical source for understanding late 19th-century Labrador: the fishing industry, settlement patterns, living conditions, health issues, and the interplay of faith, mission work and geography.

• It also demonstrates the mentality of imperial mission literature of its time: combining adventurous narrative (remote landscape, seafaring, hardship) with missionary zeal and social reform interests.

Usage Tips & Considerations

• When citing this work, check which edition you have (1895 London vs later American/Canadian editions) because pagination or preface might differ.

• Be mindful of its perspective: as a missionary’s account from the 1890s it includes implicit assumptions of its time (colonial, missionary, paternalistic) so use it critically for present-day scholarship.

• If using for historical research on Labrador, you may find the sections on natural features, fishing methods, the “truck system” of commerce (i.e., the credit system binding fishermen to merchants) especially useful. (See chapters in the book about “Just how fish are caught” and “The truck system”.)