Here, collected in a single volume, are the most popular verses of the great English-born Canadian poet. His famous ballads of the Klondike are here: “The Shooting of Dan McGrew,” “The Spell of the Yukon,” and “The Cremation of Sam McGee.” Also included are unforgettable portrayals of the artists, grisettes, and models of the merry, tragic life of bohemian Paris, and other verses inspire by the First World War, during which Service drove an ambulance in France. And not to be overlooked are the many expressions of the poet’s own homespun philosophy—his comments on women, on life and death, ambition, and success and failure, which strike a responsive chord in the reader’s heart. Gaiety, humor, nostalgia, and pathos fill every page, along with the genuine Service ring of virility which has made his verse loved throughout the English reading world.

Over 100 poems portray the trials and tribulations of Gold Rush pioneers, as well as Service's days in France and his experiences serving in World War I in the American Ambulance Corps. Some favorites include, The Cremation of Sam McGee, The Law of the Yukon, The Shooting of Dan McGrew and Bessie's Boil.

Robert Service's time in the Yukon, at first as a transplanted bank clerk and later living off the royalties of poems like "The Shooting of Dan McGrew" and "The Cremation of Sam McGee," is the core of a fascinating life. Starving in Mexico, residing in a

"Andra-Warner has given us a great read with this slim biography. Her story-telling skills excel at distilling historical facts into compelling narrative."—Thunder Bay Chronicle-Review A quick-paced and engaging biography of Canada's favourite northern poet, Robert Service. Born in England in 1874 to Scottish parents, Robert William Service was raised to live the practical life of a banker. Although banking proved a useful skill to fall back on from time to time, Service was destined to pursue a life of poetry, travel, and adventure. After landing on the west coast of North America at the age of twenty-one, Service found his way to Yukon, the place that would capture his heart and imagination for years to come. Despite his many adventures in Europe and around the world, Yukon remained a strong influence on the poet until his death in 1958. His best-known works, including “The Shooting of Dan McGrew” and “The Cremation of Sam McGee,” were inspired by his time there. Focusing on his Yukon period, historian Elle Andra-Warner crafts a vivid story of the poet who defined the North for generations of Canadians.

This volume contains fifty-seven poems by the incomparable Robert Service, including: The Pines; The Spell of the Yukon; Over the Parapet; The Ballad of Blasphemous Bill; The Shooting of Dan McGrew; The Trail of Ninety-Eight; The Cremation of Sam McGee; The Ballad of Pious Pete; The Trapper's Christmas Eve; The Law of the Yukon; The March of the Dead; The Ballad of One-Eyed Mike; Bill the Bomber; The Blind and the Dead; etc.