Bertrand William Sinclair was a Canadian novelist known for a series of westerns set in the United States, and also for a series of novels set in his home province of British Columbia.
Background
Sinclair was born 9 January 1881 in Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom He was the son of George Bertrand and Robina (Williamson) Sinclair. His name at birth was William Brown Sinclair, but he changed it, adopting his father"s middle name as his first name. He emigrated to Canada with his mother in 1889.
Career
At age 14 Sinclair ran away to Montana and became a cowboy for the next seven years. In 1903 he left Montana for Seattle and San Francisco, but returned to Montana, living in Great Falls for the next three years. In 1905 he first published stories.
Bower, a very prolific novelist, taught him to write "productively" and to employ a formula.
Sinclair and B. M. Bower had one daughter. By 1908 Sinclair and Bower had moved to Santa Cruz, California.
They divorced in 1912. They had a child in 1912, a daughter.
The Sinclairs moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, ultimately settling in Pender Harbour.
Sinclair lived in Pender Harbour until his death. Sinclair"s first series of work took place in Montana. Sinclair had disapproved of previous westerns he had read because he felt the action portrayed was far different that the lives cowboys actually led.
He tended to write about social causes, and worked in the timber industry prior to writing Big Timber.
Later, before writing about the fishing industry, he worked as a commercial fisherman and then wrote Poor Manitoba"s Rock. Later in life, from 1936-1966, he worked full-time as a licensed commercial fisherman.
In writing about the outdoors, Sinclair was influenced in his portrayals by Jack London. Over the years 1905-1940 Sinclair wrote over 60 stories and 11 "novelettes".