The Long Exile

In 1952, the Canadian government forcibly relocated three dozen Inuit from their flourishing home on the Hudson Bay to the barren, arctic landscape of Ellesmere Island, the most northerly landmass on the planet. Among this group was Josephie Flaherty, the unrecognized, half-Inuit son of filmmaker Robert Flaherty, director ofNanook of the North. In a narrative rich with human drama, Melanie McGrath follows three generations of the Flaherty familyRobert, Josephie, and Josephie's daughtersto bring this extraordinary tale of deception and harsh deprivation to life.

Melanie McGrath’s first book, Motel Nirvana, won the John Llewelyn Rhys Prize. Her third book, Silvertown, was short-listed for the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Biography. She is a regular contributor to The Guardian, The Times, The Telegraph, and the Evening Standard and has produced and presented television shows for Discovery Channel and the UK’s Channel 4. She lives and works in London.


From the Hardcover edition.