The Violin Teacher by the late Marjorie Devine is the life story of Guelph violin teacher and piper William Thain, told through his daily journals from 1901-1958 that Devine faithfully transcribed.
The book will appeal to history and music buffs alike as William Thain’s long and rich life, and local Guelph and Toronto as well as national and world events unfold in his short daily musings in his handwritten journals. It is a limited edition printing of 464 pages with colour images.
“William Thain’s first-person account of a life lived, in music, moving pictures, and major events, told over six-decades is keenly transcribed by Marjorie Devine, who sensed in the worn leather bindings, a rare opportunity to know a person, in their own words, and to know a place, the way that they knew it. In this volume, Devine preserves Thain’s voice and provides local historians with a curated story of his life in Guelph, between 1898 and 1958. Devine is owed a debt of gratitude for her dedication in transcribing it.” – Dawn Owen, Curator, Guelph Museums
