Grenfell of Labrador: The Great Adventure

Medical doctor, missionary, fund-raiser and eccentric, Wilfred Grenfell lived a life that sounds more like fiction than reality. Born in England in 1865, he became a Christian missionary and joined the Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen. In 1892 he began cruising the harsh coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador, giving medical services to people accustomed to one annual visit from a government physician. Grenfell went on to build hospitals, an orphanage and nursing stations, financing his many projects through lecture tours and social contacts. He moved with ease among the poor and the powerful. A figure of many contrasts, he was considered a hero, social climber, publicity hound and saint. Pierre Berton wrote and narrates the commentary for this biographical sketch of an adventurous man much beloved in Labrador and Newfoundland.