As previous columns have documented, Lowertown has produced and continues to produce many significant resident authors. As well, non-residents apply their skills to documenting our community’s colourful history and ongoing vibrancy. This column focuses on two recently published works.
Lerzan Kaythan Ünal, the wife of the former Turkish Ambassador, authored “A Tale of Two Houses published in 2018. This book is a wonderfully documented and illustrated history of 197 Wurtemburg Street (Turkish Embassy) and 3 Crescent Road (Official Residence of the Turkish Ambassador). Like Earnscliffe at the opposite side of Lowertown, this imposing Wurtemburg building reflects the grand aspirations of residents in the mid 1800s.
In commenting on her reasons for writing the book, the author observed that upon arrival to Canada: “I not only admired the chancery and the residence that are home to my country, but wanted to learn more about their history. During this time, I started to learn about those people whose paths crossed through these two beautiful buildings as well.”
With reference to 197 Wurtemburg, she emphasized that “the more I read and learnt about Lowertown, the more I loved it. The first house at 197 Wurtemburg Street, still serving as the Turkish Embassy, is a historical building constructed in 1869. It almost witnessed everything in Ottawa regarding Canadian history. It has been used as both chancery and residence by Turkey between 1953 and 1999. Apart from serving as Ottawa Children’s Hospital for a long time, there are a lot of people who once lived there: the then Commissioner of Fisheries, Liberal MPs, Conservative Senators, Private Secretary of Princess Juliana of the Netherlands in exile, Chief of the General Staff, many Consul Generals and Trade Commissioners from the US, UK, Japan were among them.”
François Mai who lives on Boteler Street at the opposite end of Lowertown authored “Father Unknown” in 2017. This historical novel is set primarily in 18th and 19th France. The main story revolves around Marcel and his family in a country struggling in the pre and post revolutionary days leading to the creation of the Republic. However, the book also touches on Canadian ties with France. The first chapter deals with the Plains of Abraham while later chapters touch on the life of priests and exiled French royalists such as Comte de Puisaye with a brief encounter with Joseph Papineau.
In addition to writing fiction, the author has a notable background as a published academic psychiatrist. His creativity also extends to music as a pianist. In the 1990s, he recorded CDs of classical and jazz music to raise funds for the Schizophrenia Society of Ontario. In 2007, he wrote “Diagnosing Genius, The Life and Death of Beethoven” describing the famous musician’s medical and psychiatric problems and the effects on his creativity.