The Innocent Canadian by John Delacourt #theinnocentcanadian @johndelacourt1 #bookreview #historical #spyfiction #canada

 

The Innocent Canadian is a literary spy thriller and murder mystery inspired by a hidden chapter of Canadian literary history. 

At its heart is the decades-long romance between Canadian diplomat Charles Ritchie and Anglo-Irish novelist Elizabeth Bowen, which began in wartime London when Ritchie was stationed at Canada House and Bowen worked for Britain’s Ministry of Information. 

During that same period, Bowen wrote The Heat of the Day—a haunting and original spy novel. But could her inspiration have come from real-life entanglements too complex or dangerous to name? 

Picking up where history and fiction blur, The Innocent Canadian imagines a world of covert alliances, Nazi sympathisers, and 'America First' conspirators, reclaiming a forgotten thread of World War II intrigue to tell a distinctly Canadian story of romance, loyalty, and quiet heroism—one with striking resonance for our times.

The Innocent Canadian by John Delacourt was published on 5 April 2026 by Now Or Never Publishing. My thanks to the author who sent my copy for review. 

I've just spent a wonderful ten days in the Canadian Rockies - I do love that country. I am always eager to read books set in places that I am travelling to, I read The Innocent Canadian before my trip. 

The Innocent Canadian by John Delacourt is an interesting blend of historical fiction, espionage, murder mystery and romance, set against the uncertainty of wartime London.

What particularly interested me was the author's inspiration behind the novel. He has drawn upon the real-life relationship between Canadian diplomat Charles Ritchie and Anglo-Irish novelist Elizabeth Bowen, and created fictional characters around this fascinating piece of literary history. I knew nothing about Ritchie before reading this, and the historical connection really added something to the story for me.

Bill Davenant is the Canadian of the title, a diplomat working at Canada House who finds himself drawn into a world far removed from the everyday business of diplomacy. Colette Cluny is a writer working for the Ministry of Information, and their developing relationship unfolds alongside a story of espionage, divided loyalties and political intrigue.

I thought the author portrayed wartime London really well. This is a city living with the threat of bombing and invasion, yet people continue to work, socialise, gossip and fall in love. There is also an interesting look at the attitudes of the times, particularly the uncomfortable presence of Nazi sympathisers within sections of British society.

At times I found there was quite a lot to take in. There are numerous characters, political connections and historical references, and I occasionally had to stop and remind myself who was who. The pacing is fairly steady too, so anyone expecting a fast-moving spy thriller may find this rather different. For me, it worked best when concentrating on Davenant and Colette and their experiences as they work their way through this complicated world.

I liked the Canadian perspective. Davenant is something of an outsider in British society, and viewing its class structures and peculiarities through his eyes gives the novel an interesting angle.

The Innocent Canadian is an intelligent and thoughtful historical novel, well suited to readers who enjoy literary fiction alongside their espionage. An intriguing mixture of fact and imagination that also encouraged me to find out more about the real people who inspired it.

John Delacourt is the author of five novels. A graduate of the Humber School for Writers, his short fiction and literary criticism have appeared in The New Quarterly, The Danforth Review, The Literary Review of Canada, Ottawa Citizen, Ottawa Life Magazine, and The Ottawa Review of Books. 

He lives and writes in Ottawa.i

s an Ottawa writer and government relations consultant whose fiction has appeared in numerous publications in Canada and the U.S. . His criticism and political commentary have appeared in the Rover, the Ottawa Review of Books, Ottawa Citizen, Ottawa Life,  iPolitics, the Hill Times and Policy magazine. He studied at the Humber School for Writers after graduating with an MA in English Literature from the University of Toronto.
His sixth novel The Innocent Canadian will be published in April of 2026 in Canada.