As the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812 approaches, author Beverley Behan hopes to enthrall readers with a screenplay blending historical events with glamour and a good storyline.
“The problem is that the War of 1812 is often taught in such a dry and boring way that people quickly lose interest in it,” she says.
“That’s the issue I have sought to overcome in creating an exciting, romantic screenplay.”
Behan, who lived in Toronto before relocating to New York for work, wanted to draw people in by taking key figures like Laura Secord, Tecumseh and Isaac Brock and making them relatable in 1812 in Niagara.
She wants to tell the story of the War 1812 from the Canadian side, says writer Beverley Behan.
“These were all absolutely fascinating people who were determined, fearless and terribly romantic,” she says.
“It was time to portray them as such, in a way that readers can relate to them as people rather than stiff historical figures.”
Although the federal government recently announced a $28 million War of 1812 commemoration plan to increase awareness, Behan says sprucing up battlefields and holding reenactments will attract mainstream Canadians only if they are already interested in the war.
“The first stop on this journey has to be to tell the story of the War of 1812 from the Canadian side in a compelling, exciting way that actually captures people’s interest,” she says, adding her screenplay isn’t meant for historians or academics.
“In my mind the real key to accomplishing this is to tell the story in a fun way just as Margaret Mitchell did for the Civil War with Gone with the Wind.”
Although most of the screenplay takes place in Niagara, Behan says one of the most important events of the war was when the White House was burned down in 1814 in retaliation to when Americans burned the Canadian parliament building in York, present day Toronto.
Behan believes her book emerged at the right time to fulfill an important purpose in time for the bi-centennial anniversary of the War of 1812. While 1812 in Niagara isn’t 100 percent historically accurate, she hopes the average person will gain a greater understanding of a significant event in Canadian history.
“The War of 1812 defined Canada as a nation,” she says. “If the American invasion of Canada in 1812 to 1813 had been successful, Canada would not exist as a country, we would be part of the United States.
“It may be the single most important event in Canadian history after the discovery of Canada by Champlain and the entry into Confederation in 1867.”
