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Barkskins is a 2016 novel by American writer Annie Proulx. It tells the story of two immigrants to New France, René Sel and Charles Duquet, and of their descendants.[1] It spans over 300 years and witnesses the deforestation of the New World from the arrival of Europeans into the contemporary era of global warming.[2][3]

Key Information

Plot

[edit]

The eponymous "barkskins" are indentured servants, transported from Paris slums to the wilds of New France in 1693, "... to clear the land, to subdue this evil wilderness," (p. 17) according to their master, a seigneur. The two men are contracted for three years of service to earn land of their own, but Charles Duquet runs away at the first opportunity, seeking to make a fortune for himself in the fur trade or by any means he can. René Sel, on the other hand, dutifully wields the axe clearing farmland for the master. Later, he is forced to marry the master’s cast off Mi’kmaq woman, Mari, a healer who gives him children. The Sel family heritage is thus Indigenous and working class.

Duquet, luckily surviving his escape through the wilderness, has a fortune to make, mostly on furs and lumber, and by swindling others whenever he can get away with it. Only then will he marry the daughter of a Dutch business partner, open an office in Boston, therefore Anglicizing the family name to Duke, and father or adopt the boys who will build the Duke & Sons timber empire after him.

All the while, for the Sel family, there is unceasing discontent. The young are always seeking their future as First Nations people in a whiteman's world. Indigenous lumbermen, for example, were always recruited for river work balancing on the longest logs rushing down a river where an awkward move could get a man crushed before he drowned.(p. 299)

Major themes

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Nature

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Human struggles with nature are a recurring theme in Annie Proulx's books.[4] About the forest in Barkskins, Proulx said, "It's the underpinning of life. Everything is linked to the forest. This is but one facet of larger things, like climate change and the melting of the ice. So deforestation is part of a much, much larger package."[2]

Borders

[edit]

As noted in her memoir, Bird Cloud, [5] Annie Proulx grew up in New England, attended college in Canada, and had a lifelong practice of spending summers in Newfoundland and winters in the States. Thus, she was well acquainted with the geography of the novel and familiar with national and cultural borderlands. Proulx herself descended from English Americans on her mother's side and French Canadians on her father's, which makes her "mixed", although not to the same degree as the Sels in Barkskins.[6] For the Sel family, the whiteman's cultural borders were closed to them in many ways because the borders of their homelands were never closed enough.

Reception

[edit]

With few exceptions, reviewers praised the novel particularly with regard to the brilliance of Annie Proulx’s prose, the intimately detailed scenes by which she reveals the complex inner lives of her characters, and/or breathtaking scenes of fearful destruction as well as awesome beauty. The forests and deforestation of the New World underlie the epic scope of the book, while human adventures range beyond the central concerns of forest ecology and the logging industry. The narrative is partitioned into books that turn the reader’s attention to one family or another across generations.[1][4][7][8][9][10][11][12]

Some reviewers thought the sweeping epic scope of the work created a faulty or difficult structure for the novel as a whole.[4][13][14] Several expressed disappointment that the passage of so many years seemed to shorten the time given to the portrayals of some promising characters, especially toward the end of the book.[1][7][13][14] Some inconsistencies were noted; for example, changes in the diction of a Native American character's speech within a single episode.[4][14] The didactic nature of the theme was both applauded and faulted. A few reviewers thought it undercut the narrative perspective at times, imposing a good vs. evil dichotomy.[4][13][14] Proulx’s descriptions were universally admired. Most readers found verisimilitude in these observations of the uncertainty and fragility of life, while a few spoke of an overwhelming echo of doom long foretold.[1][13][14]

Publication

[edit]

Excerpts from the novel were published in The New Yorker in March 2016.[3]

In other media

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Television

[edit]
Main article: Barkskins (TV series)

A dramatic television series, based on the novel premiered on May 25, 2020 on National Geographic.[15]

References

[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Barkskins

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
is a historical written by American author and published on June 14, 2016, by Scribner. The narrative spans over three centuries, beginning in 1693 when two destitute Frenchmen, René Sel and Charles Duquet, arrive in as indentured woodcutters—known as "barkskins"—bound to a for three years in exchange for land. It traces their descendants' exploits across , , , and , driven by the pursuit of wealth through fur trading, , and land exploitation amid harsh wilderness conditions and interactions with . The novel, exceeding 700 pages, interweaves the divergent family lines—Sel's lineage marked by endurance and integration with communities, and Duquet's by entrepreneurial expansion into vast timber empires—highlighting the progressive depletion of vast forests from Wobikujing (later known as ) to the . Proulx draws on historical records of colonial expansion and resource extraction to depict cycles of greed, survival, and ecological transformation, without romanticizing the settlers' impacts on native ecosystems and populations. While commercially successful as a New York Times bestseller, Barkskins received divided critical responses for its ambitious scope, with some praising its vivid portrayal of historical forces and others critiquing its episodic structure and diminished focus on individual character depth. In 2020, the book was adapted into an eight-episode limited television series by , created by Elwood Reid and set in 1693 , emphasizing frontier hardships, cultural clashes, and early colonial intrigue among settlers, , and indigenous groups. The adaptation, starring actors such as and , condensed the novel's timeline but retained its core exploration of exploitation and survival, though it faced criticism for heavy-handed environmental messaging.

Publication and development

Writing and research process

, recipient of the 1994 for , transitioned from shorter, regionally focused narratives to the expansive multi-generational scope of Barkskins, her first novel spanning over 300 years of North American history. This shift reflected her longstanding interest in landscapes and human impact on them, drawing from personal observations of environmental change, such as widespread tree die-off in the that prompted deeper inquiry into historical forest exploitation. Proulx commenced intensive research and composition around 2011, culminating in the novel's completion after approximately five years of writing, though the concept had germinated over decades through accumulated readings on and . The process involved meticulous immersion as a trained , including years of preparatory reading before drafting, followed by revisions that entailed cutting over 150 pages from initial drafts heavy with period details. Disruptions occurred due to three relocations, including sales of properties like her , Bird Cloud. Her research encompassed extensive archival materials, such as colonial documents from detailing 17th-century timber operations and the 1693 arrival of French woodsmen, alongside rare books, diaries, and legal records on timber rights, including cases like dispute. Proulx consulted works like William Cronon's Changes in the Land (1983) for contrasts between Indigenous land —such as controlled burns—and European commodification, integrating data on global timber trade routes and patterns. She supplemented this with travels to sites like Michigan's Upper Peninsula, examinations of landscape paintings for historical accuracy, and visits to archives in New York, Australia, and New Zealand's ancient forests to study species and impacts. Indigenous histories informed depictions of Mi'kmaq interactions with woodlands, drawing from accounts of residential schools and activists like Nora . Proulx amassed a personal of landscape and texts, supplemented by typed notes, journals, photographs, and clippings, as archived in her papers at the . This groundwork prioritized factual reconstruction over moralizing, aiming to illustrate exploitation's mechanics through period-specific details like tools, slang, and economic drivers, ensuring the fiction rested on verifiable historical patterns rather than conjecture.

Release details and commercial reception

was released in by Scribner on June 14, 2016, spanning 736 pages with a list of $28. The publisher promoted the novel by highlighting Annie Proulx's prior Pulitzer Prize-winning work, such as , alongside the book's multigenerational narrative arc extending from 1693 to 2013 and encompassing themes of forestry across , , , and . Commercially, Barkskins attained New York Times bestseller status, reflecting strong initial market performance driven by Proulx's literary stature. Specific sales figures and print run details were not publicly disclosed by the publisher.

Historical context

Colonial logging industry in New France

The colonial industry in emerged in the early as a vital economic activity, primarily driven by the need for timber in local construction, , and exports to . Established under the seigneurial system formalized in 1627, land grants reserved crown rights to and pine stands, requiring official permission for their harvest to prioritize naval supplies. focused on high-quality white pine and for masts, beams, and planks, with operations centered in regions like the and along the , where sawmills were introduced as early as the 1660s to process lumber efficiently. This industry complemented revenues, becoming the second-leading export commodity by the late , as beam-timbers, planks, staves, and shingles were shipped to French royal shipyards. Labor in the sector relied on indentured servants known as engagés, with approximately 5,200 arriving between the 1620s and 1760, often contracted for three-year terms to perform seasonal work including tree felling with axes and rudimentary saws. Under the seigneurial tenure, —tenant farmers—provided labor, typically a few days annually, which seigneurs could direct toward clearing woodlots or transporting logs, while also issuing licenses for personal woodcutting to support farmsteading. These practices facilitated targeted extraction rather than widespread clear-cutting, as the colony's sparse population, numbering around 3,000 in 1663 and growing to 70,000 by 1763, limited scale; operations emphasized straight-trunked mast pines suitable for naval spars over 100 feet tall. Such methods enabled infrastructure development, including forts and vessels built locally, like the early craft at Port-Royal in 1606. Exports of colonial timber, though secondary to European sources like the Baltic, addressed French naval shortages exacerbated by domestic forest depletion; by the 1740s, obtaining large masts domestically proved challenging, prompting reliance on supplies despite their higher costs and occasional quality issues from improper seasoning. Sawing sites at Malbaie and Baie Saint-Paul processed logs into exportable forms, contributing to trade prosperity by funding colonial expansion and integrating into Atlantic commerce, such as bartering staves for goods. This resource extraction underpinned wealth creation, as timber revenues supported settlement and ship repairs, fostering between the colony and France's maritime ambitions. Expansion was propelled by causal factors including metropolitan naval demands during conflicts like the (1701–1714), which strained timber reserves, alongside gradual population increases providing more laborers and technological shifts from hand-felling to water-powered sawmills that boosted output efficiency. These drivers cleared paths for agricultural settlement, as logged areas were converted to farmlands, enhancing and enabling surplus production for export. While quantitative records of harvested volumes remain sparse due to rudimentary colonial administration, the industry's role in sustaining French sea power and colonial viability is evident, with mast procurement sites explicitly funded by the Ministry of Marine to secure strategic resources.

Indigenous land use and European expansion

Prior to European arrival, in northeastern , including regions later comprising , employed controlled burns and selective harvesting to maintain forest ecosystems suited to their needs. These practices, sustained over millennia, involved periodic low-intensity fires to clear underbrush, promote berry production, and favor certain game habitats, while selective removal targeted specific trees for tools, housing, and fuel without widespread . Such methods preserved and , as evidenced by paleoecological records showing mosaic landscapes shaped by human fire regimes rather than uniform climax forests. Initial European-indigenous interactions in from the centered on the fur trade, fostering alliances where French traders integrated into indigenous networks for beaver pelts, exchanging goods like metal tools and firearms. These partnerships, often sealed through kinship ties and mutual economic benefit, minimized direct land competition until the mid-18th century. However, the 1763 Treaty of Paris, concluding the Seven Years' War, transferred French territories to Britain, prompting shifts from trade-focused relations to settlement pressures via land grants and military assertions, which escalated conflicts and indigenous displacement through subsequent treaties and wars like the era skirmishes. European practices diverged sharply, prioritizing export-driven extraction of mast pines for naval use, evolving toward more intensive clear-cutting in accessible areas post-1763 as British colonial policies encouraged timber concessions over indigenous selective approaches. The predominant driver of indigenous population declines during this expansion was epidemic diseases introduced by Europeans, with mortality rates exceeding 90% in affected groups due to lack of immunity to pathogens like and . For instance, the Huron (Wendat) confederacy suffered catastrophic losses from smallpox outbreaks in the 1630s, reducing their population from around 20,000-30,000 to a few thousand before significant European settlement or logging intensification. Similarly, Mi'kmaq populations in declined sharply from estimated 35,000 pre-contact to under 2,000 by the mid-19th century, primarily from diseases compounded by warfare and food disruptions, rather than forestry alone. While land grants facilitated encroachment and resource competition, demographic collapse from preceded and enabled much of the territorial reconfiguration, underscoring over extraction as the causal core of displacement patterns.

Narrative structure

Plot summary

opens in 1693 with the arrival of two French indentured servants, René Sel and Charles Duquet, in the forested region of Wobik Dune in , where they serve as woodcutters—known as barkskins—for a feudal lord in exchange for land after three years of labor. Sel, hampered by nearsightedness and later the loss of an arm in an accident, forms a union with the woman Mari, producing a large family of mixed Indigenous and European descent that adapts to life in the wilderness amid encroaching European settlement. In contrast, Duquet rejects servitude, ventures into the forest, integrates temporarily with Indigenous groups, and establishes the foundations of a timber-trading enterprise that evolves into a . The narrative traces the divergent lineages of the Sel and Duquet families over three centuries, interweaving their experiences with the expansion and contraction of the logging industry across , , , , and beyond. Sel's descendants face displacement, intermarriage, and survival challenges as colonial powers shift from French to British control, while Duquet's heirs navigate the booms and busts of timber extraction, including relocations to and . Key events punctuate the saga, such as the devastating Great Miramichi Fire of 1825, which ravages family holdings and forces migrations, alongside wars, economic bankruptcies, and entrepreneurial reinventions tied to ventures. By the , the story encompasses global trade disruptions, environmental shifts, and nascent conservation initiatives, as later generations confront the long-term repercussions of relentless resource exploitation on their ancestral pursuits. The chronicle culminates in reflections on altered landscapes and family legacies shaped by centuries of woodland transformation, without resolution to the underlying tensions of expansion and loss.

Characters and family lineages

The novel's multi-generational structure centers on the divergent lineages of two indentured French woodcutters who arrive in New France in 1693: René Sel and Charles Duquet. René Sel's arc embodies stoic endurance amid relentless forest labor and personal loss; he weds a Mi'kmaq woman named Mari, forging a Métis branch marked by persistent cultural liminality and erosion of Indigenous ties across subsequent generations, including figures who labor in remote lumber camps into the mid-20th century. Charles Duquet's trajectory highlights cunning opportunism; fleeing servitude, he rebrands as , amassing wealth through fur trading and timber ventures, with his progeny—such as entrepreneurial heirs steering multinational operations—propelling the line toward transcontinental dominance in resource extraction by the 19th and 20th centuries. Proulx delineates these sagas via appended family trees that map interconnections, incorporating scores of ancillary figures—ranging from colonial-era settlers and 19th-century axmen to modern ecologists and industrialists—whose inherited dispositions sustain narrative momentum over three centuries without resolving into convergence until late intersections.

Themes and interpretations

Resource extraction and economic development

In Barkskins, portrays timber extraction as a foundational driver of colonial economic expansion in , where vast white pine forests supplied masts critical for French shipbuilding and naval dominance, alongside materials for and rudimentary industry. The novel's narrative traces how operations generated substantial export revenues, ranking second only to the fur trade in outgoing shipments , thereby bolstering the colony's fiscal base and enabling further settlement. Proulx highlights profit motives and entrepreneurial risk-taking through the Duquet family, whose progenitor Charles Duquet transforms indentured woodcutting into a burgeoning timber enterprise by aggressively remote woodlands and forging alliances with influential figures. This scalable approach yields generational fortunes, as seen in the Dukes' evolution into elites with expansive operations in and by the 19th century, exemplifying how individual ambition catalyzed industrial-scale logging. The text establishes causal connections between forest clearance and societal advancements, depicting deforested expanses as prerequisites for agricultural intensification, railroad infrastructure, and urban centers that accommodated surging populations. Innovations such as specialized axe manufactories, pioneered by figures like Jinot Sel, underscore logging's role in technological progress tied to economic output, with cleared lands facilitating the shift from to productive economic hubs. Lavinia Duke's later corporate strategies further illustrate this, quantifying forest yields to maximize returns and sustain family-led ventures amid expanding markets.

Environmental consequences and sustainability

In Barkskins, portrays the environmental ramifications of as a relentless progression of , , and across centuries, with characters witnessing the transformation of dense North American woodlands into scarred landscapes dominated by stumps and . The narrative emphasizes species declines, such as the extirpation of passenger pigeons and beavers through overhunting tied to timber operations, framing these as precursors to broader ecological imbalance. This depiction aligns with 17th- to 19th-century clearance patterns in regions like , where European settlers felled white pine and hemlock stands for shipbuilding and fuel, contributing to localized watershed alterations and increased flooding risks by the mid-1800s. Yet, empirical records reveal cyclical recovery dynamics absent from the novel's perpetual decline motif: North American forests, particularly in the eastern U.S., underwent significant regeneration following peak exploitation, with net growth surpassing harvest volumes by 37% as early as 1986 due to natural reseeding and replanting. U.S. forest land area stabilized after 1910, encompassing 765 million acres or 34% of total land by 2017, reflecting adaptive silvicultural practices like selective cutting and fire suppression that fostered second-growth stands of species such as and . since the early , including a century-long eastern U.S. effort, has even exerted a measurable cooling effect on regional temperatures by sequestering carbon and moderating microclimates, countering narratives of irreversible despoliation. Proulx's foreshadowing of contemporary vulnerabilities—such as amplified storm surges from cleared coastal buffers—echoes real historical vulnerabilities but overlooks evidence of resilience in ecosystems, where disturbance legacies like 19th-century logging scars have integrated into mature, multi-aged stands by the late . Sustainability in North American has thus hinged on recognizing these regenerative capacities, with post-1920 policies prioritizing even-aged to sustain timber yields without net cover loss, challenging alarmist views of unending ecological tragedy.

Cultural interactions and displacement

In Barkskins, cultural interactions between European settlers and Indigenous peoples begin with pragmatic alliances but evolve into profound displacements driven by incompatible worldviews and practical disparities. René Sel, an indentured French woodcutter arriving in in 1693, marries Mari, a woman, producing descendants who inherit hybrid identities blending Indigenous kinship networks with European individualism. These offspring, such as later figures like Felix and Jeanne Mius, embody cultural fusion yet endure marginalization, as differing conceptions—Mi'kmaq reverence for forests as sacred, interdependent entities versus European for private gain—fuel ongoing frictions that hinder seamless integration. Initial exchanges reflect fluid borders, with Charles Duquet's early ventures enabling reciprocal benefits like tool swaps and temporary territorial accommodations, preceding the rigid assertions of dominance by expanding settler logging operations. Technology gaps exacerbate clashes: European iron axes and later mechanized saws outpace stone tools, accelerating land clearance that severs traditional migratory routes and resource access, while weaponry shifts interpersonal power balances from to in isolated encounters. Displacement intensifies through settler encroachments that forcibly evict families from woodlands, restricting their access to sustenance and timber for shelter, as depicted in the Sel lineage's progressive confinement. Epidemics compound this, with , , and ravaging populations lacking prior exposure, decimating communities and enabling unchecked European advances without reliance on deliberate extermination. Assimilation efforts further erode distinct identities, as seen in Sel descendants' subjection to residential schools from the late onward, which enforce language suppression and cultural disconnection over four decades, fostering internalized shifts like Mi'kmaq men adopting European devaluation of women's traditional roles. Miscegenation, while creating resilient hybrid lines, often dilutes Indigenous practices amid these pressures, highlighting causal barriers—demographic collapse from , institutional mandates, and adaptive necessities—over orchestrated as primary drivers of cultural attenuation.

Critical reception

Literary achievements and praises

Critics praised Annie Proulx's Barkskins (2016) for its sophisticated narrative strategy, which oscillates between family lineages and historical epochs while blending technical details of forestry with broader ecological themes. Reviewers highlighted the novel's concisely effective prose in evoking landscapes, such as 18th-century Maine's conifer-jagged skylines and logging trails obscured by blowdowns, creating vivid, intimate historical scenes of resource extraction. The Guardian commended Proulx's visceral integration of research, delivering sombre tones that immerse readers in awe-inspiring forest depictions and the slow generational pacing of colonial depredations. The book's epic scope, tracing two immigrants' descendants across three centuries from to and , earned recognition for its ambitious multi-lineage structure akin to the grand entertainments of Dickens and Tolstoy. This breadth allowed Proulx to explore power shifts, indigenous impacts, and environmental decline with a calibrated , drawing comparisons to Amitav Ghosh's * for its integrity and scale. Such achievements underscored the novel's literary merit, positioning it as a crowning work in Proulx's career through its unflinching historical fidelity and thematic urgency. Barkskins received a longlist nomination for the 2017 , affirming its status among contemporary literary fiction for narrative innovation and ecological insight. This recognition, alongside critical acclaim for Proulx's terse yet evocative style, highlighted the novel's contribution to historical fiction's capacity to illuminate long-term human impacts on the natural world.

Criticisms of scope and historical fidelity

Critics have faulted Barkskins for its expansive scope, which spans over three centuries from 1693 to the early and traces the descendants of two indentured French laborers through numerous branches, resulting in an overcrowded narrative that dilutes dramatic tension. The novel introduces dozens of characters across generations and continents, often resolving their arcs abruptly through death or obscurity, which fragments the plot and hinders sustained over its 736 pages. Literary reviewer described Proulx's tendency to pursue every fork as leading to uncontrolled ramification, neutralizing ongoing drama and reducing many figures to fleeting presences. Character development suffers from this proliferation, with many individuals rendered underdeveloped or indistinguishable, burdened by expository dialogue that feels mechanical rather than naturalistic. Reviewers noted that the rapid turnover leaves little room for psychological depth or reader inference, as characters frequently serve as vessels for historical vignettes rather than fully realized persons; for instance, some appear solely to illustrate mortality in logging accidents or epidemics. The pacing exacerbates these issues, slowing to a laborious crawl amid business dealings and generational summaries, which one critic likened to slogging through interminable sequences that prioritize breadth over momentum. Regarding historical fidelity, detractors have questioned the novel's portrayal of society and Indigenous interactions, particularly in its sentimental depiction of Mi’kmaq customs and resilience, which risks idealizing rather than grappling with the complexities of cultural adaptation and conflict. While Proulx draws on records of seigneurial land grants and timber concessions, the narrative's compression of centuries leads to unconvincing societal shifts and short shrift to later periods, such as 20th-century practices, potentially misrepresenting the gradual evolution of colonial economies. Critics argue this selective emphasis on exploitation overlooks nuances in Indigenous agency and European settler dynamics, though Proulx consulted archival sources for details like Mi’kmaq spiritual practices and French indenture contracts. The environmental themes, centered on deforestation's irreversible toll, have drawn accusations of preachiness that subordinates to , transforming the epic into a "dreary " on ecological loss. This didactic tone manifests in narrator intrusions and repetitive laments over vanished "monstrous pine finery," which some reviewers contend overrides human narratives and employs overwrought to moralize against extraction, potentially at the expense of balanced historical . While the book highlights empirical data on timber volumes—such as the felling of billions of board feet in 19th-century —it has been critiqued for emphasizing permanent despoliation while underplaying regeneration cycles observed in selective records from the period.

Adaptations and media extensions

Television series production and content

The television adaptation of Barkskins was developed by Elwood Reid, who served as creator, , and , with production handled by Scott Rudin Productions and Fox 21 Television Studios. The eight-episode limited series premiered on on May 25, , centering on events in the fictional settlement of Wobik Dune in during 1693. Principal cast members included as Mathilde, as Claude Trépagny, Christian Cooke as René Sel, and James Bloor as Charles Duquet, portraying French settlers and indigenous characters amid colonial tensions. Filming occurred primarily in Quebec, Canada, including locations in Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier, where production constructed a period village set that was later offered for sale. The series emphasized historical authenticity through detailed recreation of 17th-century colonial environments, including wooden fortifications, rudimentary dwellings, and attire reflecting French settler and indigenous influences. In content, the diverged from the novel's multigenerational scope by concentrating on the initial settlers' struggles in Wobik Dune, transforming the narrative into a mystery-thriller format driven by murders, accusations of , and interpersonal betrayals among the colonists. drew loosely from the book's early chapters but prioritized a contained ensemble story of survival and intrigue over the source material's expansive family lineages spanning centuries. This shift highlighted immediate conflicts with local people and rival European factions, framing the plot around a central killing that unravels the community's fragile order.

Cancellation and legacy

The Barkskins television series concluded after its single eight-episode season, with electing not to renew it for a second installment, a decision signaled by the auction of production props and sets in December 2020. Creator and Elwood Reid expressed optimism for continuation in June 2020, envisioning multiple additional seasons to expand on the source material's multi-generational scope, but these plans remained unfulfilled amid the network's silence on renewal. Insufficient viewership during its May to July 2020 premiere window contributed to the lack of renewal, exacerbated by the series' niche focus on 17th-century colonial and a structure critics described as initially confusing and slow to engage broader audiences. The disrupted promotional efforts and viewing patterns, limiting exposure on a cable network like , which prioritizes specialized content over mass-market appeal—contrasting with the novel's wider literary acclaim as a Pulitzer finalist. The series' legacy remains modest, primarily serving as a visual exploration of resource-driven colonial expansion and Indigenous-European tensions, though its amplification of the novel's fictionalized elements in a dramatized format drew critiques for prioritizing thematic breadth over precise historical accuracy. Fan communities expressed disappointment over the abrupt end, citing strong acting and atmospheric production, but the adaptation failed to spawn significant cultural discourse or further media extensions beyond sporadic online discussions.

References

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  48. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/393510124_Cultural_Clash_and_Ecological_Collapse_Indigenous_Resistance_and_Colonial_Domination_in_Annie_Proulx%27s_Barkskins
  49. https://www.amazon.com/Barkskins-Longlisted-Baileys-Womens-Fiction/dp/0007232012
  50. https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v38/n15/adam-mars-jones/chop-and-burn
  51. https://archive.jsonline.com/entertainment/books/clunky-didactic-novel-barkskins-laments-disappearing-forest-b99739686z1-382499141.html
  52. https://deadline.com/2018/12/barkskins-national-geographic-orders-scripted-series-book-elwood-reid-scott-rudin-fox-21-tv-studios-1202512565/
  53. https://www.assignmentx.com/2020/barkskins-creator-elwood-reid-on-adapting-annie-proulxs-historical-novel-exclusive-interview/
  54. https://press.disney.co.uk/news/national-geographic-announces-limited-series-barkskins-to-premiere-with-back-to-back-episodes-over-four-weeks-beginning-tuesday-4th-august-at-9pm
  55. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/barkskins
  56. https://decider.com/2020/05/26/barkskins-nat-geo-stream-it-or-skip-it/
  57. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9585156/
  58. https://www.cynopsis.com/cyncity/nat-geo-keeps-it-real-with-scripted-series-barkskins/
  59. http://curieusenouvellefrance.blogspot.com/2020/09/barkskins-dud-on-arrival.html
  60. https://www.reddit.com/r/Barkskins/comments/kicwl6/barkskins_season_2_cancelled/
  61. https://tv-date.com/show/8794-barkskins/
  62. https://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/barkskins-season-two-series-creator-hopes-to-continue-national-geographic-series/
  63. https://www.reddit.com/r/PeriodDramas/comments/1juu0gm/barkskins_2020_an_american_period_drama_series/
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