Role As A Historian
Raddall was best known for his historical fiction, but he contributed numerous non fiction historical works, some of which had longlasting influence. His role as a public historian was not as widely recognized, in part due to his own reluctance to label himself as such, in part because he did not strictly adhere to the conventions of academic history. Raddall's civic history of Halifax, Warden of the North, remains the most influential history of the city and continues to shape the city's heritage interpretation and promotion. His depiction of Canadian privateering in books such as The Rover: Story of A Canadian Privateer and Nova Scotia's battle of identity during the American Revolution in The Path of Destiny shaped stories of these themes which influence scholars and tourism in Nova Scotia today.
Raddall also greatly contribute to Nova Scotia’s heritage through his work with the Queens County Historical Society, the Historic Sites Advisory Council of Nova Scotia, and the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada. He played a role in preserving the Diary of Simeon Perkins, an early colonial document published in three volumes (the fourth has yet to be published) between 1948 and 1978 by the Champlain Society, and edited by noted Canadian economist and historian Harold Innis, and archivists D. C. Harvey and C. B. Ferguson. He was also extremely influential in helping restore and preserve Perkins House Museum, a colonial house built by Simeon Perkins, and now a part of the Nova Scotia Museum system. Beginning in 1936 and culminating in the House’s official opening by Premier Robert Stanfield in 1957, Perkins House was the high point of Raddall’s contributions to Nova Scotia’s built heritage.
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