David E. Burnell
Canadian Novelist - Father to Hazel Burnell
David E. Burnell is a Canadian novelist whose writing career reflects a lifelong curiosity about history, belief, and the hidden forces that shape human experience. Now 87 years old, Burnell has authored ten novels and an acclaimed collection of short fiction, establishing a body of work marked by imagination, atmosphere, and historical insight.
His first novel, The Elevator (2005), was written following a visit to Germany. The experience left a lasting impression on his worldview and helped shape the psychological depth and reflective tone that would become hallmarks of his fiction. Burnell next turned his attention to darker, metaphysical themes with two novels rooted in the occult: The Coven of the Unholy and The Shadow of the Serpent. These works explore humanity’s enduring fascination with forbidden knowledge and the uneasy
boundary between faith, superstition, and power.
Alongside his novels, Burnell wrote eighteen short stories over many years, later collected into the anthology Dad’s Christmas Stories. This collection reveals a more intimate side of his storytelling, blending warmth, memory, and reflection with the wisdom of lived experience. A significant portion of Burnell’s literary output is devoted to history. He has written five novels centered on the Second World War, demonstrating a deep respect for the complexity of that era and the personal courage, tragedy, and moral conflict it produced.
These works combine careful historical grounding with compelling fictional narratives, bringing individual lives into focus against the vast backdrop of global conflict. Across genres—from psychological fiction and the occult to short stories and historical novels—David E. Burnell’s writing is unified by thoughtful storytelling and a lifelong commitment to the craft of fiction.