Book Review

SSO members and others may be interested in a new novel by PEI and Ottawa author Theresa Redmond. Canada is still a relatively young country and it is good to reflect on the difficulties our forebears encountered in coming to this land. Redmond’s historical fiction is a page turner and a great accomplishment for a first-time author. And – full disclosure – my Scottish relatives were among those early immigrants to PEI.

The struggles and the conflicts in the new colony of St. John’s Island, now Prince Edward Island, were only too common among the diverse populations of English, Scottish and American Loyalists who settled there among the remaining Acadians and M’ikmaq in the late 18 th Century. Ian Macdonald (based on Captain John MacDonald of Glenaladale) purchased property on the island and led an expedition from Lochaber and Uist (with my family) in 1772 and had them live on his land. He and his sister Nellie figure prominently in this story filled with the battle against greed, slavery and the injustices of the island’s early administration. Hilarious depictions of the devious womanizer and notoriously corrupt Governor Walter Patterson are worth the price of the book.

UPEI’s professor of history, Edward MacDonald, describes Redmond’s book as “historical fiction meets social justice and female empowerment in this vivid re-imagining of the early British period on Prince Edward Island.”

Theresa Redmond is in Ottawa for a book-signing on January 15, 2023 from 1 - 3pm at Perfect Books at 258A Elgin Street. www.perfectbooks.ca

By: Donald MacDonald