A sequel to a book one has liked can either be a blessing or a curse. Either they are just as good, if not better than, the preceding edition, or they are woefully disappointing. A Company of Rogues by Trudy J. Morgan-Cole from Newfoundland & Labrador’s Breakwater Books falls into the former category.
This is actually Book Three of Ms. Morgan-Cole’s The Cupids Trilogy. According to the author, it is also the final entry in the series. I want to mention at the start, that if you have not read either of the first two books, I recommend getting all three and beginning at the beginning. While some may disagree, I believe that none of these books could be easily read and situated outside of the others. The endings of Book One (A Roll of the Bones) and Book Two (Such Miracles and Mischiefs) beg for a sequel, and that’s all I’ll say about that! I have deliberately left out any plot details as including them would spoil the storylines that have continued since Book One.
“A flawless model of literary historical fiction.”
What I will say is what I said about Book One (and it’s repeated on the cover of Rogues): these books are “a flawless model of historical fiction”. Perhaps I should have said literary historical fiction, as Ms. Morgan-Cole’s writing is a cut above many typical novels based on a particular time in history. The Cupids Trilogy is set in the early 1600s in the New Founde Land as it was termed then. The colonists have left Bristol England seeking out land ownership and a better way of life, as there is little chance of having such in their present circumstances. It’s a hardscrabble way of life establishing something from nothing, especially in the harsh environs of that part of the world. While the indigenous Beothuk are rarely seen, there are pirates to be wary of and to their disappointment, the thin soil is not as yielding to crops. While they are working together to establish an existence, there are still class divisions, masters and servants, along with strifes, that tend to spill over into daily life.
Ms. Morgan-Cole’s research into the little-known existence of these early colonies is nothing short of remarkable. Meticulously, she has constructed (or reconstructed) the small colony on the written page which is replete with actual historical persons as well as believable fictional ones. The characters are agreeably fleshed out (a strong point of her writing) and while some have malicious intent, the rest must do what they have to do to survive.
Before reading “Rogues” I had to go back and re-read Such Miracles and Mischiefs as it was over a year since I had read it. Reading both books back-to-back created a seamless experience, as I got reacquainted with all the characters from the two prior books. There are new characters in Book Three, notably the historical Indigenous man Tisquantum, a native of Patuxet. He opens up a world of opportunities to the colonists (and to the reader), who have never experienced life beyond what they know of crossing the ocean.
In conclusion, I thoroughly enjoyed this entire trilogy. I highly recommend it to lovers of good literary historical fiction. Well done, Ms. Morgan-Cole and this reviewer eagerly anticipates your next novel.
Trudy J. Morgan-Cole is a writer and teacher in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Her historical novels include By the Rivers of Brooklyn, Most Anything You Please, and A Roll of the Bones, the first volume of the Cupids Trilogy. She is fascinated by the forgotten or ignored stories of women in history and loves to create fiction out of the gaps history leaves behind. Trudy is the mother of two young adults and lives in Rabbittown, in the heart of St. John’s, with her husband, Jason, and the world’s most beautiful rescue dog.
- Publisher : Breakwater Books (Oct. 31 2023)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 296 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1550819909
- ISBN-13 : 978-1550819908
James M. Fisher is the Founding Editor of The Miramichi Reader. He began TMR in 2015, realizing that there was a genuine need for more book reviews of Canadian literature. It has since become Canada’s best-regarded source for the finest in new literary releases. James has been interviewed about TMR on CBC Radio and other media sites. He works as a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Technologist and lives in Miramichi, New Brunswick with his wife Diane, their tabby cat Eddie, and Buster the Red Merle Border Collie.
