I’ve been interested in les filles du roi since I was in middle school and read the Dear Canada title about them, Alone in an Untamed Land by Maxine Trottier. So The Winter Witch by Jennifer Chevalier felt like it was written for me, the adult reader of Canadian literature who once loved the middle-grade CanLit offerings out there. Sisters Marthe and Élisabeth find themselves on a ship to New France, after scandal embroiled Élisabeth in their village. Marthe, headstrong and ambitious, is not thrilled that Élisabeth has set them on this path, but is willing to make the most of it. Élisabeth, on the other hand, is devastated about having to leave France and her love, Rémy, who she believes will take her back if she can enact her plan to return to France – despite the two being banished from their village. Armed with letters of good conduct, signed by the village priest, they journey to New France to get married and start having French babies to populate the land.
The Winter Witch by Jennifer Chevalier felt like it was written for me.
However, their journey is beset by fear of witches, the ship’s priest convinced a witch is aboard. And Jeanne Roy, a mysterious velvet-clad woman who borrows Élisabeth’s letter of good conduct and returns it equally mysteriously. And Élisabeth, with her streak of terrible luck as of late, with so much loss, fears being possessed by a demon and any witches that may or may not help her. Marthe has no patience for this, and looks forward to building her life in New France.
Through a first winter in the colony, both sisters grow apart and back together, as the realities of living in a settlement begin to weigh on them, and they attempt to battle winter. Élisabeth is consumed by her belief that there’s a demon inside her, while Marthe is focused on bettering her station – and getting rid of the widow of the previous baker who still lives in their house.
Chevalier clearly did a lot of research into the conditions of les filles du roi, and what it would have been like living in Montreal in the 17th century, and I found the exploration of witchcraft at the time fascinating. In the notes at the end of the book, Chevalier notes that New France was unique in that there wasn’t a huge witchcraft scare, unlike some other colonies. This framed the novel in a new light for me, as an exploration of what witch hunting might have looked like there.
The story is slow to get started, focusing on laying out the groundwork of Marthe and Élisabeth, and giving us their scandal in drips and drabs for a few chapters. Then, once the sisters arrive in Montreal and get married, the story begins to find its footing and really grow into a riveting tale. Just as Élisabeth begins to shake off her fear and depression in the final part of the book, The Winter Witch really begins to shake off its world-building and begin to come into its own. I enjoyed this as a return to the development of New France and an examination of mental health in the 17th century.
Jennifer Chevalier worked for several years at the BBC in London before moving home to Ottawa where she is currently the showrunner for CBC Radio’s long-running weekly political affairs program, The House. The journalism and documentaries she’s led have won a Gracie, several RTDNAs, and a CAJ Award for investigative journalism. She lives in Ottawa with her husband and two children.
Publisher: Simon & Schuster (January 27, 2026)
Paperback 9″ x 6″ | 384 pages
ISBN: 9781668216422
Alison Manley has ricocheted between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia for most of her life. Now in Halifax, Nova Scotia, she is the Cataloguing and Metadata Librarian at Saint Mary's University. Her past life includes a long stint as a hospital librarian on the banks of the mighty Miramichi River. She has an honours BA in political science and English from St. Francis Xavier University, and a Master of Library and Information Studies from Dalhousie University. While she's adamant that her love of reading has nothing to do with her work, her ability to consume large amounts of information very quickly sure is helpful. She is often identified by her very red lipstick, and lives with her partner Brett and cat, Toasted Marshmallow.
- Alison Manleyhttps://miramichireader.ca/author/alison-manley/
- Alison Manleyhttps://miramichireader.ca/author/alison-manley/
- Alison Manleyhttps://miramichireader.ca/author/alison-manley/
- Alison Manleyhttps://miramichireader.ca/author/alison-manley/
- Alison Manleyhttps://miramichireader.ca/author/alison-manley/
- Alison Manleyhttps://miramichireader.ca/author/alison-manley/
