Historical Fiction The Miramichi Reader

The Healer’s Journey by Jeanette Winsor

July 20, 2021 by Allan Hudson

When Thomas Morley, a young Newfoundland fisherman, is rescued from death by the local witch, he discovers he has the ability to cure sickness and charm blood. A gift, he is told, until seizures and blackouts have him glancing into the future, a place that frightens and confuses him. With folk lore and superstition roiling his world, he knows he’s cursed.

Finding the Daydreamer by Estella Kuchta

July 4, 2021 by Patricia Sandberg

Estella Kuchta's stark and stunning depiction of an escape through the Canadian wilderness. When daydream meets intuition, a young ranch wife's life turns upside down. Fleeing a dangerous husband, she steals away with her young daughter on a wild and unexpected adventure through Depression-era cowboy country in central British Columbia.

My Indian by Mi’sel Joe and Sheila O’Neill

June 25, 2021 by James M. Fisher

In 1822, William Epps Cormack sought the expertise of a guide who could lead him across Newfoundland in search of the last remaining Beothuk camps on the island. In his journals, Cormack refers to his guide only as “My Indian.”

Poor Farm by Ronan O’Driscoll

June 17, 2021 by James M. Fisher

Ronan O'Driscoll's novel follows two people on the autism spectrum--one the child of the narrator, and the other a boy confined to a Poor Farm in Nova Scotia in the 19th century.

The Hanged Woman’s Daughter by Nellie P. Strowbridge

May 3, 2021 by Stephanie Collins

The Hanged Woman’s Daughter Newfoundland, 1835 Where does a person go when she loses her family, her home, and her place in a community? What can she do when she feels she doesn’t belong anywhere and to anyone? The disappearance of John Snow from Salmon Cove is shrouded in mystery.

Murder on the Orford Mountain Railway by Nick Fonda

May 2, 2021May 1, 2021 by James M. Fisher

On a warm August evening in 1905, a 12-year old boy is shot in the back and killed near the Orford Mountain Railway construction site in rural Quebec.

Constant Nobody by Michelle Butler Hallett

May 1, 2021April 25, 2021 by Ian Colford

The main action of Michelle Butler Hallett’s complex, absorbing historical thriller Constant Nobody takes place in 1937, primarily in Moscow, capital of the Soviet Union.

Marilla Before Anne by Louise Michalos

April 24, 2021 by Lisa Timpf

Michalos’ novel, whose premise was sparked by a Margaret Atwood quote, provides a back-story for the reserved and sometimes dour Marilla Cuthbert.

2020 “The Very Best!” Book Awards: Best Historical Fiction Winners!

August 10, 2020 by James M. Fisher

The Historical Fiction category returned in a big way after being absent in 2019. The winners here range from the British Home Child program to Black activism to a historical crime committed in rural Nova Scotia. As with the other … Continue reading

The Apprenticeship of Molly Chant by Jeanette Winsor

July 17, 2021July 8, 2020 by Allan Hudson

Superstition and bad luck places Molly Chant in a dire situation. Cast out as a witch, Molly is meant to be hung by the neck until she is rescued by a man that exclaims her only chance to live is to flee on a ship heading to Newfoundland.

2020 Shortlist: Best Historical Fiction!

July 14, 2020July 3, 2020 by James M. Fisher

The “Best Historical Fiction” category went missing last year for “The Very Best!” Book Awards, but it’s back and there were many good titles produced in this genre. Here are five of the best that were reviewed here at TMR:… Continue reading

The Liars by Ida Linehan Young

July 14, 2020May 23, 2020 by James M. Fisher

Ida Linehan Young’s The Liars is a sequel to The Promise, (2019) which was a spin-off of 2018’s Being Mary Ro. There is no doubt that she is amongst the best of the best of Newfoundland’s storytellers, in … Continue reading

Torn Asunder by Renny DeGroot

March 16, 2020March 15, 2020 by Bill Arnott

He is an inspiring journalist, but Emmet Ryan has no idea that his words have the power to destroy those he loves the most. This is a story about a conflicted man, opening near Dublin, 1916 and set during one of Ireland’s most turbulent eras.

The Forgotten Home Child by Genevieve Graham

May 9, 2021January 13, 2020 by James M. Fisher

In The Forgotten Home Child, Ms. Graham forthrightly tackles the issues surrounding the implementation of the British Home Child program in England and its consequences to the children once they arrived in Canada.

Warrior on the Western Waters: Dangerous Loyalties Book Three by Phyllis A. Still

January 3, 2020January 2, 2020 by James M. Fisher

The Dangerous Loyalties book series is now up to three installments with the release of Warrior on the Western Waters. I have been following this series since it's inception when I was tasked with reviewing it for a U.S. book review website that is now closed.