Norma Macmillan (1921–2001)

"A murder, a secret meeting between lovers, a mysterious child. A Victoria aristocrat who obsesses over her Churchill relatives. A repressive, Welsh mother with a royalty fixation. A once-carefree Moachat girl from Nootka Sound. The philandering heir of an Icelandic pioneer. And quiet, steady Julia Godolphin, trying to rise above it all."

I took the book description above directly from the back cover as there was no way I was going to be able to improve on that summary. Set on Vancouver show more Island during the time period of 1910 to 1945, The Maquinna Line: A Family Saga follows the lives of five families: the Trevors, the Goldolphins, the Burmans, the Aalgaards and two decendants of Chief Maquinna, the Moachat chieftain that met Captain James Cook and the crew of the ships Resolution and Discovery during their historic meeting in the spring of 1778.

I cannot rave enough about how much I loved this story. This is a story that was, for me, very easy to lose myself in. I originally gravitated to the book because I love reading historical fictions set on or around Vancouver Island. I feel that MacMillian did an amazing job capturing Vancouver Island, and more particularly Victoria, for the time period. MacMillan had an amazing knack for capturing the social nuances of the time period, including the things, inconsequential or consequential, that society frowned upon. I did giggle at the shock/horror exhibited by one of the female characters at the thought of going for afternoon tea with her beau to the Empress unchaperoned! As Vancouver Island, and the surrounding islands have always relied on ferry/boat service, I loved the detail that MacMillan went into while depicting the earlier, 'pre-BC Ferries' days of ferry service to the islands. The story has a fluidity to it that I found easy to sink into. While I obtained additional pleasure from recognizing the locations and historical events captured in the book, I believe the book can be appreciated by readers that have never visited Vancouver Island or have an understanding of its history.

It is unfortunate that this book, written back in the 1980's and only recently published posthumously, is probably the only novel MacMillan ever wrote. I was surprised to learn that Norma MacMillan is actually most famously known for her career as a voice actor. She was the voice of Casper the Friendly Ghost, Gumby and Sweet Polly Purebred of the Underdog Show. I remember watching and enjoying those shows as a child but never thought about the human behind the voice of the characters until now. WOW!

MacMillan's daughter, Alison Arngrim, wrote the forward for this novel and captured the book succinctly:

"It is a story about families - about socially prominent Canadian families and working class families, about colonists and Aboriginals. It is about how thing change over generations, in a bygone era very different from the one I grew up in. My mother has pulled up the shades on the behavior and attitudes of another age: attitudes about class and position that affected every facet of their lives, every relationship, and every decision made."

Overall, a great story that I highly recommend! show less