Sally Armstrong

More historic than fictional this novel brings the history of the Maritimes (and noteably NB) to life in the form of pioneer Charlotte Taylor. Charlotte escapes the constraints of life in Britain and runs off with the butler. Thus starts a fascinating life of an indomitable woman who makes friends with the Mi’kmaq survives 4 husbands, survives maritime winters and raises her children mostly single-handedly. She demands her claims on the land she settles and even recognizes that her claims show more take land away from the Indians she so loves and admires.
This was a great Canadian content novel starting in 1775 and ending in 1841, fascinating years to read about. show less

Armstrong takes us on an adventure ride through the pioneering life of Charlotte Taylor. The beginning is swashbuckling, excessive perhaps, but as Charlotte arrives in Canada, the tale take a perfect rhythm of adventure, discovery and learning. Armstrong balances a description of the times while pulling from history and teaching readers about the Micmac, Acadians, Loyalists and later settlers, the politics that ensued and the insecurities it created. The hardships and joys are not overly show more dramatised; the story flows well and all the characters ebb in and out in a fluid fashion while retaining the attention on Taylor.

There a few weaknesses - the sections that Armstrong invented are admittedly the weakest (Jamaica in particular) - too colourful and melodramatic to be taken seriously. She also can't help but infuse a modernist look at the over-development of land and displacement of Native Americans. I'm not sure a settler would have these concerns given the magnitude of the land and the incredibly harsh conditions for survival.

Overall an entertaining and instructive read. show less

What kind of story would you expect a journalist, documentary filmmaker and human rights activist to write as their first foray into fiction writing? For Armstrong, the answer was simple: Write a fictionalized account of a strong-willed, resilient and independent-thinking woman straight from Armstrong's own family tree. As many book reviewers tend to note, a good historical novelist has to not only present the facts and tell a story, but also has to be able to communicate the feel of former show more times, transporting the reader to that earlier place and time. Armstrong does a fabulous job bringing to life the harsh, frontier world of 18th century New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The story captures an interesting period in Canadian - and American - history: The return of Acadians previously ex-pulsed from the area by the British; the conflicting points of view of the Loyalist and the pre-Loyalist settlers and the plight of the native Indian populations as their traditional hunting lands were being taken away from them. While the historical information is well researched, Armstrong does tend to skim over certain events that I wish she had provided more details about. That being said, it is Charlotte's multi-dimensional character, her tenacity, her resourcefulness and her determination to adapt to the harsh environment and make a living that made this such a wonderful read for me.

Overall, a wonderfully written story about the first female settler on the Mirimichi and a great read for anyone with an interest in 18th century Canadian Maritimes history. show less

Historical fiction is something I often struggle with...I want to know what is true and what isn't! But I enjoyed this story about Charlotte Taylor, one of the early pioneers in New Brunswick. The story really brings home just how strong and resilient these pioneers had to be. Reading it in 2021, it also brought home to me the injustices done the the aboriginal population; at times, I felt Charlotte herself was looking through my lens, which may not have been the norm at the time, but then show more Charlotte is certainly portrayed as someone ahead of her time in many ways. show less