Tag: Canada

Meet Sara from Christine Hill Suntz’s The Lawyer and the Laundress

~ Cindy Thomson ~ Leave a comment
book cover
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Welcome to Novel PASTimes! We haven’t seen you around Cooper’s Inn before. Where are you from?

I’m Sara O’Connor, the new laundress. I’ve always lived here in Toronto, but this town has changed so much. When I was a child, people called it “muddy York”. The buildings were rough and the streets nearly impassable after a rain. 

It’s 1837 now, and Toronto is a city. New settlers come through every day. Farms are springing up in the wilderness that used to surround the city. Cooper’s Inn is a busy place. I suppose that’s why Mrs. Cooper hired me.

I thought I saw a little girl here a moment ago. Is she your daughter?

Oh, heavens, no. That was Evie. She takes lessons with the Cooper girls, but they exclude her every chance they get. She visits me instead, and I’m happy to see a friendly face. We have to be careful, though. Mrs. Cooper saw me talking to her and gave me a warning. Doesn’t want a girl from a fine family mixing with the riffraff from Irishtown like me, I suppose. 

Evie’s father has it out for me, too. He’s forbidden her from speaking to me. Can you imagine? What does he think I’ll do, force her to do my work? I’m the one friend she has here, and he wants to take that away. 

He’s a lawyer, so I shouldn’t be surprised. He lives by the rules and doesn’t understand a young girl’s heart. I’d like to go right up to him and make him open his eyes, but I can’t risk losing my position. 

Still, I won’t push Evie away. I guess I see in her the little girl I once was. We neither of us knew our mothers. We even love the same books. Have you read Ivanhoe? 

No, I can’t say that I have. I don’t mean to offend, but how does a laundress come to read Ivanhoe? You don’t sound like you’re from Irishtown, either.

Well, the truth is, I didn’t always live in Irishtown. In fact, I might have more in common with Evie than anyone realizes. 

I could earn more money as a lady’s maid or even a governess, but I have my reasons for working as a laundress. There are people I’d rather not see again, people who let me down when I needed them. I wouldn’t go back to that world, even if I could.

That’s why I keep to myself here at Cooper’s Inn. Or, at least, I did until Evie came along. Now I’m not sure what to do. Someone has to make her father understand her, but it can’t be me. I have too much at stake.

You see, I need to money to take care of Granny. She was a laundress, too. She taught me the trade and gave me a home when I had nothing. Now, it’s my turn to take care of her. She’s all I have left. 

Thanks for taking the time to chat with us today. Before we go, any idea what’s happening in the common room? It’s full to the brim, and those men sound angry.

Meetings like this are happening all over the colony. No surprise, I say. Hundreds of newcomers arrive here, hoping for a better life, but the same systems that held them back in Britain exist here. A few wealthy families hold all the power and run our colonial government. The elected assembly can do very little to sway the Queen’s appointed governor. They’re frustrated.

So you’re a rebel, then?

No! I’m just a laundress who lives among the poor. I see how they struggle. You won’t repeat anything I’ve said, will you? 

Your secret is safe with us, Sara. It sounds like you have some big decisions ahead of you. Good luck!

Christine Hill Suntz knew she wanted to write novels the day she finished Anne of Green Gables, and she’s been lost in her imagination ever since. Her love of language led her to study French and German and pursue a graduate degree in Comparative Literature before finding a home teaching high school French. Her work has won numerous prizes, including the 2022 ACFW Genesis competition.

Christine lives in Ontario on a hobby farm with her family, a flock of chickens, one attack rooster, and a herd of entitled goats. When she’s not writing or teaching, she enjoys trying out historical recipes on her (mostly) willing family.

Instagram: @christinehillsuntz Facebook: Christine Hill Suntz Author

https://www.tyndale.com/p/the-lawyer-and-the-laundress/9798400507755

Meet Sylvie from Laura Frantz’s The Seamstress of Acadie

~ Cindy Thomson ~ Leave a comment
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Welcome to Novel PASTimes! We are pleased you stopped by today.

Tell us something about where you live. 

I’m Sylvie Galant, an Acadian, who lives in the contested territory of Acadie or as the British call it, Nova Scotia, Canada. My homeland is all I’ve ever known and my family owns the hectares of my great-grandfathers, a legacy of farmers, cattlemen, and fishers. With the mountains at our back and the sea before us, we dwell in what visitors say is one of the most beautiful places on earth. 

Is there anything special about your name? Why do you think you were given that name?

I’m named after my great-grandmother, Sylvie, who first came to the shores of Acadie in the early 17th-century. I’m delighted that my name honors my ancestry and we can keep my family history alive. I hope to name my own daughter Sylvie and, if I have a son, Bleu, after my beloved elder brother. My name is a bit of departure from tradition. Most Acadian women are named Madeleine, Cécile, Françoise, Anne, Jeanne, or Marie after their godparents. Interestingly, when Acadians marry, the women keep their maiden names their whole life long.

Do you have an occupation? What do you like or dislike about your work?

I am a seamstress. My mother always said I have a gift for stitches. My first project was a little sampler which she pronounced nearly flawless when I was only five. I have since sewn the clothing of my immediate family, both men and women, and have even been employed by Fort Beauséjour as a shirtmaker for the soldiers who occupy the garrison there. But my favorite garment to make is a fancy dress. I can usually stitch a detailed gown in ten days. 

I love all the choices of fabric to craft garments. Silks and taffetas and brocades are especially lovely to work yet challenging. I find it very rewarding when someone wears something I’ve made and takes pleasure in it. I dislike having to sew by firelight or low light during the day. It can wreak havoc on your stitches, not to mention your eyesight! 

Who are the special people in your life?

My little sister, Marie-Madeleine is the joy of our lives. She is sunshine to everyone she meets. I adore my older brother, Bleu, who is often away from Acadie working for Hudson’s Bay Company as well as his many other pursuits, some of which shall not be named here. And I cannot forget my other brothers, Pascal and Lucien, who remain at home and help my beloved father and mother with their many tasks.

What is your heart’s deepest desire?

To marry and have a family someday. I have not yet met the man but it is wonderful to imagine him out there, somewhere, prior to our paths intercepting. And I hope to use my gift as a seamstress to benefit others. I do not think of it as merely sewing but creating beauty and adorning whoever wears the garments of my hands and heart. Also, I long to know Christ better and better. To hear “well done, good & faithful servant” when my earthly race is done. 

What are you most afraid of?

Acadie has been fought over by the English and the French for hundreds of years. Both countries want us to take an oath of loyalty but my people remain peaceful and neutral. All we desire is to live in peace but turmoil is all I’ve ever known. I hope never to lose my homeland, the place Acadians have lived for generations. But the fighting continues and might result in something dire. 

Do you have a cherished possession?

That would be my sewing kit. It was given to me by my maternal great-grandmother when I was four years old. She brought it to Acadie from her homeland of Scotland when she was young and left it to me upon her passing. Though it looks quite plain being made of linen, it has all the tools of my trade within – needles, thread, scissors, thimble, and bodkin. 

What do you expect the future will hold for you?

 I sense my future might change violently and quickly based on the escalating war around us. I pray not, but these English who rule over the American colonies and parts of Canada seem to have a voracious appetite for more land no matter who it belongs to. 

What have you learned about yourself in the course of your story?

My story has caused me to examine my own life in a profound way. I now look at how I respond when circumstances are out of my control. What is my reaction to calamity? In what or who do I place my trust? If the worst happens, what do I have left? My priorities are shifting and centering more on my relationship with the Lord because that is the one constant in life. 

Is there anything else you’d like people to know about you?

Though I appear quite serious, far moreso than my younger sister, I experience a great deal of joy in the natural world and plying my needle as a seamstress. I love my family and friends and my faith. I am quite blessed despite my fears and an uncertain future. 

Thanks for allowing us to get know you a little better!

Laura Frantz is a Christy Award winner and the ECPA bestselling author of fifteen novels, including The Rose and the Thistle, The Frontiersman’s Daughter, Courting Morrow Little, The Lacemaker, and A Heart Adrift. She is the proud mom of an American soldier and a career firefighter. Though she will always call Kentucky
home, Laura lives with her husband in Washington State.

Laura Frantz
www.LauraFrantz.net

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Book Review: Bluebird by Genevieve Graham

~ Cindy Thomson ~ Leave a comment
 Simon & Schuster (April 5, 2022)

This novel opens in WWI with Adele Savard, a nurse from Canada, who is treating injured soldiers. She meets Corporal Jeremiah Bailey of the 1st Canadian Tunnelling Company and they make an immediate connection. They are both from the same town. Adele and her fellow nursing sisters are nicknamed Bluebirds from the color of their uniforms, thus the title of the book. Jerry goes back to the front and they aren’t sure they’ll see each other again, but they hope to. After the war Jerry and his brother return home to discover their parents have died from Spanish Flu. It’s Prohibition and everyone in town, including Jerry’s late father, have been making money rumrunning. Adele works for a local doctor and she and Jerry reunite after he saves her from his devious rival, a man he has a history with since childhood.

Their romance is tender and sweet, and best of all in my opinion, it is not rushed. They form a friendship that blooms with time.

The story contains a present day thread in which a young woman named Cassie is a historian who used to live in the Bailey House but lost her mother there in an accident. When the current owner finds bottles of whiskey hidden in the walls of the house, the two work to unfold the mystery, which is part of Cassie’s family history. I love family history connections!

I found the modern thread to be brief and while interesting, not too well developed. However, the story of Adele and Jerry is compelling and I love a book that teaches me history I wasn’t aware of. The rumrunning in Windsor, Canada was linked to the US due to its proximity to the border across the Detroit River and the fact that Prohibition ended in Canada long before it did in the US. (The author’s note at the end is not to be missed!)

The story is gritty at times, but just enough to draw you into the story. It involves two bloody periods in history after all. The ending is quite intense, but the conclusion unveils hope and illustrates how those who lived it endured and continued to live their lives. Those who love history, like all of our readers on this blog, will enjoy this one.

I received an advance copy from the publisher for the purpose of review and all opinions are my own.

Reviewed by Cindy Thomson

www.cindyswriting.com

MEET JANE LINDER FROM SUSAN ANNE MASON’S “TO FIND HER PLACE”

~ Cindy Thomson ~ 1 Comment

Tell us a little about yourself, Jane.

I’m Canadian, born and bred in Toronto, Ontario. Right now, I’m living with my widowed mother while my brother is away fighting in the war. I work at the Toronto Children’s Aid Society, where I’ve been a social worker for several years. Currently I’m the acting directress, filling in for my boss and mentor who is planning to retire after suffering a heart attack.

That’s quite an important job for a woman. Do you feel pressured to perform as well as a man?

Absolutely. Especially since I hope to impress the board of management and be awarded the position permanently. I’ve devoted my life to helping orphaned children find loving parents, and in this position, I hope to make policy changes that will allow more children, especially those who are deemed ‘unadoptable’, to find permanent homes.

That’s an admirable goal. What obstacles do you foresee in achieving this?

Other than proving my skills to the board, I have to contend with Garrett Wilder, an outsider they’ve brought in to study the agency’s procedures and overhaul the system. Apparently, there is a discrepancy with the finances, and I’m worried the board thinks I might have something to do with it. Also, I’m fairly certain Garrett is hoping to be awarded the director’s position himself.

Have you always wanted to be a career woman? What made you so focused on social work?

I’ve always loved children and longed for a family of my own. But after two miscarriages and the breakdown of my marriage, it seemed that particular path was not meant for me. Instead, I threw myself into my career in the hopes that ministering to less fortunate children might bring me the fulfilment denied me through motherhood. There’s one little boy in particular who has captured my heart, and if I could adopt him myself, I’d do it in a heartbeat. I won’t rest until Martin has found his forever family.

Has the war had an effect on the Children’s Aid Society?

Very much so. There are more children in need of our services than ever before. With the pressure on women raising children alone while their husbands are overseas, more cases of neglect and abuse have been reported. At the same time, we have fewer and fewer foster families willing to take in children since they are struggling to manage their own families. And fewer families thinking about adoption in this time of uncertainty.

That does sound difficult. What will happen if Garrett Wilder is awarded the director’s position?

I don’t know. I’m not sure I could continue working there, now that I’ve started to develop feelings for Garrett. But he seems determined to keep me at arm’s length for some reason. Perhaps it’s due to the war injuries he’s hinted at. And then there’s my former husband, Donald, who has returned from the war with a tempting proposition of his own. I will have to pray very hard to determine where my true place lies. 

Well, thank you Jane for talking with us and giving us a glimpse into the Toronto Children’s Aid Society during WWII.

Thank you for having me. I’m certain that God will direct my steps toward my ultimate happiness, no matter which path I choose.

Susan Anne Mason’s debut historical novel, Irish Meadows,won the Fiction from the Heartland contest from the Mid-American Romance Authors Chapter of RWA. She is the author of the Courage to Dream Series and the Canadian Crossings series. A member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Susan lives outside of Toronto, Ontario, with her husband and two adult children. She loves wine and chocolate and isn’t partial to snow even though she’s Canadian.Learn more about Susan and her books at www.susanannemason.net.