Two dissimilar women suddenly find their lives connected.
Canada in the 1850s was a collection of colonies, each with its own governor, custom house, administration and postage stamp. Governors were appointed in London and served five to seven years. While the system worked, it caused a problem – oligarchies, power in the hands of a small group of people. The Reform Party believed…
Numbers vary widely, but as many as 100,000 slaves escaped north via the Underground Railroad, the largest anti-slavery freedom movement in North America. Most often, in the 1850s, the destination was Canada West (what is today Ontario). The Canadian Act to Limit Slavery of 1793 ensured that any enslaved person who reached Upper Canada (the name for Canada West at…
Over the course of the early 19th century, women’s hemlines and sleeves became increasingly larger. Just ask Rose, the heroine in Rose’s Assignment. Her skirts often make maneuvering difficult. While in the novella Rose’s dresses are a running gag, in reality the skirts were dangerous. They easily were set ablaze while a woman cooked or…
The 1850s were a turbulent decade. It is defined by wars and colonization. If you lived in a town or city during the 1850s, chances are you might be caught up in the temperance movement or, at least, knew someone who was. The temperance movement rallied against alcohol use, seeking a ban on the drink.…
The world in the mid-19th century was on the brink of industrialization. Perhaps the first touch of the modern world many colonial Canadians experienced was the introduction of the locomotive. The railroad was poised to change their lives forever. The first rail line in Canada opened in 1836. The Champlain and St. Lawrence ran from…
Canada in the mid-19th century was going through an identity crisis. It was less radical than the United States, but less conservative than the United Kingdom. It would remain stuck between these nations’ influences until the end of the Great War, when Canadians finally discovered what it meant to be Canadian. What is modern-day Quebec…
In the 1840s, the French had been in Canada for seven generations. Those of English, Scottish and Irish decent, like Rose in Rose’s Assignment, came to the new world for economic reasons. They generally were young, ambitious, had some money saved, and were from a society too oppressive for upward mobility. They may have been…