At the end of the seventeenth century, on that 'grey rock in the Canadian wilderness' known as Quebec, a French family, the Auclairs, begin a very different life from the one they knew in Paris. On her mother's death ten-year old Cecile is entrusted with the care of the household, and of her father, Euclid, the town apothecary. Two years later, Cecile and her father prepare for the long difficult winter ahead with no news from home - news of the world they have left behind must wait until spring, when the annual boats from France are able to make their way up the St Lawrence. For her father it will be a painful exile, but for the young Cecile life holds innumerabel joys as old ties are relinquished and new ones are formed.
At first, I struggled to find momentum to move forward, there didn’t seem to be any driving narrative — but by the end, I feel in love with the detail and care she put into crafting these vignettes that made you live colonial Québec.
Reading updates
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Started reading
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10 December, 2020:
Finished reading
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10 December, 2020:
Reviewed