The Brideship Wife
Page 28
In the novel, British Columbia is a symbol of freedom for the emigrant women, but many old ways of thinking persist. Discuss how different ethnicities, such as black and Indigenous peoples, are marginalized. How are land ownership and wealth at the centre of this mistreatment? What issues still linger, unresolved, at the end of the novel? What does this say about colonialism?
By the end of the novel, Charlotte has regained much of what she lost, and it’s only then that she chooses marriage. Do you think her decision complicates this hard-won autonomy? Why or why not?
Discuss the significance of the title The Brideship Wife.
Enhance Your Book Club
Brideships are a little-known chapter of Canadian history. Learn more about this moment in time and the real women who came here on board the Tynemouth: https://www.canadashistory.ca/explore/women/crinoline-cargo.
When Charlotte travels to Barkerville, she sees firsthand the changes made to the land because of the Cariboo gold rush, which went on from 1860 to 1863. To find out more about the gold rush, visit the Royal BC Museum learning portal here: https://learning.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/pathways/bcs-gold-rush/.
Governor James Douglas and his wife, Amelia (née Connolly), were real historical figures. Read more about Amelia here: http://www.metismuseum.ca/media/db/07419.
About the Author
Bopomo Pictures
Leslie Howard grew up in Penticton, British Columbia, where she developed a passion for the province’s history. A graduate of Ottawa’s Carleton University in economics and political science, she now divides her time between Vancouver and Penticton, where she and her husband grow cider apples. The Brideship Wife is her debut novel. Connect with her on Twitter @AuthorLeslieH or visit her at www.LeslieHoward.ca.
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Sources
The following publications provided factual information about the story’s time and place and the people involved.
BOOKS
Basque, Garnet. Gold Panner’s Manual. Victoria, BC: Heritage House Publishing, 2012.
Bridge, Kathryn, ed. New Perspectives on the Gold Rush. Victoria, BC: Royal BC Museum, 2015.
Downs, Art, ed. Cariboo Gold Rush: The Stampede that Made BC. Toronto: Heritage House Publishing, 2013.
Illing, Thora Kerr. Gold Rush Queen: The Extraordinary Life of Nellie Cashman. Victoria, BC: TouchWood Editions, 2016.
Johnson, Peter. Voyages of Hope: The Saga of the Bride-Ships. Victoria, BC: TouchWood Editions, 2002.
Kelm, Mary-Ellen. Colonizing Bodies: Aboriginal Health and Healing in British Columbia, 1900–50. Vancouver: UBC Press, 1998.
Perry, Adele. On the Edge of Empire: Gender, Race, and the Making of British Columbia. Toronto; Buffalo, NY: University of Toronto Press, 2001.
Van Kirk, Sylvia. Many Tender Ties: Women in Fur-Trade Society, 1670–1870. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1983.
Verney, Edmund Hope. Vancouver Island Letters of Edmund Hope Verney 1862–65. Edited by Allan Pritchard. Vancouver: UBC Press, 1996.
ARTICLES
Advertisement for the voyage of the Tynemouth Times of London, May 9, 1862.
Hopper, Tristin. “Everyone Was Dead: When Europeans First Came to B.C., They Stepped into the Aftermath of a Holocaust.” National Post, February 21, 2017. https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/everyone-was-dead-when-europeans-first-came-to-b-c-they-confronted-the-aftermath-of-a-holocaust.
Indigenous Corporate Training, Inc. “The Impact of Smallpox on First Nations on the West Coast.” April 17, 2017. ictinc.ca/blog/the-impact-of-smallpox-on-first-nations-on-the-west-coast.
Museum of Health Care at Kingston. “Smallpox” in the online exhibit Vaccines and Immunization: Epidemics, Prevention, and Canadian Innovation. https://www.museumofhealthcare.ca/explore/exhibits/vaccinations/smallpox.html.
Notice of the arrival of the Tynemouth British Colonist, September 11, 1862.
Ostroff, Joshua. “How a Smallpox Epidemic Forged Modern British Columbia.” Maclean’s, August 1, 2017. https://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/how-a-smallpox-epidemic-forged-modern-british-columbia/.
VIDEO
Sullivan, Sam. Revisiting B.C. History: The smallpox epidemic of 1862 Vancouver Is Awesome, May 10, 2018. https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/2018/05/10/smallpox-bc-1862/.
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2020 by Leslie Howard
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Interior design by Alexis Minieri
Design by Jessica Lacy Boudreau
Cover photograph of Woman by Alexia Feltser/Arcangel
Cover photograph of Ship by John Freeman/Getty Images
Cover image of Map © Getty Images
Cover image of Lace by Baleika Tamara/Shutterstock
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Title: The brideship wife / Leslie Howard.
Names: Howard, Leslie, 1953– author.
Identifiers: Canadiana (print) 20190162864 | Canadiana (ebook) 20190162872 | ISBN 9781508259350 (softcover) | ISBN 9781508259367 (ebook)
Classification: LCC PS8615.O899 B75 2020 | DDC C813/.6—dc23
ISBN 978-1-5082-5935-0
ISBN 978-1-5082-5936-7 (ebook)