First Spring on the Grand Banks - Hardcover

Freeman, Bill

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0888622201 ISBN 13: 9780888622204

Publisher: James Lorimer & Co, 1978

Synopsis

John and Meg Bains haven't seen their mother or their Ottawa home in over eight months. Stranded in an isolated Nova Scotian fishing village they desperately need to raise the money for passage on a steamer to Montreal, but the whole country is suffering from a Depression and work is scarce.

Their friend Canso has vowed to help them, but he arrives home to find his father has died and his boat has been seized for debt. Canso, John and Meg take the boat and sail for Newfoundland, hoping to catch enough fish to cover the debt and their passage. Soon after their arrival, however, the boat is seized again and Canso is thrown in jail. The Bains beg the people of the Newfoundland community for help and against all odds they band together to confront their common difficulties, and to send the children on their way.

Set against the gritty background of dirt-poor 19th century fishing communities, First Spring on the Grand Banks is the story of two young people's struggle to keep their family together, against great odds.

This is the third book in the Bains series of historical novels, well-researched, action-filled narratives following the travels of one family across Canada--from Newfoundland to Alberta-- in search of a better life during the hard times of the 1870s.

About this title

About the Author

BILL FREEMAN is an award-winning historian, novelist, and screenwriter. Among his previous publications are Far from Home: Canadians in the First World War, which he co-authored with Richard Nielsen; A Magical Place: Toronto Island and Its People, winner of a Certificate of Commendation from Heritage Toronto in 2000; Casa Loma: Toronto's Fairy-Tale Castle and Its Owner Sir Henry Pellatt, which received the Heritage Toronto Award of Merit in 1999; Their Town: The Mafia, the Media and the Party Machine, a study of political power in Hamilton co-authored with Marsha Hewitt; and 1005: Political Life in a Union Local. Bill Freeman is also a popular children's author who has won the prestigious Vicky Metcalf Award for "a body of work" and a Canada Council Award for Juvenile Literature.

Review

"First Spring on the Grand Banks is excellent reading for grades four and up. Informative and interesting, this book is hard to put down. It really captures the life and struggles of fishermen and their families long ago." (Canadian Content)

"...impossible to put down..." (Montreal Gazette)

Edition details

• Publisher: James Lorimer & Co
• Publication date: 1978
• ISBN 10: 0888622201
• ISBN 13: 9780888622204
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 215