When young Dory Dickson leaves his home to seek work, his father advises him to avoid the border towns, where Patriots meet to plan rebellion. It is a winter of discontent, Upper and Lower Canada both on the verge of civil war. Despite his father’s warning, Dory walks straight into trouble at his first stop, when at the tavern in Chippawa he meets the Patriot recruiter Duncan Fraser, who is raising an army to overthrow the Government of Upper Canada, toss out the Family Compact and establish the Republic of Canada. On nearby Navy Island, in the middle of the Niagara River, rebellion leader William Lyon Mackenzie has an army of 400 men training for an invasion. Dory does not take sides. Unaware that he is being used, he is thrust into a role that he did not choose, fraught with danger and betrayal wherever he turns.
Jean Rae Baxterholds a B.A. and M.A. from the University of Toronto and a B.Ed. from Queen's. She has been nominated for the 2022 Governor General's History Award for Popular Media: the Pierre Berton Award.
Although she grew up in Hamilton, "down home" was Essex County, where her ancestors had settled, some as Loyalists in the 1780's following the American Revolution and some a century earlier, in the days of New France.
Jean has written six historical novels, the "Forging a Nation Series," covering the period from 1777 to 1793:
The Way Lies North (2007)
Broken Trail (2011)
Freedom Bound (2012)
The White Oneida (2014)
Hope's Journey (2015)
The Knotted Rope (2021)
With The Battle on the Ice she moves ahead to the Patriot Wars of 1837—1838. Jean's historical novels have won awards in Canada and the United States, including all three Moonbeam medals, ——Gold, Silver, Bronze?for Young Adult Historical Fiction.
She was also nominated for the 2022 Governor General's History Award for Popular Media: the Pierre Berton Award: About her series, "Forging A Nation" the committee write: "We were honoured to learn more about your work as a teacher, writer and public speaker. Your series… has done the important work of introducing young readers to the stories of the past and fostering a life—long interest in Canadian history."
She has also authored a murder mystery, Looking for Cardenio, and two short story collections, Twist of Malice and Scattered Light.•
As a teacher of creative writing Jean holds workshops on using the tools of fiction to bring family history to life.
