Reviews - A Most Unusual Colony
A Most Unusual Colony Reviews
Condensed from various sources, 1996-1997
"A Most Unusual Colony is a vibrant and enlightening read with interesting images and footnotes to provide a background in just the right amount ... The author has done an exceptional job of portraying the life and times of early colonial women, ensconced in the political and economic history of Vancouver Island's earliest days." (British Columbia Historical News, Fall, 1997)
"... In this female world, the reader is treated to a minutiae of details that provide the most fascinating glimpse of life in the colony - from Mary's primitive stove to Kate's description of fashions in the colony, or lack of them, and James's troubles with the Hudson's Bay Company - we are drawn into the warm family life of the family in the 1850s" (Goldstream News Gazette, December, 1996)
"This engaging story is remarkable in that it is an account of the settlement of British Columbia as seen through the perceptive eyes of women. It is the story of ... extraordinary people in extraordinary circumstances ... one of the best local histories in years and a very good read." (Canadiana Costume Museum newsletter, December, 1996)
"This well-researched historical novel by Maureen Duffus is one of the few books to present a woman's eye view of early British Columbia history ... [It is] based on HBC records and correspondence, government records as well as letters and reminiscences of other early Victorians" (Westcoast Reflections)
"I read the entire book and enjoyed it a great deal. I liked the way you approached the letters and memoirs ..." Judith Hudson Beattie, HBC Archives, University of Manitoba (letter to author)
Back to A Most Unusual Colony