We are keeping on our roll these days of historical fiction titles releasing with Carolyn J. Nicholson's new historical novel, Isabel: The Quest for Freedom, coming out on September 11.
The fictional main character in Carolyn's latest book that has resulted from years of research into her own ancestry is Isabel Morton, the daughter of a prominent Nova Scotia family that wants the best for their twenty-four-year-old daughter—a suitable marriage—but Isabel will have none of it. She wants to be free, even if it means she must live as an “old maid” in a garret. Then she meets William Wishart, who offers her the freedom to follow her own stars if she marries him. But how does a woman follow her own stars in a culture where women are the property of their fathers, or if married, their husbands, and are to be meek, pious, and subservient? With no access to representative government, no right to vote, how can women be free? Isabel tries to find a way through many twists and turns of fate until, at last, she realizes that freedom for herself is not enough; she chooses to work for women's suffrage in order to gain freedom for all women and their daughters and granddaughters.
Spanning the years 1837 to 1873 and based on the author’s own family, this work of historical fiction follows Isabel from bucolic Upper Dyke Village to gritty Halifax, from placid Shelburne to turbulent Saint John, NB, and back to her native Kings County, Nova Scotia, in her quest for freedom.
"Isabel: The Quest for Freedom is an engaging, delightful, and well-researched story with a fascinating main character. Isabel is an intelligent and outspoken woman who overcomes the traditional role society attempts to thrust upon her to create a full and satisfying life."
– Bretton Loney, author of Unsettling Time and Joe Howe’s Ghost
"This is a compelling novel about a woman confronting the Victorian mores of Nova Scotian society in the mid-nineteenth century. The anecdotes in this engaging family saga range from amusing (“pantalettes” as a fashion statement) to horrifying (the many, many early deaths). Isabel is evocative and eminently readable."
– Bruce W. Bishop, author of The Families’ Storytelling Trilogy: Unconventional Daughters, Uncommon Sons, and Undeniable Relations
We'll be celebrating the launch on September 26th at the Kings County Museum in Kentville, NS. Subscribe to the OC Publishing newsletter to get notification of further details.
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| Carolyn J. Nicholson |
Learn more about Carolyn on her OCP author page or on her website. Learn more about OC Publishing at www.ocpublishing.ca
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