What better thing to do on a cold winter day than to curl up with a good book and Bruce County is fortunate to have several local authors whose works make that a time to look forward to.
To help out readers, we decided to read some of our local authors’ works and highly recommend them, either for yourself or as a gift.
Anna’s Tree is written by new local author, Cynthia Elliott Everest of Southampton.
“It’s 1941, near the town of Southampton, Ontario, and five young sisters are reeling from an accident that killed their mother and severely emotionally injured their father. With the help from their aunt, the sisters strive to keep the family farm operating as World War II rages on.”
Set in rural Ontario during the war, the historical fiction, Anna’s Tree, tells of the struggles of the Ross family and farm life during the depression and war time, when simply surviving could be a challenge. The novel also vividly describes daily life in a small rural town and the prejudices that can lie beneath the surface.
Everest, a new local author, has drawn not only from her rich background of literature growing up and, later as
an educator with a specialty as teacher-librarian, but also as one of five sisters.
Although fictional, Everest herself says that the Ross sisters are “… loosely based on my own sisters … their personalities and interests.”
It is evident in reading Anna’s Tree that the author appears to have an insatiable appetite for authentic detail with references at the end that span 14 additional pages. From the Bruce County Museum and Cultural Centre’s Archives to visiting the historic Goderich Gaol, she has explored the history of the area that she has then woven throughout the novel.
For many of those living today in Southampton, they will recognize names such as the Breakwater Hotel, the corner of Huron and High Streets, the Women’s Institute of Burgoyne and many others, or remember a time when ‘buying new’ meant ordering from the Eaton’s catalogue.
What is also apparent is Everest’s love of language with passages that are exquisitely written in descriptive narrative that brings people, places and situations to vivid life. Although fictional, for many her characters may seem familiar and identifiable.
Without giving away the plot with its surprising turns and outcome, Anna’s Tree is a story of resilience, heartbreak, strength of character, discrimination and mystery but, in the end, it is a story of family and the courage that is often needed when life seems bleakest.
Anna’s Tree is available locally at the Bruce County Museum and at ‘A Little of This and That’ on High Street in Southampton. It is also available on Amazon.ca and Chapters – Indigo online (search Cynthia Elliott Everest) as well as directly from the publisher at http://www.annastree.ca/
