For Anne Powell in 1807, life in York (now Toronto) is unbearable. Her mother’s rules of genteel propriety are intolerable, as is her father’s insistence that a daughter’s only role in life is to marry. Anne craves an active, useful existence. When a chance comes to assist the local midwife, she discovers her vocation.
Anne is happy when she is able to save a friend from a botched abortion, deliver a servant’s baby, and nurse the wounded during the American invasion of York. Her parents hate and oppose these activities. They are pleased only when she becomes friends with an eminent lawyer. While this man is studying in England, Anne’s father allows her to travel across the sea to nail down their engagement. But she breaks free of him and spends happy weeks in an English village helping her relatives care for the poor.
Returning home, Anne faces the same parental difficulties. Finally, however, she manages to escape. She flees to New York and boards a ship bound for England. This story of a real historical figure who dares to challenge society’s norms is a must-read.
For Anne Powell in 1807, life in York (now Toronto) is unbearable. Her mother’s rules of genteel propriety are intolerable, as is her father’s insistence that a daughter’s only role in life is to marry. Anne craves an active, useful existence. When a chance comes to assist the local midwife, she discovers her vocation.
Anne is happy when she is able to save a friend from a botched abortion, deliver a servant’s baby, and nurse the wounded during the American invasion of York. Her parents hate and oppose these activities. They are pleased only when she becomes friends with an eminent lawyer. While this man is studying in England, Anne’s father allows her to travel across the sea to nail down their engagement. But she breaks free of him and spends happy weeks in an English village helping her relatives care for the poor.
Returning home, Anne faces the same parental difficulties. Finally, however, she manages to escape. She flees to New York and boards a ship bound for England. This story of a real historical figure who dares to challenge society’s norms is a must-read.
A novel rich with details that illuminate daily life in early nineteenth-century York (now Toronto) and the ongoing struggle of a brave woman of the upper class who confronts the soul-numbing torture of traditional female roles. Ann Birch’s prose is exceptionally fine in its elegance, clarity, and wit.
--Barbara Kyle, author of The Traitor’s Daughter
