Governor James Douglas and his wife, Amelia, were real people as well. James was born to a Scottish father and a mother of Barbadian Creole ancestry. Amelia was Métis with a French-Irish father and a Cree mother. Some historians have suggested that James’s vision was to create a racially harmonious society in the colony that was inclusive of black and Indigenous peoples. However, the settlers who arrived from every corner of the world brought with them their own entrenched biases and racism. While Mrs. Douglas was reported to be rather shy, keeping a low social profile likely because of derogatory comments, many Indigenous wives of Hudson’s Bay Company men were not only wealthy but also prominent and active in both the fur trade and society and thus occupied positions of power.
As a writer who loves history, I like nothing better than to create a story that weaves fact with fiction, especially when those stories are about my home province. As a woman I deeply relate to the brideship women and their struggle to find independence and a life of their own choosing. The sixty Tynemouth brideship women left their homeland and all that was known and familiar to them to set off for a strange land in hopes of a better future. For years, women’s important stories have been ignored or glossed over in favour of those of men, but the emigrant women were brave and resilient people who deserve their place in history. It has been an honour to help place this story front and centre in the lexicon of women’s collective histories. Thank you, dear reader, for joining me on this journey.
Leslie Howard
The
BRIDESHIP
WIFE
Leslie Howard
A Reading Group Guide
A Conversation with Leslie Howard
This is your debut novel. How long has this story been with you, and what is your writing process like? Did the story change and take shape as you went along?
My writing process resembles that of building a house: first the foundation is poured, then the framing is completed, and finally all the finishing work is done. I tend to write in layers; My first draft sets out the basic plot and a broad brushstroke of characters, the second draft focuses on dialogue and setting, and the third on refining the plot and adjusting the chapter order. As this is my debut novel, the process of developing each of these drafts was lengthy. From my first one-page sketch of the premise to publication has been about five years.
During the editing process, the story ebbed and flowed as characters’ conversations took the plot in new directions and I developed central themes more fully. As much as I loved some dramatic scenes, I accepted that they had to be left on the cutting-room floor once they no longer fit with the story arc. The novel didn’t change so much as it matured through the process of teasing out plot threads and digging deeper into the characters’ motivations and backstories.
The Brideship Wife is based on a little-known chapter of British and Canadian history—the brideships. Where did you first learn about the Tynemouth and the Columbia Emigration Society? Did you know instantly you wanted to write a novel about this moment in time?
While waiting for a ferry that would take me from Vancouver to Victoria, British Columbia, I picked up a book in the gift shop called Voyages of Hope: The Saga of the Bride-Ships by Peter Johnson. I was captivated by the true story, and the seeds were planted for this novel.
Born and raised in British Columbia, I had always been interested in its history and was therefore surprised that I had never heard of this fascinating and important story. In contrast, much had been written about les filles du roi, the women who were brought over from France as wives for the Quebec settlers.
Charlotte is forced to leave England because of a scandal, but this event becomes the catalyst for her physical and her emotional journey. In many ways, this is her coming-of-age story. How did Charlotte’s character come to you?
I was very drawn to the plight of the impoverished gentlewomen of the time. They were not employable, as they had no training, and no one would hire them anyway. Marriage was their only option, and so finding a husband was the single most important consideration in their lives.
I wanted to show Charlotte as a product of Victorian times, a young woman who tries to live up to the expectations of her family and society, but who, through a series of experiences, grows into an independent woman with early feminist views.
Which character did you identify with most, and why?
Surprisingly, John Crossman, in the way that he seizes on an idea and becomes passionate about it… like writing a novel about the brideships.
Throughout the novel, you explore the limited opportunities offered to women at this time and the freedom of choice. Why was it important to you to highlight these themes? Do you think these issues are still relevant today?
I believe the New World offered women the opportunity to break from the strict social confines of Victorian England and allowed them to develop and exercise their free will. In doing so, they not only benefited themselves, but also set a foundation for equality that women still fight for today. The movement of the women from the old world to the new was an inciting incident in the development of the rights of women in Canada.
You write about life in England and Canada in such vivid detail. How did growing up in British Columbia influence
