A Canadian Heroine, Volume 1: A Novel

At a cottage nestled in the Canadian wilderness, seventeen-year-old Lucia Costello embodies the paradox of her existence: beautiful, innocent, and utterly unaware of the secrets her mother carries. Written in 1873 by Mrs. Harry Coghill, this novel was remarkably ahead of its time, a story about a young woman of mixed heritage navigating love, identity, and the shadows of the past. The story opens on a serene evening, mother and daughter discussing a picnic, but beneath their tranquil exchange lies Mrs. Costello's gnawing anxiety. Someone from her past is threatening to return, and the drama lurking at the edges of their isolated life promises to unravel everything Lucia thought she knew about her family and herself. The Canadian landscape, its forests, its lakes, its fierce solitude, becomes both sanctuary and symbol in this tale of a heroine discovering who she truly is.