“The Library of Legends” follows several such students as they make this treacherous trek, carrying with them precious volumes of books. In 1937, at the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War, there was a mass exodus of youth from Chinese universities, relocating scholars to safer campuses, away from the conflict, and protecting the country’s cultural legacy in the process. This time out, Chang is inspired by her father’s experiences as a refugee student in China. One of the most original voices in Canadian historical fiction, Chang writes epic novels inspired by personal family stories. The Vancouver, B.C., author of “Three Souls” and “Dragon Springs Road” has done it again. There’s a reason this well-researched read has landed on the Toronto Star bestseller list it marks the arrival of a new talent on the Canadian historical fiction scene. “The Brideship Wife” opens in England in 1862 and follows twenty-one-year-old Charlotte, as she makes the long, harrowing journey to Canada, as part of a real-life scheme to provide single, English (and often destitute) women as wives to male settlers in the colonies. The trip stayed with her for decades, ultimately inspiring her to pen this page-turner. When she was ten years old, Leslie Howard’s parents took her to visit the historic gold rush town of Barkerville, B.C. author is the daughter of the late novelist Blanche Howard, to whom this book is dedicated. The book that finally brought me back to reading was Leslie Howard’s wonderful debut. Like so many bookworms across the city, in the early days of the pandemic, I found myself unable to concentrate enough to read.

The brideship wife