The sun is shining.
The weather is unusually warm.
Island breezes – Prince Edward Island
John A, the John A, is falling in love.
The circus is in town.
Thirteen thousand dollars worth of champagne from the Canadian’s ship is being poured.
Late lunches of island delicacies abound and “ … the ice was broken and the wooing began,” as George Brown, founder of the Globe and Mail proclaimed.
Farini, the tightrope walker from Port Hope Ontario, in a daredevil stilt walk along the top of Niagara Falls , will be stuck on Goat’s Island above the American falls .
And so begins and continues the story of Canada
Anne McDonald’s first novel To the Edge of the Sea, released by Thistledown Press Spring 2011, explores the formation of Canada
“Writ large, the country takes shape beneath a nurturing hand. We’re given Sir John A and the people of a groundbreaking time. We’re given writing that is evocative, genuine and eye-opening.”
Richard Wagamese (as juror for the Hicks Award for Coincidence of Water and Air, original title of To the Edge of the Sea)
Heather Allen of the Penticton Western News said “It’s obvious that McDonald loves intriguing, obscure and humorous historical details. She includes many discovered while poring over history books, old newspapers and even a copy of Mercy Coles’ diary tucked away in the P.E.I. archives.
To the Edge of the Sea has a dream-like quality and is playfully poetic. McDonald follows a historical narrative, but is just as interested in language, symbols and metaphors. If you enjoy the writings of authors such as Michael Ondaatje and Sheila Watson, then this is an interpretation of Canadian history that you won’t want to miss.” Bev Green of Prairie Books Now said, “I was particularly taken with the cinematic quality of the novel and the vividness of its setting. Kudos to you for capturing this important story in our country's history!”
To the Edge of the Sea was also just posted as New and Notable for Canada in Belletrista which celebrates literature written by or about women writers from around the world
I did an immense amount of research for the book – in the PEI archives, the Toronto Reference Library, and the National Archives, and although it is fiction I have used much that is historical fact. Of course I have made up my own intentions – read between the lines – if you will, of what might have happened.
I value the evocation of time and place and love researching and finding the story behind the story – the reading between the lines of history. My short story “The Pull of the Moon” based on the true story of the German spy landed on the Bay of Fundy coast, was submitted by Descant for the Journey Prize and this novel To the Edge of the Sea (original title The Coincidence of Water and Air) was awarded First Alternate for the John Hicks Award.
I teach theatre for the Sask Urban Native Teacher Education Program at the University of Regina, facilitate creative writing for inner city youth, was the guest writer for the Sage Hill Teen Writing Experience in Regina, and do organizational development and keynotes in collaboration, communication and creativity for groups and individuals across Canada. I was born in Quebec, have my own Expo ’67 passport, grew up in Grimsby down the road from Niagara Falls, and moved to Regina after falling in love with the light of the prairies 12 years ago.
