My Love of History

The historic Wallace Stegner House in Eastend, Saskatchewan is my home for the month of June, and this heritage home is just filled with charm and atmosphere.

I have two slender connections with the famous philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, but both are very meaningful: my hometown library, and my new book.

Homesteaders were hoodwinked by an unscrupulous Canadian government that lied about the life awaiting them in the so-called land of promise, resulting in untold hardship and heartbreak.

Homesteaders survived that first ghastly winter in shacks made of lumber, logs or even earth. Flora, the heroine in my new historical novel, was one of them.

We recently spent two weeks in the beating heart of Mexico City, where thousands of people were once sacrificed to the Aztec gods and blood gushed down the streets very close to the location of our hotel. It was both gruesome and fascinating.

My visit to Danesfield House Hotel in England was truly a dream come true. Not only is this white chalkstone mansion the setting for my wartime novel Bird’s Eye View, it was also the location for a very special event on May 8, 2022 — the seventy-seventh anniversary of VE-Day, Victory in Europe.

They say every picture tells a story. Among the thousands of photographs stored in my albums and on my computer, some of them are very dear to my heart. Here is the story behind the photo, for ten of my favourite historical pictures.

It was a great thrill to travel back to the farm, to see my beloved family, my childhood farmhouse, AND my new farmland. Earlier this year I purchased some land and rented it to my brother Rob Florence, who owns the family farm east of North Battleford, Saskatchewan. Here I am, outstanding in my new field.

The royal family and I go back a long way, since I’ve been fascinated with them since my earliest memory.

My traditional tree simply glitters with nostalgia, and this Christmas season I want to share some of my favourite ornaments with you.