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Elinor Florence (Company name) Elinor Florence

Bestselling Historical Fiction Author

FINDING FLORA

“Historical fiction readers will love this fascinating, incredibly researched story of survival and courage, honouring the strength and resilience of early female pioneers.”

— Genevieve Graham, #1 bestselling author of The Secret Keeper

  • Release Date: April 1, 2025
  • Published by Simon & Schuster Canada
  • Trade Paperback and E-Book
  • 384 pages
  • ISBN-13: 978-1668058916

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Synopsis

Scottish newcomer Flora Craigie jumps from a moving train in 1905 to escape her abusive husband. Desperate to disappear, she claims a homestead on the beautiful but wild Alberta prairie, determined to create a new life for herself.

She is astonished to find that her nearest neighbours are also female: a Welsh widow with three children; two American women raising chickens; and a Métis woman who supports herself by training wild horses.

While battling both the brutal environment and the local cynicism toward female farmers, the five women struggle to find common ground. But when their homes are threatened with expropriation by a hostile government, they join forces to “fire the heather” — a Scottish term meaning to raise a ruckus.

To complicate matters, there are signs that Flora’s violent husband is still hunting for her. And as the competition for free land along the new Canadian Pacific Railway line heats up, an unscrupulous land agent threatens not only Flora’s livelihood . . . but her very existence.

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Reader Reviews

“Flora is a heroine to cheer for! She’s brave, dogged, stubborn, joyful, a pioneer in a beautiful and punishing land. I can’t remember when I’ve been more caught up in the fate of a character! And what’s so splendid is that it is full of fascinating historical detail which never showed itself off, being so beautifully integrated into the story.”

— Iona Whishaw, best-selling author of The Lane Winslow Series

 

“A gorgeously written and researched story of love and survival, following a plucky Scotswoman fleeing her abusive husband, and a powerfully diverse group of women homesteaders on the Canadian prairies in the early 1900s. You will fall in love with the prairies, and this wonderful book.”

— Maia Caron, bestselling author of The Last Secret

 

“Elinor Florence has vividly captured a time in Canadian history when life for so many people was physically very hard and rigid demarcations separated both class and gender. The struggle of her female characters to forge a life for themselves against daunting odds grabs our sympathy and doesn’t let go until the satisfying ending. They are women I, for one, would love to hang out with.”

— Maureen Jennings, award-winning author of the Murdoch Mystery Books

 

“I was swept away to the wild and wide-open spaces of Alberta, circa 1905, by the magic of Elinor Florence’s writing. I cheered for Flora every step of the way in this tale as big as the prairie sky.”

— Leslie Howard, bestselling author of The Brideship Wife

 

“When we think of pioneers and homesteaders, women are normally relegated to the sidelines. Elinor Florence’s new novel upends this narrative. You can’t help but cheer for the resilient women of ‘Ladyville’, who are not only loveable characters but also reflect the grit, hardships, and societal tensions that helped shape Canada as we know it today. Finding Flora is an engaging and educational read, rich with shifting fortunes and trouble brewing at every turn.”

— Ellen Keith, award-winning author of The Dutch Wife

 

“In Finding Flora, novelist Elinor Florence has given us a striking new Scottish-Canadian heroine — a young woman at once courageous, sympathetic, and vividly alive. After tumbling alone into a harsh, unforgiving world on the Alberta prairie, she shows extraordinary mettle while battling hardship and injustice. When she emerges after a final twist, I found my eyes stinging with tears.”

— Ken McGoogan, author of Flight of the Highlanders

 

“Both entertaining and educational, Finding Flora is one of those can’t-put-down books that will keep you flipping pages. Elinor Florence deftly recreates early 20th century homesteading on the Canadian prairie, seamlessly incorporating little known facts, scenes of great beauty, humour and treachery. As Flora Craigie and four other female farmers struggle against all odds, you’ll find yourself rooting for their success.”

— Anthony Bidulka, author of Going to Beautiful, Crime Writers of Canada 2023 Best Crime Novel; and the Merry Bell mysteries

My Inspiration

What sparked your interest in the subject?

Firstly, I’m descended from several generations of homesteaders. While reading about the flood of newcomers to Western Canada in the early 1900s, I was shocked to discover that the Canadian government never allowed single women to claim a free homestead! This was in contrast to the United States, where single women were homesteading by the thousands.

I immediately decided that the heroine of my new novel would be a single woman named Flora Craigie who jumps off a moving train to escape her abusive husband, and finds a way to claim her own homestead on the Alberta prairie.

I imagined Flora to look something like Maude Fealey, an American stage actress. This photograph was taken in 1905, the same year my novel begins. It was the peak of the homesteading movement, when settlers were pouring into the West, primarily from Europe, Ontario and the United States.

Sepia publicity photograph of actress Maude Fealey, beautiful woman looking heavenward, long hair tumbling down her back, wearing a velvet hat with a cockade.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

What role does the railway play?

The novel opens with Flora jumping off a moving train in the middle of what is now Alberta, one of hundreds of trains bringing tens of thousands of homesteaders to Western Canada. The coming of the railway was essential to the success of every small community, and the intrigue around where the steel was headed has a direct impact on Flora and her friends.

Sepia image of steam train approaching through treed countryside.

Is Flora completely on her own?

No, her neighbour is Peggy Penrose, a widow who arrives from Wales to homestead, with three young children. This photo of a Scottish immigrant sitting on the dock at Quebec City shortly after arriving reminds me of my character Peggy. This woman looks scared to death, and I don’t blame her!

Woman wearing black dress and headscarf seated on a bench at the docks, holding a baby in her arms with three little girls, all wearing dark dresses and stockings, clustered around her, with a number of people milling around in the background.

Photo Credit: Library and Archives Canada

Are there any real people in your novel?

Yes, I used several real historic figures, although they are all fictionalized to some extent. One of them was Alix Hall Crofton Westhead, who played a large role in my novel. She was the first white woman settler in the area. She and her husband Charles started the Quarter Circle One Ranch in 1892. The village of Alix, Alberta was named after her.

Alix Westhead, portrait photo of beautiful dark-haired woman in low-cut dress staring soulfully off to one side.

Photo Credit: Alix Wagon Wheel Museum

How did you conduct your research?

That’s the best part! I read some sixty books about homesteaders in Canada and the United States, collecting a vast body of research notes. I contacted archivists, museums and historians. And I spent hours on the internet looking at old photos.

As usual, women’s stories were few and far between. I was so thankful to find this book edited by Dr. Sarah Carter, a history professor at the University of Alberta. She has written extensively about women homesteaders in Western Canada and the United States. This one was particularly helpful: Montana Women Homesteaders: A Field of One’s Own, published by Farcountry Press in Helena, Montana.

The photograph on the cover of her book is Petrina Peterson Pogreba, a homesteader at Box Elder, Montana, Courtesy of the Ralph McKinney Family. Don’t you love her expression, so shy and proud? In my novel, Flora’s shack looks much like this one.

Montana Women Homesteaders, A Field of One's Own, Edited by Sarah Carter, cover image is a photograph of a young woman standing at the door of a tiny shack, wearing a long skirt and blouse, gazing timidly at the camera.