The Last River Child

By Lori Ann Bloomfield

A young woman struggles against a small town's superstitious fears at the turn of the last century In the summer of 1900 a meteorite lands on the day of Peg Staynor's baptismal, barely missing the small church in rural Ontario. This, along with Peg's almost colourless eyes, is enough to resurrect a local superstition that will haunt Peg and her family for years. Many believe Peg to be a "river child," taken over by an evil spirit from the Magurvey river that winds its way through the town. Feared and shunned throughout her childhood, Peg is blamed for every misfortune, from drought to ailing livestock. When her mother, her fiercest protector, dies suddenly on the same day WWI is declared, fourteen-year-old Peg must face not only the mistrust of the villagers, but of her father. His grief has driven him to take solace in drink and old superstition, leaving Peg with only her head-strong older sister for support. It will take the terrible reality of the first World War to shake off the grip of old world beliefs. As the town's young men begin to return mentally and physically damaged, or not return at all, the sheltered atmosphere of the town is broken. A bright flame of change will sweep through everyone's lives, leading Peg into the future.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1897187661
• ISBN13: 9781897187661
• Release Date: September 2009
• Publisher: Second Story Press
• Length: 280 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

A fine addition to fiction collections everywhere

When you're cursed, you do everything you can do remove that curse. "The Last River Child" tells the tale of Peg Staynor, a woman in the early twentieth century considered to be an omen by herself, her family, and her neighbors. Peg tries to rise up over her supposed curse and with the backdrop of the first World War, Lori Ann Bloomfield gives readers a fine literary tale of a woman trying to make her way in life. "The Last River Child" is a fine addition to fiction collections everywhere.