From
Goodreads ~
In 1905, Scottish newcomer Flora Craigie jumps from a moving train to escape her abusive husband. Desperate to disappear, she claims a homestead near Alix, Alberta, determined to start a new life for herself. She finds that her nearest neighbours are also a Welsh widow with three children; two American women raising chickens; and a Métis woman who makes a living by breaking in wild horses.
While battling the harsh environment (and draconian local attitudes toward female farmers), the five women grapple with the differences of their backgrounds and the secrets each struggles to keep. When their homes are threatened with expropriation by the hostile federal Minister of the Interior, the women join forces to “fire the heather,” a Scottish term meaning raising a ruckus. And as the competition for land along the new Canadian Pacific railway line heats up, Flora’s violent husband closes in, and an unscrupulous land agent threatens the lives and livelihoods of the women just as they’re coming into their own.
It's 1905 and Flora has just left her home in Scotland to move to Canada. Her new husband had made many promises about the grand lifestyle they will have there. It turns out he is abusive and it was all lies. Rather than live a life with him, she jumps off the moving train as they are going through Alberta on their way to British Columbia. With nothing but her valise and a few valuables, she sets out to make a life for herself (while hiding from her husband). She claims a homestead and it will be hers after three years if she meets the requirements. Conditions are challenging, though, including harsh weather (especially the winters), isolation, financial hardship and the physical labour required to build a home and cultivate the land along with the prejudice of women having the land in the first place.
I thought this story was okay. It made me appreciate living in the times I do! Such hard work to eek out a small living! It was interesting from a historical perspective since it told how Alberta came to be and what it was like being a single women in the early 20th century. Some actual people were included in the story like Alexia Westhead (the first white woman settler of the community), Irene Marlby (one of "the famous five" who had women legally declared persons in 1929) and CPR Chairman William Van Horne. It's written in third person perspective with a focus on Flora.
