I found Dorothy Turcotte’s book, Legacy: The Nelles Story: Pioneers, Loyalists, Founding Families, very intriguing not only because I’ve written myself about this time period but because of the method she uses to tell the Nelles story. (Amazon listings) She uses first person for the 4 Nelles characters (each with his own section) and that allows her to show what each might have been thinking and doing throughout a turbulent time in Ontario’s history.
She talked a lot about Thayendanegea (Joseph Brant) and the close relationship between the settlers and the Mohawks and other tribes, as did I in my Loyalist trilogy. Brant was a very close friend of Robert Nelles and often used the path running by the Nelles home to visit, even if he arrived in the middle of the night. He would simply slip inside and sleep before the fire until the family woke in the morning. I learned even more about both the native peoples and the times in this short book that is for sale at the manor in Grimsby Ontario.
When I met Linda and Barry Coutts, the couple who renovated the Nelles Manor in Grimsby, I was most intrigued by their knowledge of our history and by their personal quest to bring the manor and its former inhabitants’ stories to light. Well done!
For historical fiction about the time period, try the Loyalist trilogy!
