Bill Smallwood takes a complicated period of history and makes it more complicated – and that’s good. The Acadians, the first novel in his Abuse of Power series starts in 1749 with the British looking for a site to build a fort in Nova Scotia. They choose a harbour they rename Halifax. It ends in 1757 with British soldiers and sailors choosing tracts of “unoccupied” Nova Scotia land to homestead. The Acadians have been deported and the Mi’kmaq are being ‘cleared’ off their lands. The French have been driven back, and Nova Scotia is open for British business.
The facts of it: war between the French and British for control of North America, deportation of long-time Acadian settlers to France and the future United States, and war with and suppression of First Nations. We know these things from living in the Maritimes or reading history. By situating the facts in a story, Smallwood brings them to life and explains the intricacies of ‘who’, ‘when’ and ‘why’.
Connecting the dots of history
I have read a lot about the colonization of North America and the history of the Mi’kmaq and Acadians. I have been to Halifax many times and traveled around Nova Scotia. So I thought I had a fairly good understanding of the history and geography of the region. But this book made so many things click into place for me. Instead of a spreadsheet of facts, the story gave me a flow of events, places and reasons. The dots were connected.
Smallwood lets history shape story
The main character in The Acadians is William Gray who was in real life a clerk to Governor Cornwallis. Smallwood promotes him to British Navy Lieutenant in order to permit him to travel to the extent he does and be privy to the discussions that he is.
But it is not only from Gray’s perspective that we look. We get to know all the players involved; British, colonial American, French, Acadian and Mi’kmaq. Fear and confusion, bravery and avarice – we see the emotions and actions of all sides. Only the Mi’kmaq remain relatively unknown to us, and I’m sure that is remedied in later volumes.
It is history that shaped Smallwood’s story and character rather than the other way around. Most of his characters are real people. Events are based on letters, logs and other documentation of the time. When he creates or alters events or characters, he explains why and gives what is actually known in notes. So you can become involved in the story and also keep track of the real events. He references his sources and changes in chapter endnotes.
My only quibble is that footnotes would save having to flick to the end of the chapter each time. You can, of course, ignore the notes but they contain archival sources as well as additional bits of information, quotes from letters and official records as well as the points at which history and this story deviate. That, I found, adds to the story.
The Acadians, 1749-1757 is the first of seven in the Abuse of Power series:
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- The Colonials and the Acadians, 1757-1761;
- Crooked Paths, 1755-1862;
- The Planters, 1761-1921;
- Expulsion and Survival, 1758-1902;
- Rebels, Royalists and Railroaders, 1841-1910, and
- Lives of Courage.
You can read more at Mr. Smallwood’s publisher Borealis.
Sadly, Mr. Smallwood passed away on May 7, 2019. Here is his obituary. The 8th, and final, book in his series is published.
Elaine Smallwood
3 Sep 2019My father passed away May 7, 2019 but if you would like to read book 8 it was published prior to his death.
Dorothy
3 Sep 2019Hello Elaine, I am so sorry to hear about your father. Thank you for letting me know, and I’m glad he saw the 8th book published. I found his obituary and will put a link to it in the post. Please pass on my condolences to your family.
Bill Smallwood
10 Oct 2018Dorothy.
Thank you for the review. I have finished my last book so I have time to cruise the net and just found you. Endnotes?
The first book was labelled historical fiction. I changed from footnotes at final edit. If the readers wanted story rather than history then endnotes would do. I wish I had your comments in time to save book 08.
Lives Of Courage 07 is my favourite. Bill
Dorothy
10 Oct 2018Thank you for writing, Mr. Smallwood. As you say, using endnotes keeps the story flowing. But that can mean you miss bits of information that aren’t part of the story but add to it. However, too much of a page taken up with footnotes is also distracting. In-text citation wouldn’t work at all with a novel. A combination of footnotes for source citation and endnotes for longer explanatory information would be ideal. But, not having written any historical fiction, I don’t know how workable that would be. I am glad there’s a book 08 coming out. I haven’t finished them all yet, so it’s nice to know I have another to look forward to.