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Our Canadian Girl: Marie-Claire #1
Dark Spring
The story takes place in Montreal, during the smallpox epidemic of 1885. Marie-Claire lives in a humble home with her working-class family - her parents, sister Emelie and baby brother Philippe. Through Marie-Claire's life we glimpse the difficulties faced by a family besieged by privation and disease, and we witness one girl's struggle to persevere through the illness of her cousin Lucille and the work-related injury of her father -- even to endure the death of a loved one. All the while, Marie-Claire maintains a remarkable optimism for the future. Our Canadian Girl is a groundbreaking new series of historical fiction that brings Canada's past to thrilling life by telling the stories of Canadian girls from different eras, regions and backgrounds. The heroines are compelling and the stories, written by some of Canada's best children's writers, are powerful and exciting. Once and for all, Our Canadian Girl proves that history doesn't have to be boring!
Paperback
First published September 4, 2001
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About the author
Kathy Stinson
58 books77 followersKathy Stinson, author of internationally acclaimed Canadian children's classic, Red is Best and the TD Award Winner, The Man with the Violin, also writes novels, short stories, and nonfiction for young people of all ages.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 11, 2022
I've read a few novels based in Montreal, this one based in 1885 was very different. Really enjoyed this little book which made me nostalgic for the kind of reading I did as a child.
May 12, 2025
It's interesting but feels like the main character is a visitor in her own land. I couldn't get into the story such because I was observing the research and writing too much.
December 27, 2016
I recently discovered this girl-empowering series in which various authoresses pen tableaux in the contexts of Canadian events. Spanning any number of civilized eras and always highlighting a school age heroine: it really is poignant to imagine how our ancestors felt in the true-to-life situations that make the backdrops of these history vignettes. The aftermath of the Halifax disaster was treated so compassionate and memorably, I was game for more. I immediately learned something from Kathy Stinson, who started this quartet in 2001: that Montréal used to be "one of the filthiest cities in North America" and she pulls no punches in showing us why!
From the time of foreign settlement, our cities have always had Anglophone and Francophone quarters and anywhere in our world, there have been rich and poor. The second starling fact I gleaned is that Montréal's working class were poor! They weren't thieves lumbering about but employed community, folks who attended church and conducted themselves honestly! They made do with so little and stepped around the refuse that no sanitation crew could manage, because new immigrants regularly challenged their population. Formal history seldom sticks with anyone but history buffs because it is the recitation of facts. "Dark Spring", however, presents how one family must have felt. Feelings, we relate to and appreciate starkly.
In 1885, with smallpox mounting, families barely fed sick babies and working men a slice of bread per meal. Ten year-old Marie-Claire demonstrates the hardship of her father's convalescence from an injury, reducing precious wages. School was postponed to assume her mother's work, while her mother made shirts for a store. I appreciated this glimpse because this family was loving. I cannot abide stereotyped tales of suppression by strict parties. In time of flood, they insisted upon housing their lower-floor neighbours with them.
In January 1998, Québecers and nearby provinces dealt with a dangerous, long power outage with this spirit. I think of them as freezing rain heads towards them now, in December 2016.
From the time of foreign settlement, our cities have always had Anglophone and Francophone quarters and anywhere in our world, there have been rich and poor. The second starling fact I gleaned is that Montréal's working class were poor! They weren't thieves lumbering about but employed community, folks who attended church and conducted themselves honestly! They made do with so little and stepped around the refuse that no sanitation crew could manage, because new immigrants regularly challenged their population. Formal history seldom sticks with anyone but history buffs because it is the recitation of facts. "Dark Spring", however, presents how one family must have felt. Feelings, we relate to and appreciate starkly.
In 1885, with smallpox mounting, families barely fed sick babies and working men a slice of bread per meal. Ten year-old Marie-Claire demonstrates the hardship of her father's convalescence from an injury, reducing precious wages. School was postponed to assume her mother's work, while her mother made shirts for a store. I appreciated this glimpse because this family was loving. I cannot abide stereotyped tales of suppression by strict parties. In time of flood, they insisted upon housing their lower-floor neighbours with them.
In January 1998, Québecers and nearby provinces dealt with a dangerous, long power outage with this spirit. I think of them as freezing rain heads towards them now, in December 2016.
June 2, 2015
Dark Spring by Kathy Stinson is an exciting and dramatic adventure following one little girl, Marie-Claire from Montreal. This book was an excellent product of Historical Fiction and has a great young girl lead character. If you are interested in Canadian history, like juvenile fiction, and want a quick read I would highly recommend this book or any book from the Our Canadian Girl collection.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews