A Company of Rogues

by Trudy J. Morgan-Cole

This dramatic conclusion to a trilogy foregrounds the experiences of women settlers in North America as they grapple with notions of homeland, colonization, and sense of belonging.

A Company of Rogues completes the Cupids trilogy, moving the action back to the New Found Land seven years after John Guy’s colonists first settled Cupids Cove. After their wanderings across the ocean, Ned and Nancy are united—but will the shores of New Found Land provide a permanent home? Kathryn and Nicholas Guy join the effort to found a second colony at Bristol’s Hope, but their work is threatened by a shadowy enemy who holds a dangerous power over Kathryn. And a newcomer to the colony, the Wampanoag traveller Tisquantum, settles among the English colonists, challenging their beliefs about the New World they have come to settle and the people who call it home.

Genres: Historical Fiction

296 pages, Paperback

Published October 15, 2023

Reviews

[David]

It's rare for me these days to find either optimism or genuine likeable characters in fiction. I've been immersed in murder mysteries again, so that explains some of it, but I've read many books recently in which even the 'good' guys are moral poison. Yes, there is a murder in this one, yet, somehow, I don't feel the same moral repulsion. I suspect it's a mixture of the historical setting and the especial repulsiveness of the victim! In any case, Morgan-Cole concludes her 17th-century NL trilogy with another combination of action and emotional sensitivity. One hopes in reading that the real women whose barely-documented existence Morgan-Cole set out to fill in via the fictional imagination had something even close to what these novels present as an emotional support group for each other. Side-by-side with that is the hope that some of the historical men were possessed of the positive attributes that some of their fictional counterparts sometimes display. Nothing is perfect, of course. Conflict has to come from somewhere and some men are violent, sexist, racist bastards here (as are a few women), but there rests under all three of these novels both an optimism about community and a hopefulness that is (to my mind anyway) mostly missing from rather a lot of contemporary fiction.

[Linda Churchill · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an excellent conclusion to this trilogy! Kept my interest to the end! Well worth the wait. Kudos to the author, Trudy Morgan Cole.

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

New Year's Eve, 2024 and I made a point of finishing the third novel of the Cupid's Trilogy by Trudy J. Morgan-Cole.

This third novel is my favorite of the three novels in this series.

I was familiar with the huge character line-up, and am amazed at how the author so skillfully kept clarity in all of the various actions with so many different characters.

This third book drew together an assortment of relationships and there was real good happy endings for the characters who deserved happy endings. There are, however, some dicey moments where even the lead characters have to deal with icky emotions and take responsibility for stepping out of line.

There was a lovely Daphne Du Maurier-type scene in the latter part of the book where I went, hey, this is actually a mystery novel!!

Congratulations to Trudy for pulling off this trilogy! I am pretty sure I won't think of Newfoundland the same as I have. Someone said Trudy's trilogy is drenched in history (or something like that) and I would agree, but I also find that she balances the olde pieces with lovely complex contemporary issues so that the modern reader can manage a slight perspective shift without having to get an honours degree in English Lit. or Canadian history.

An excellent read!

[Tracy Fry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been waiting for so long for this, A Company of Rogues, the conclusion to Trudy Morgan-Cole's Cupids Trilogy and I was not disappointed! Such a marvellous ending to the story involving characters whom I've grown to love. Historical fiction is not my favourite genre, as I'm more of a contemporary fiction reader, and I've often said that it has to be a particularly well-written book for me to love an historical fiction novel- well, this entire series is certainly among my favourites of the genre!The strength in particular of the female characters, the thoughtful examination of the treatment of indigenous peoples in the colonization of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the thrilling adventures and conflicts faced by these pioneers truly make this a page turner, and reminded me so much of Random Passage, another of my favourite historical fiction books (written by Morgan-Cole's aunt, Bernice Morgan). If you have not begun the trilogy, I envy you the journey.

[Lynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This third book of the trilogy was a satisfying conclusion to the story. I found the title of this one really appropriate, since the focus in this third book was largely on the "baddies" of the period. The characters persevered against racism, extreme weather, endless physical work and the underhanded actions of some of their neighbours. This book was as well-researched and well-written as the first two, and kept my attention on every single page.

[Trudy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The five-star rating is a statement of faith. I hope it's good. But what really matters is what YOU think! It has been a lot of fun writing this series, and I hope everyone who has enjoyed the first two books is happy with the conclusion of the story. That's what matters most ... that, and finally being finished with it (for me)!

[Lisa Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great conclusion to the Cupids series. I loved the focus on the women in the colony and their strength through good times and adversity. It had a great ending that was a definite surprise.

[Kathryn Baverstock · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent finish to the trilogy. I enjoyed seeing the women grow and the communities continue to develop

[Debbie Ita · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this series! Hope to see it on a big screen!
I hated to finish the third book as I was savouring every page.

[Marianne Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very satisfying conclusion to an excellent trilogy, a great feat of imagination filling in gaps in the historical record.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great series!
Highly recommend.

[Shannon Reid]

I quite enjoyed this entire trilogy

[Doeraymee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this series and was so sad when it ended. Wanted to keep going with the stories of the three characters. That is the sign of a successful series.

[chels b · Rating 2 out of 5]

I could not bring myself to finish this instalment. The first two novels in the ‘Cupids’ series were spectacular and gripping, but I found that this conclusion fell extremely short and lacked the same whimsy and charm.