"The Black Barber of Barkerville," as Wellington Delaney Moses was known, came to British Columbia from San Francisco, looking for a new home and a place of peace. In this historical novel, Bill Gallaher describes Moses's departure from the Caribbean island of his birth, the fearful realities of slavery and the terrors of working with the Underground Railroad in the United States, the early roots of colonial society and democracy in Victoria and, finally, Moses's part in the always-spirited life along the creeks of Barkerville.
I think this was a well-researched historical fiction book and has led me to look at the lives of some of those mentioned. Of course, it's hard to know what is real and what is not and in that sense it is hard for me to read historical fiction sometimes
Quite an amazing book. I didn't think there'd be much to Black history in British Columbia but this book proved me wrong. Moses' life is fascinating and the author keeps you wanting to find out what happens next.