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Searching for Mayflowers: The True Story of Canada's First Quintuplets
255 pages, Paperback
Published October 15, 2024
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January 26, 2025I very much enjoyed this read. From the outset, I wondered how the author would be able to craft an entire book out of a short-lived 150 year-old event with scant details. The answer I quickly found was through smart, contextual research, solid writing and a genuine desire to document a bit of Canadian history alongside her family’s. I learned a lot about the arrival of early settlers to my home province of Nova Scotia. At the same time, I deeply appreciated her search to learn more about her ancestors, which felt at once personal and universal. Respect to her for such attention to detail and the ways in which she succeeded in creating a well-written narrative out of disparate facts.
January 14, 2025
A beautiful celebration of heritage and family! A truly memorable debut—highly recommend!
November 4, 2024
a very well written, well told family story.
November 8, 2024
**3.5 Stars** Raised to 4.
Thank you to NetGalley and Nimbus Publishing for the ARC. I was drawn to the title 'Searching for Mayflowers' because it evokes pleasant memories of wandering through the woods to see the provincial flower of Nova Scotia at the first glimpse of spring. While I don't recall ever picking any, I was always delighted to see them in bloom. An elderly native woman used to sell bunches door to door each spring. Interestingly, I grew up only four miles from the author, Lori MacKay, but decades earlier.
The author recounts how her grandmother would always have mayflowers, gathered from far and wide across the county. Lori wonders if her grandmother's efforts contributed to the flowers being placed on the current endangered list. Since her grandmother's death, she has searched for mayflowers but has yet to find them. I now live in a city and can no longer walk in the woods, but this spring, a friend sent me a photo of a vase filled with mayflowers, reassuring me that they are not extinct.
I found the book’s title somewhat misleading, as I had hoped for a nostalgic journey tied to the fragrant flowers of the forest. Rating this book fairly proved to be difficult. Mayflowers are only briefly mentioned on page 49 of my Kindle and are repeated near the end of the book. The author states her goal was to tell the family history so that those people would not be forgotten by future generations, and she succeeded through interviews and extensive research. The writing itself was well done, though I wonder about the relevance of the family tree for the general reader.
Lori shares the story of the first Canadian quintuplets, born in 1880 in the small Nova Scotia farm community where she grew up. She admits to being obsessed with telling their story since childhood. Unfortunately, due to the lack of sanitation and modern medical procedures at the time, the babies died shortly after birth. She also discovered that a great-great-grandmother assisted with the births, but only the male doctor's name was recorded, leaving the female ancestor unmentioned. The doctor arrived after the babies had been born.
The book explores the arrival of the earliest Scottish settlers in Pictou County and the dire conditions they faced during their ocean voyage. There are descriptions of the small farms in the area where the quints were born, detailing the community home life, furnishings, and hardships, and the challenging work. It delves into the history of the area and nearby locations, revealing the lives of women in the 1880s, birthing conditions, the role of midwives, and the many deaths caused by communicable diseases. The narrative touches on significant topics such as the invention of the incubator, early photography, burial rituals, undertakers, and local cemeteries. There are even references to the graves of Titanic victims and over 2,000 deaths from the Halifax Explosion. While some of the digressions felt somewhat tangential, many were nonetheless fascinating to read.
I had never heard of the quintuplets born in 1880, but I grew up seeing news and photos of the Dionne quintuplets from Quebec nearly fifty years later, and who lived to adulthood. Great strides have been made in medical science, improving the chances of survival for multiple births today. Lori chronicles instances of multiple births worldwide, which have risen with the introduction of fertility drugs, and she discusses the factors contributing to the children's upbringing that enable them to become well-adjusted adults. She even mentions the well-known case of a woman who gave birth to eight babies after taking fertility drugs; all eight children survived and are reportedly doing well at age fifteen. (Google led me to the case in Mali in 2021, when a woman gave birth to nine healthy babies in a Moroccan hospital. All nine children are reported to be thriving, and pictures can be found on the internet.)
Some parts of the book felt like filler, but many of these sections were nonetheless informative and entertaining.
Thank you to NetGalley and Nimbus Publishing for the ARC. I was drawn to the title 'Searching for Mayflowers' because it evokes pleasant memories of wandering through the woods to see the provincial flower of Nova Scotia at the first glimpse of spring. While I don't recall ever picking any, I was always delighted to see them in bloom. An elderly native woman used to sell bunches door to door each spring. Interestingly, I grew up only four miles from the author, Lori MacKay, but decades earlier.
The author recounts how her grandmother would always have mayflowers, gathered from far and wide across the county. Lori wonders if her grandmother's efforts contributed to the flowers being placed on the current endangered list. Since her grandmother's death, she has searched for mayflowers but has yet to find them. I now live in a city and can no longer walk in the woods, but this spring, a friend sent me a photo of a vase filled with mayflowers, reassuring me that they are not extinct.
I found the book’s title somewhat misleading, as I had hoped for a nostalgic journey tied to the fragrant flowers of the forest. Rating this book fairly proved to be difficult. Mayflowers are only briefly mentioned on page 49 of my Kindle and are repeated near the end of the book. The author states her goal was to tell the family history so that those people would not be forgotten by future generations, and she succeeded through interviews and extensive research. The writing itself was well done, though I wonder about the relevance of the family tree for the general reader.
Lori shares the story of the first Canadian quintuplets, born in 1880 in the small Nova Scotia farm community where she grew up. She admits to being obsessed with telling their story since childhood. Unfortunately, due to the lack of sanitation and modern medical procedures at the time, the babies died shortly after birth. She also discovered that a great-great-grandmother assisted with the births, but only the male doctor's name was recorded, leaving the female ancestor unmentioned. The doctor arrived after the babies had been born.
The book explores the arrival of the earliest Scottish settlers in Pictou County and the dire conditions they faced during their ocean voyage. There are descriptions of the small farms in the area where the quints were born, detailing the community home life, furnishings, and hardships, and the challenging work. It delves into the history of the area and nearby locations, revealing the lives of women in the 1880s, birthing conditions, the role of midwives, and the many deaths caused by communicable diseases. The narrative touches on significant topics such as the invention of the incubator, early photography, burial rituals, undertakers, and local cemeteries. There are even references to the graves of Titanic victims and over 2,000 deaths from the Halifax Explosion. While some of the digressions felt somewhat tangential, many were nonetheless fascinating to read.
I had never heard of the quintuplets born in 1880, but I grew up seeing news and photos of the Dionne quintuplets from Quebec nearly fifty years later, and who lived to adulthood. Great strides have been made in medical science, improving the chances of survival for multiple births today. Lori chronicles instances of multiple births worldwide, which have risen with the introduction of fertility drugs, and she discusses the factors contributing to the children's upbringing that enable them to become well-adjusted adults. She even mentions the well-known case of a woman who gave birth to eight babies after taking fertility drugs; all eight children survived and are reportedly doing well at age fifteen. (Google led me to the case in Mali in 2021, when a woman gave birth to nine healthy babies in a Moroccan hospital. All nine children are reported to be thriving, and pictures can be found on the internet.)
Some parts of the book felt like filler, but many of these sections were nonetheless informative and entertaining.
November 13, 2024
𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝑾𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝑵𝒐𝒘! 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑱𝒐𝒏 𝑻𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒆.
𝗦𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗠𝗮𝘆𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘀: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗱𝗮’𝘀 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘀, 𝗯𝘆 𝗟𝗼𝗿𝗶 𝗠𝗰𝗞𝗮𝘆.
I’ve spent the past 4 years writing a book about an unmarked grave and a lost Nova Scotian story, so I eagerly read Lori McKay’s new book on her quest to find the last resting place of the Murray quints and to save the story before it’s lost to time.
I first heard about this book around 2019, when Lori and I were students together at the MFA program at King’s. Her pitch captivated me and I knew she’d be able to bring this story to life.
It revolves around Little Egypt, N.S., in the winter of 1880. Maria Murray prepared to give birth - and was stunned when the babies kept coming, five in all.
The story of Canada’s first quintuplets went old-school viral, and every report credited a man for delivering healthy babies. Lori knew that wasn’t the truth - her great-great-grandmother had delivered the babies. The doctor likely turned up when the hard work was done. And the babies weren’t healthy, but born in a miserable poverty that soon claimed their lives.
It is shockingly easy to read whole history books about Atlantic Canada that don’t name a single woman. Lori’s deeply feminist book is a huge win for those of us who want a deeper understanding of the past. Some of the most fascinating sections aren’t even about the quints, but rather about the lives of women in the 1880s.
Can you imagine giving birth to 18 humans? Being pregnant for nearly 20 years? And to do it on a tiny farm with little food or warmth? And yet our ancestors did it, and we enjoy the flowers of their labour today.
Lori weaves her own family history and personal quest into a brilliant book that will leave you understanding why PT Barnum wanted to display the mummies of the babies, and how our ancestors dealt with death when it was a menacing presence in daily life. This book would make a great gift, especially for the women in your life - sent with flowers.
𝗦𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗠𝗮𝘆𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘀: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗱𝗮’𝘀 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘀, 𝗯𝘆 𝗟𝗼𝗿𝗶 𝗠𝗰𝗞𝗮𝘆.
I’ve spent the past 4 years writing a book about an unmarked grave and a lost Nova Scotian story, so I eagerly read Lori McKay’s new book on her quest to find the last resting place of the Murray quints and to save the story before it’s lost to time.
I first heard about this book around 2019, when Lori and I were students together at the MFA program at King’s. Her pitch captivated me and I knew she’d be able to bring this story to life.
It revolves around Little Egypt, N.S., in the winter of 1880. Maria Murray prepared to give birth - and was stunned when the babies kept coming, five in all.
The story of Canada’s first quintuplets went old-school viral, and every report credited a man for delivering healthy babies. Lori knew that wasn’t the truth - her great-great-grandmother had delivered the babies. The doctor likely turned up when the hard work was done. And the babies weren’t healthy, but born in a miserable poverty that soon claimed their lives.
It is shockingly easy to read whole history books about Atlantic Canada that don’t name a single woman. Lori’s deeply feminist book is a huge win for those of us who want a deeper understanding of the past. Some of the most fascinating sections aren’t even about the quints, but rather about the lives of women in the 1880s.
Can you imagine giving birth to 18 humans? Being pregnant for nearly 20 years? And to do it on a tiny farm with little food or warmth? And yet our ancestors did it, and we enjoy the flowers of their labour today.
Lori weaves her own family history and personal quest into a brilliant book that will leave you understanding why PT Barnum wanted to display the mummies of the babies, and how our ancestors dealt with death when it was a menacing presence in daily life. This book would make a great gift, especially for the women in your life - sent with flowers.
April 29, 2025
amazing book! very interesting and well written! has me thinking about things in my rural area and new places I also want to explore. I really enjoyed the story, the only thing I do question is where the author notes that may flowers are rare in nova scotia? through looking up myself and my own experiences, they are not rare and quite plentiful in some areas on nova scotia. They are my favorite flower and pick them every spring. I loved the ties in between her close family stories, her own childhood accounts, and how she described her process of research. There is great local history and other interesting history from the time period, I learned a lot!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews