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Caplin Scull
“Mesmerized by the dazzling colours that the sun was sending in through the stained glass windows, I could easily believe in heaven. The houses would be freshly painted and no clapboards would be laid bare by the salty whitecaps that blew in over a narrow, leaky beach. The dwellers would be dressed in gauzy, colourful clothing. There wouldn’t be a grey mitt or a black sock in sight.”
Meet the unique people of Caplin Scull, a small village on Newfoundland’s sea-ravaged east coast, where
life is hard and the times are changing as the province of Newfoundland is about to join the nation of Canada. Like the houses, those who live here must be sturdy, courageous and determined, able to withstand a rugged life in a world that still keenly feels the pull of its Irish ancestors and the influence of the powerful Catholic Church.
In that place of hardship there is also love, endurance, spirituality, and humour. The folks here have figured out how to cope through the wry acceptance of their lot in life: work hard, die hard, and go to hell afterward. Dohaney’s tales are sometimes poignant, often funny, frequently turning on an ironic or unexpected twist. In each, she exhibits her skillful storytelling, her perception of human nature, and her compassion for the people of this rocky island in the North Atlantic.
The collection is part oral history, part narrative, part documentary, part anecdote, all seasoned by time, memory, and reflection, and knitted together with love and a teaspoon or two of invention.
Meet the unique people of Caplin Scull, a small village on Newfoundland’s sea-ravaged east coast, where
life is hard and the times are changing as the province of Newfoundland is about to join the nation of Canada. Like the houses, those who live here must be sturdy, courageous and determined, able to withstand a rugged life in a world that still keenly feels the pull of its Irish ancestors and the influence of the powerful Catholic Church.
In that place of hardship there is also love, endurance, spirituality, and humour. The folks here have figured out how to cope through the wry acceptance of their lot in life: work hard, die hard, and go to hell afterward. Dohaney’s tales are sometimes poignant, often funny, frequently turning on an ironic or unexpected twist. In each, she exhibits her skillful storytelling, her perception of human nature, and her compassion for the people of this rocky island in the North Atlantic.
The collection is part oral history, part narrative, part documentary, part anecdote, all seasoned by time, memory, and reflection, and knitted together with love and a teaspoon or two of invention.
176 pages, Paperback
First published October 2, 2017
17 people want to read
About the author
M. T. Dohaney
7 books2 followersCritically acclaimed novelist M. T. Dohaney was born in Newfoundland and currently lives in Fredericton, NB. After a career of teaching at the University of New Brunswick, she now devotes her time to writing. In addition to her five novels, which include the bestselling The Corrigan Women, she has published a work of non-fiction as well as numerous short stories and articles.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 19, 2020
Caplin Scull is a collection of fictional short stories about the rugged people of the Newfoundland outports. The people in this village accept their lot in life: “work hard, die hard, and go to hell afterward”. Caplin Scull is a collection of short stories written by the accomplished Maritime novelist M. T. Dohaney.
Dohaney captures perfectly the culture of islanders living in these small outports before Newfoundland joined Confederation. Their accents, storytelling and religion are an integral part of who they are and Dohaney lets us see it all in an unforgettable collection of stories.
The stories are sometimes funny and at other times devastating. The Devil visits frequently and even fairies make an appearance. Many of the villagers leave and one villager who returns finds that although you can always come back maybe you shouldn’t. Throughout the book Dohaney shows us that despite the hardships, for the people of Caplin Scull love, spirituality and humour get them by.
I recommend this book for people would like a historical look at what life in the outports of Newfoundland might have been like. I give it a 4 on 5.
Dohaney captures perfectly the culture of islanders living in these small outports before Newfoundland joined Confederation. Their accents, storytelling and religion are an integral part of who they are and Dohaney lets us see it all in an unforgettable collection of stories.
The stories are sometimes funny and at other times devastating. The Devil visits frequently and even fairies make an appearance. Many of the villagers leave and one villager who returns finds that although you can always come back maybe you shouldn’t. Throughout the book Dohaney shows us that despite the hardships, for the people of Caplin Scull love, spirituality and humour get them by.
I recommend this book for people would like a historical look at what life in the outports of Newfoundland might have been like. I give it a 4 on 5.
October 18, 2025
I enjoyed this charming book of short stories all centred in the mythical small isolated outport of Caplin Skull. The stories don’t deal much with actual Caplin rolling in but the figurative meaning to the characters that roll into town from outside, like fashionable secular schoolgirl from Boston sent there to stay with relatives when her mother is sick. Or a widowed magistrate and his daughter moving there for a fresh start but hampered by being of a different Christian denomination. Religion, especially the Roman Catholic of the town’s majority Irish descent population, is infused through almost every story. This just reflects the prominence of the different churches throughout most of Newfoundlands history and certainly here in this setting just pre confederation from 1938 through the 1940s.
I expected more about the scrap for confederation and its outcome but this is limited to one entertaining story. The politics this book excels at are those between the characters in the town among themselves and with outside influences from a very different outside world. You are reminded of this preconfederate setting when Canada is a separate country, and the harsh reality of no socialized medicine in a town with little to no money at the tail end of the Great Depression. Be warned that some of the short stories are very short. But I found myself reading through the book relativly quickly. Recommended.
I expected more about the scrap for confederation and its outcome but this is limited to one entertaining story. The politics this book excels at are those between the characters in the town among themselves and with outside influences from a very different outside world. You are reminded of this preconfederate setting when Canada is a separate country, and the harsh reality of no socialized medicine in a town with little to no money at the tail end of the Great Depression. Be warned that some of the short stories are very short. But I found myself reading through the book relativly quickly. Recommended.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews