Our post last week about Hilary Scharper’s Perdita, a Georgian Bay gothic, reminded us of more literature of the lake.

The Orenda

By Joseph Boyden

Joseph Boyden’s most recent novel takes place in the period leading up to the Iroquois attacks on the Huron and French in 1649, and the Huron’s subsequent exile to Christian Island and, eventually, beyond. The winner of this year’s Canada Reads, The Orenda has been called “much more than a timely novel. It is a timeless one; born a classic,” by the National Post

Into the Blue

Family secrets and the search for a Great Lakes shipwreck
By Andrea Curtis

“It is difficult for anyone who hasn’t seen Georgian Bay in full flight to fully comprehend its fury, ” writes Andrea Curtis in this novelistic memoir. “It is a lake, but it can act with the power of an ocean.” On November 22, 1906, the 107-foot steamer J.H, Jones, loaded with cargo and passengers from Owen Sound bound for Lion’s Head, passed the Cape Croker lighthouse. She disappeared soon after, lost with all 26 souls aboard. Toronto writer Andrea Curtis is the great granddaughter of Jim Crawford, captain of the Jones. Her fascinating memoir blends an exploration of her family history with a stirring recreation of the life of Captain Crawford and the final hours of the fated voyage.

The Lighthouse Keeper: A Beckoning Death

By Luisa Buehler

Book Five in the Grace Marsden series by Luisa Buehler (A Love Is Murder Award Recipient for “Best Traditional/Cozy Amateur Sleuth”), this mystery takes place on Christian Island in the off-season. Grace and nine other people find themselves trapped on the island and the prime suspects in the mysterious death of an island elder. An ancient tragedy, island ghost sightings, and modern day treachery twist lives until more deaths and more danger make Grace unsure of whom she can trust. When the spirit of the lighthouse keeper beckons to her. Is it to warn her or harm her?

Ghosts of the Bay

A guide to the history of Georgian Bay
By Russell Floren, Andrea Gutsche, Heather Sangster

This book and its companion DVD documentary circumnavigate the Bay, delving beneath the waves in search of long lost ships, and darting into bays where the bones of abandoned boom towns and villages fade slowly into the forest.

The Frances Smith: Palace Steamer of the Upper Great Lakes, 1867-1896

By Scott Cameron

Scott Cameron was principal of Georgian Bay Secondary School in Meaford until he retired to explore Georgian Bay’s fascinating marine history. His first book brings to life the tale of this Owen Sound-built steamer – the largest vessel on the Bay at the time. It has been praised as “a narrative of the steamboat days in the nineteenth century, one which encompasses storm and shipwreck, violence and death, family antagonisms and business calamities and national events… a classic of Great Lakes writing.”

Georgian Bay – The Sixth Great Lake

By James Barry

Originally published in 1968, this enduring classic explores centuries of Georgian Bay history and its people.

Stay tuned for a famous Meaford mystery.