The Promise of Home – A Novel

 The Promise of Home, historical fiction, setting 1912-1920 – I’m finally getting around to writing the novel that’s been brewing in my brain for years. The Griffin children, Edward, Emily and Isobel are evicted from their parents’ house in London, England and taken to The Childrens Home by their stepfather. Two years later, in 1912, they board the SS Corsican and sail to new homes and brighter futures in Canada. Within hours of landing in Halifax, their dreams of remaining together collapse. In separate locations and in different settings, they cling to their promise to one day establish another home, one that no one will be able to take from them.

The research is complete and about 70% of the writing done. My goal is to complete the novel in 2012, one hundred years after the Griffins arrive in Canada. The idea for the novel came from my grandmother Grace Griffin Galbraith who arrived in Canada as a home child at age 8. Approximately 12% of the Canadian population can trace their roots to one of the “little immigrants.” Between 1869 and the 1930s approximately 100,000 British Home Children, most ranging in age from 7 to 14 immigrated to Canada. The boys became farm hands; the girls mother’s helpers. This chapter of Canadian history continues to intrigue me. I hope my novel will draw attention to the contribution these children made to our great country.