About this item
"Set amid the promise and challenge of the first Canadian colonies, Aimie K. Runyan s vividly rendered novel provides a fascinating portrait of the women who would become the founding mothers of New France." In 1677, an invisible wall separates settlers in New France from their Huron neighbors. Yet whether in the fledgling city of Quebec or within one of the native tribes, every woman s fate depends on the man she chooses or is obligated to marry. Although Claudine Deschamps and Gabrielle Giroux both live within the settlement, their prospects are very different. French-born Claudine has followed her older sister across the Atlantic hoping to attract a wealthy husband through her beauty and connections. Gabrielle, orphan daughter of the town drunkard, is forced into a loveless union by a cruel law that requires her to marry by her sixteenth birthday.
About the Author
Aimie K. Runyan writes to celebrate history's unsung heroines. She has been honored as a Historical Novel Society Editors' Choice selection, as a three-time finalist for the Colorado Book Awards, and as a nominee for the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writer of the Year. Aimie is active as an educator and speaker in the writing community and beyond. Her next books, The Castle Keepers (in collaboration with J'nell Ciesielski and Rachel McMillan) and A Bakery in Paris will release in 2023 from Harper Collins. Also from Harper Collins, Aimie's contemporary Women's Fiction debut, The Memory of Lavender and Sage, will release in early 2024. She lives in Colorado with her amazing husband, two (usually) adorable children, two (always) adorable kitties, and a dragon. To learn more about Aimie, please visit
