Daughter of Light

Patricia Morley is professor emerita of English and Canadian Studies at
Concordia University and an avid outdoor recreationist. She is the
author of several books, including The Mountain Is Moving: Japanese
Women’s Lives, Kurlek and Margaret Laurence: T

Daughter of Light is an inspiring tale of courage and endurance under
very difficult circumstances. The setting is Holland at the height of
World War II. The Germans have taken some neighbors away, and the local
mayor is a Nazi sympathizer.

German forces have cut off heat and light from the Dutch population,
and nine-year-old Ria’s mother is near the end of her pregnancy. As
her mother’s time to deliver the baby draws near, Ria and her brother
Dirk hatch a daring plan to create some warmth and light. They will
appeal for help to the mayor. While her friend distracts the guards, Ria
manages to reach the mayor’s office. He has a daughter just her age,
and listens to her tale of her mother’s desperate situation.
Electricity is restored to Ria’s home just in time for the birth and
remains for a few weeks.

Daughter of Light dramatically illustrates the puzzling mixture of
kindness and cruelty, good and evil in humankind, with powerful insights
into human nature and wartime conditions. The novel embodies the spirit
of authenticity and could help readers of all ages to comprehend what it
would be like to live under an occupying force.

Martha Attema moved to Canada from the Netherlands in 1981. She
acknowledges a debt to the war memoirs of Pietsje de vries-vander Laan
for her story. Highly recommended.