A Deadly Distance.

R. Gordon Moyles is professor emeritus of English at the University of
Alberta, co-author of Imperial Dreams and Colonial Realities: British
Views of Canada, 1880–1914, and author of The Salvation Army and the
Public.

By 1880, the year in which this novel is set, the Beothuk nation in Newfoundland was headed for extinction. Encroaching settlement, ruthless extermination, and tuberculosis (also brought to them by the settlers) were accelerating their demise. That is a fact every novelist who seeks to portray their lifestyle must, if they wish to preserve historical accuracy, deal with.

Heather Down, in this superb juvenile novel, does so brilliantly. She does not evade the tragic events, or play down the ultimate hopelessness of her imagined relationship between a young Beothuk girl, Mishbee, and a young English settler, John, but she nevertheless invests it with hope that such a relationship might have been possible. She does so by creating two believable characters who, though living in completely different cultures, manage to transcend the restrictions of their narrow upbringings. In the process, she teaches us (quite unobtrusively) about the cultural values and immediate lifestyles of both, allowing us to experience the similarities (which might bring them together) and the differences (which keep them apart). It is, given the hopelessness of the relationship, a sad novel, but one from which the juvenile reader will gain a respect for a lost culture, an awareness of human dignity, and a sense of healthy regret that more of the settlers were not like John.

The novel is extremely well-written, with a keen ear for dialogue, a succinct recreation of lifestyles, and a plausible depiction of character. It is highly recommended for preteen readers and especially for all teachers.