The Canadians: VI, Dominion

Jerry McDonnell was a teacher and librarian the F.E. Madill Secondary School in Wingham, Ontario.

Dominion, book six of The Canadians, carries this saga of Canadian history up to the Quebec City pre-Confederation conference from the 1837 rebellion. In the process we see parts of the country from Nova Scotia to present-day British Columbia, although most of the action takes place in Ontario or on the prairies.

Joshua Miller, the son of Tory Charles Miller, kills a British soldier who is taking liberties with a young woman on the eve of the rebellion. Because she will not tell the truth about the incident, Joshua and his uncle are forced to flee to join William Lyon Mackenzie and his revolt. When the insurrection fails, they manage to escape, the uncle going eventually to Boston and Joshua to Manitoba, where he tracks down a man who was one of the last people to see his mother before her supposed death.

Joshua is eventually captured by Indians and meets his mother, who has become their medicine lady. She has great influence, although she is unable to stop the advancing terror of horrible murders followed by mutilation. Joshua marries an Indian and he and his mother, after several disasters and with a little external help, stop the white man who has been terrorizing the Indians.

The young couple returns to live in Manitoba and their son turns up in Quebec at a family reunion at the time of the Quebec conference. All the loose ends of the story are neatly pulled together.

Fans of the series and of sweeping historical sagas will enjoy this tale filled with action, suspense, terror, death and romance.