Tom Penny and the Grand Canal

B.A. Robinson was a freelance reviewer from Toronto.

This adolescent fiction book is the third in a series of adventure stories set in early nineteenth century Canada. Historical action centres on Colonel By’s attempt in 1832 to gain support for a Grand Canal from Montreal via the Ottawa and French Rivers to Lake Huron. Tom Penny, a 16-year-old immigrant, and his friend Jennie O’Donnell with various other characters, find murder, swindling, and double-dealing in their quest to support Colonel By. Each chapter seems to end with new excitement; the book should be appealing to the early teenager.