Silences of the Heart

Nora D.S. Robins is the co-ordinator of internal collections at the
University of Calgary Libraries.

Silences in the Heart, inspired by a cache of old letters the author
found in the basement of a house in the Cowichan Valley, leaves the
reader to decide where reality ends and fiction begins.

Claudia Carfax, a well-known portrait painter, returns to Vancouver
Island for the first time in 45 years. While clearing out her dead
aunt’s house, she discovers a bundle of letters. Dated between 1909
and 1914, the letters were written by her Uncle William to members of
his family—in particular his rich, domineering mother. William’s
letters detail his efforts to make a home in Canada, not an easy job for
a remittance man.

Combining diaries, letters, and photographs, this evocative and
engaging book paints a remarkable picture of life in early British
Columbia.