Forty Testoons

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

Forty Testoons bills itself as a novel about “intrigue, spies and
treason in medieval Newfoundland.” It tells the story of Father Ralph
Fletcher, a young priest who becomes an unwitting dupe in a Yorkist plot
to overthrow Henry VII, the founder of the Tudor dynasty. The author
displays a sure grasp of English history and Catholic politics, and
Father Fletcher is a believable and fully rounded character. The weakest
part of the novel is its portrayal of Native peoples (the Beothuks) and
their unlikely conversion to Christianity.