With a plot so raw, painful, and unjust, The Road to Goderich by Linda McQuaig will fill you with rage and have you crying like a baby in the same breath. Set in the early 1800s, this novel follows the life of Callandra who at the age of fifteen is faced with a decision which will severely alter the course of her life. The Road to Goderich is a wonderfully written historical fiction novel which does not sugar coat the reality of life in early Canadian settlements and will have you questioning what you would be willing to sacrifice for the well-being of your family.
The Road to Goderich opens with a character traveling by train in Upper Canada. The year is 1862. Memories of the past flood this character’s mind as they roll along the tracks and they are riddled with guilt over what they had said all those years ago. It only took a few small words from the mouth of a child to spark events which changed the course of a family’s life forever.
“From Scotland to Canada, The Road to Goderich is packed with history.”
Jumping back in time to 1832 in Ayrshire County, Scotland, we meet a young Callandra as she proudly defies her teacher during class with her freethinking ideas. Walking home with her brothers after school that day, she feels like the happiest girl in the world because a boy from school has asked her to attend the Stewarton Fair with him. All seems right in her world until arriving home, she discovers that her beloved father has died.
The week leading up to the funeral is difficult for Callandra in many ways, and she attempts to stay strong as her mother breaks down. When the local pastor falls ill, a Reverend from Glasgow is called in to give the eulogy, and Callandra is struck by his peculiarity. When this strange man travels back to the farm the day after the funeral and offers to marry Callandra, she is shocked and instantly knows that she does not want to leave her family, certainly not with him. The moment her mother explains that not only did the Reverend offer to marry Callandra, but that he is also willing to pay the mortgage on the farm, Callandra’s thoughts begin to swirl. She had not put any consideration into how the family was going to survive without her father there to bring in an income. With the weight of the world suddenly upon her shoulders, Callandra makes a choice, sacrificing her own hopes and dreams to ensure the security of her beloved family.
After a rushed wedding, Callandra has a tough time adapting to life in a grand home with servants, and has an even tougher time warming up to her new husband’s family. It does not take Callandra long to figure out that her new family members are terrible people and that her husband is a cruel man. Callandra’s days are full of sadness until she becomes close with her servant Lottie who makes her days brighter and bearable. Just as she is making peace with her new life, Callandra’s husband announces that he has accepted a posting as a clergyman in a new settlement in Upper Canada. Uprooted again, Callandra makes her way across the Atlantic Ocean to a whole new world with a whole new set of problems.
The last leg of the journey to their new home in Goderich is met with many obstacles and much danger. When they are finally welcomed by their new community, life begins to look up for Callandra and a wonderful happiness begins to settle over her. Unfortunately, her happiness has come at a great cost and with many secrets. With numerous lies, hatred towards colonial authorities, and talks of rebellion, Callandra’s happy life begins to unravel. What happens next will break your heart and make you wonder how it is possible for one person to endure so much pain and unhappiness.
I am not going to lie, my initial feelings upon reading the last chapters of this book were dissatisfaction and anger not because I did not enjoy the book but because McQuaig wrote such phenomenally cruel characters and events. I cannot tell you how many times I cried out in anger over how unfair poor Callandra’s life had turned out. Not only that, but I wanted to reach into the book and pluck her from her terrible circumstances. The hardest part of this story for me was that the people she genuinely loved were the ones that made everything worse. Callandra tried so hard to find happiness, and it dangled there in front of her for so long, but she was never able to truly reach it. My heart is crushed from reading this story, and I do not think I have met characters that have ever sparked so much hatred within me. I guarantee you will become incredibly invested in this story, and you will suffer alongside Callandra as she faces one hardship after another.
From Scotland to Canada, The Road to Goderich is packed with history. From Callandra’s middle-class upbringing on the farm to the rich lifestyle of her in-laws, the author has shown us a few of the social class differences of the early 1800s in Scotland. When Callandra reaches Goderich, we see another social class with the early settlers in Canada who were just trying to make ends meet. This book also discusses the unrest in Upper Canada surrounding the colonial authorities and the beginning of the Ontario Rebellion of 1837. Another element of importance was how politically controlled the church was at that time and how personal gain seemed more important than the betterment of life for parishioners living in a place where faith was truly needed. With these historical elements acting as the backdrop to Callandra’s story, the main historical elements of the novel were the expectations placed upon young women during that time and the hardships they faced in a male-dominated society.
There is truth on every page of this story, no matter how awful and disappointing, and it is a great representation of what life was like for women, early settlers, and members of the clergy during the early settlement of Upper Canada. I absolutely recommend this novel, but I guarantee you will be angry with it. You will come to appreciate the superb writing skills of McQuaig as she pulls you into the story and makes you experience all of Callandra’s emotions as she faces a dark and terrible world, a world she chose to save her family. This novel will serve as a reminder of how far we have come since the early days of our country and perhaps as a reminder of how much further we must go to ensure a better life for all.
About the Author
Linda McQuaig is an award-winning investigative journalist, a Toronto Star columnist, and the author of eight non-fiction national bestsellers. She lives in Toronto.
About the Reviewer
Laura Patterson is a Registered Acupuncturist and a Food Inspector from rural New Brunswick where she lives with her husband and twin boys. When she's not busy with life's craziness, you'll find her with a warm drink in hand and her nose in a book.
Book Details
Publisher : Dundurn Press
Publication date : June 17 2025
Language : English
Print length : 368 pages
ISBN-10 : 1459754891
ISBN-13 : 978-1459754898