Overview

In the year 1907, all of Brampton is present at the sod-turning ceremony for the Carnegie Library. At the end of the event, the crowd rises as one to walk to the Presbyterian Church for a consecration service... Everyone except Jessie Stephens and her family. Her father will not allow them to enter the Presbyterian Church. No one will tell young Jessie the reason, but she learns that it has something to do with her grandfather Jesse Brady, who built it. As she seeks to solve that mystery over many years, Jessie slowly begins to learn the history of the town in which she lives. Her tales of everyday life in small town Ontario combine to craft a vivid portrait of a life and a family that are, upon closer inspection, anything but ordinary.

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9781988279671

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Reviews

Lynne Golding has opened a magical door to the past and ushered us into Edwardian Brampton to marvel at a simpler time... ​​[The Innocent​] will make you laugh and weep and wonder, and be fondly remembered long after the final pages are read. --Cheryl Cooper, author of the Seasons of War series

Lynne Golding has opened a magical door to the past and ushered us into Edwardian Brampton to marvel at a simpler time... [The Innocent ] will make you laugh and weep and wonder, and be fondly remembered long after the final pages are read. --Cheryl Cooper, author of the Seasons of War series Lynne Golding knows how to tell a story. With yarns she gathered at her great aunt's knee, she has woven a compelling story that harkens back to a time of pre-war innocence in a town I've always been proud to call my own. -- Former Premier the Honorable William G. Davis It's easy to forget that everything about the roads we drive, the hydro and water to our homes, the schools and health care we need, comes from the cradle of community. This book is a journey back in time to what was needed for building a future that cares for many thousands for decades to come. Through a fascinating family, Lynne Golding's novel leads us into the past in a whimsical way that can't help but connect to our own ambitions. --Lorna Dueck, CEO, Crossroads A lovingly crafted work, so engaging, pulsing with life, sensitive to the foibles of family relationships. I love the wry humour, gentle handling of tragedy, of constrained family competition, of church, and of politics. The Innocent is a wonderful study of social relationships in a small community. I'm much touched by the chapter on starting school, and the quiet, non critical intervention of Uncle James to still the child's fears when passing the Iron Works Repair Shop. It would rival any of James Rainey's small town tales. --Ruth Redelmeier, Ontario Historian

Author Information

Lynne Golding grew up in Brampton, ON, where she lives today. She obtained a BA in History and Political Science before studying law. She is now a senior partner at an international law firm, married with children, and the winner of the What's Your Story Short Prose and Poetry Competition.

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