Most Popular Books by Linda Spalding

In 1798, Daniel Dickinson, a young Quaker father and widower, leaves his home in Pennsylvania to establish a new life. He sets out with two horses, a wagonful of belongings, his five children, a 15-year-old orphan wife, and a few land warrants for his future homestead. When Daniel suddenly trades a horse for a young slave, Onesimus, it sets in motion a struggle in his conscience that will taint his life forever, and sets in motion a chain of events that lead to two murders and the family''s strange relationship with a runaway slave named Bett. Stripped down and as hard-edged as the realities of pioneer life, Spalding''s writing is nothing short of stunning, as it instantly envelops the reader in the world and time of the novel, and follows the lives of unforgettable characters. Inspired by stories of the author''s own ancestors, The Purchase is a resonant, powerful and timeless novel.

Persephone revisited: a unique mother-and-daughter story written by amother-and-daughterliterary team Mere’s young life is confined to the wind and water, the boat that shelives on docking only long enough to stop at the grocery store orvisit the library, but never long enough to take out any books. Thatwould mean having a library card, and a library card would meanrevealing your name on a government form. Mere, her mother, Faye, and Mark, the mysterious teenage runawaywho shares their boat, seem destined to sail around the Great Lakesforever, navigating the Persephone through the deep waters, stoppingin Toronto twice a year to pick up envelopes of cash left with thedockmaster. Faye is a fugitive, still pursued for her part in the violentone-year anniversary events marking Chicago’s 1968 “Days ofRage”—a seminal student protest against the Vietnam war. NowMerril, Mere’s father, has suddenly appeared on the boat after manyyears. The authorities are looking for him and Faye is his ticket tofreedom. But, in a desperate bid for her own adolescent freedom,Mere makes a choice that will change everything. Mere is a wonderfully electric novel about the inexorable bondbetween mothers and daughters, written by two of Canada’s mosttalented writers—themselves mother and daughter. Rich in itsallegorical and sociological strands, it reaches into the Greek myth ofPersephone; it explores a woman’s primeval need to protect herchild; and it lays bare the explosive events of a touchstone period inour history. A novel of choices and consequences, betrayal andatonement, Mere builds lyrically to a shattering climax, an endingthat haunts long after the last page is turned.

This work examines the impulse to save a species, combining issues of natural history, travel writing and reflections on motherhood, the reforming zeal of the 1960s and ethics of being Green. Fascinated by the reputation of Birute Galdikas who studied a group of orang-utans in the wild, Linda Spalding took her own journey in order to discover why a woman would commit her life to a malaria-infested swamp and a group of orang-utans.

It’s 1855, and the Dickinson farm, in the bottom corner of Virginia, is already in debt when a Northern abolitionist arrives and creates havoc among the slaves. Determined to find his mother and daughter, who are already free in Canada, Bry is the first slave to flee, and his escape inspires a dozen others. Soon, the farm, owned by one brother and managed by another, is forfeited to the bank. One of the brothers, who is also a circuit-riding preacher, gathers his flock into a wagon train to find a new life in the west. But John Dickinson has a dangerous secret that compels him to abandon the group at the last minute, and his wife, two daughters, and thirteen-year-old son, Martin, now face life on the trail and an unknown future alone. After a fateful encounter along the way, Martin and Bry will hatch a plot to get Bry safely to Canada, but each member of the family will be changed, tormented, excited, and exposed by the journey. Linda Spalding brings an astonishing empathy to the telling of the fate of each of the travelers and to their shifting inner lives—compoundedof grief, fear, anger, and hope. Rich in character and incident, A Reckoning brilliantly-creates an America that was: the undefiled beauty of its lands and the grand mix of settlers and Native Americans; blacks and whites; riverboat captains, small businessmen, and people leaving one life behind for another they can only just begin to see. It moves with irresistible force toward an ending at once cataclysmic, inevitable, and profound.

When a murder occurs in beautiful Hawaii, the suspects are two young mainlanders on their honeymoon. Mayann Acker is eighteen-years-old. Her husband, William, is twenty-eight and just out of prison.Linda Spalding is chosen as a juror for Maryann''s trail. Surprisingly, the chief witness against her is William. Spalding has her doubts, but on the last day of the trial she is abruptly dismissed from the jury. Maryann is found guilty. Who Named the Knife is the story of how, eighteen years later, Spalding tracks down Maryann and uncovers much more than the answer to the question of her innocence. A complex journey into the twists of fate that spin two lives down different paths, Who Named the Knife offers profound insight into the human heart.

Kansas-born Jess marries Paul and removes with him to the sultry paradise of Hawaii to challenge Paul''s haunting past. All goes well until an act of disloyalty exposes Jess to the mythical beliefs of Hawaii, and she discovers the true weight of her husband''s betrayal and heritage. The author weaves a chilling tale of old memories, secrets, and a clash of cultures--with an undercurrent of peril throughout.

As evocative of an era as it is psychologically penetrating, "The Paper Wife" is the story of a friendship, a triangle, and a trial by fire as three young friends struggle to find their moral footing during the turbulent years of the Vietnam War.

Recounts Spalding''s journey to locate Birute Galdikas in Borneo''s threatened jungles, where Galdikas has been working to study and protect the endangered orangutans

Writers from Alice Walker to Michael Ondaatje to Claire Messud share their thoughts on one of the most vital gatherings of writers and readers in the world. The Palestine Festival of Literature was established in 2008 by authors Ahdaf Soueif, Brigid Keenan, Victoria Brittain and Omar Robert Hamilton. Bringing writers to Palestine from all corners of the globe, it aimed to break the cultural siege imposed by the Israeli military occupation, to strengthen artistic links with the rest of the world, and to reaffirm, in the words of Edward Said, "the power of culture over the culture of power." This Is Not a Border is a collection of essays, poems, and sketches from some of the world''s most distinguished artists, responding to their experiences at this unique festival. Both heartbreaking and hopeful, their gathered work is a testament to the power of literature to promote solidarity and hope in the most desperate of situations. Contributing authors include J. M. Coetzee, China Miéville, Alice Walker, Geoff Dyer, Claire Messud, Henning Mankell, Michael Ondaatje, Kamila Shamsie, Michael Palin, Deborah Moggach, Mohammed Hanif, Gillian Slovo, Adam Foulds, Susan Abulhawa, Ahdaf Soueif, Jeremy Harding, Brigid Keenan, Rachel Holmes, Suad Amiry, Gary Younge, Jamal Mahjoub, Molly Crabapple, Najwan Darwish, Nathalie Handal, Omar Robert Hamilton, Pankaj Mishra, Raja Shehadeh, Selma Dabbagh, William Sutcliffe, Atef Abu Saif, Yasmin El-Rifae, Sabrina Mahfouz, Alaa Abd El Fattah, Mercedes Kemp, Ru Freeman.

Never before has the Dayak culture been described from the inside, by an indigenous woman born and raised in the rainforest listening to the stories and legends of her tribe, who are famous as the "head- hunters of Borneo." In this vivid memoir - that speaks to readers everywhere about the powerful effects of change - Riska tells us what it means to move in one''s lifetime from a rainforest culture to the modern world.

Pennsylvania, 1798. Na de dood van zijn vrouw blijft Daniel Dickinson met vijf jonge kinderen achter. Als hij een overhaast huwelijk met een vijftienjarig weesmeisje sluit, wordt hij uit de quakergemeenschap gestoten en besluit hij met zijn gezin naar Virginia te vertrekken. Na een lange reis vol ontberingen begint hij een nieuw leven als boer. In tegenstelling tot Pennsylvania is Virginia een staat waar slavernij wettelijk is toegestaan. Als overtuigd quaker is Daniel daar fel op tegen. Toch wordt hij op een veiling onbedoeld eigenaar van de jonge slaaf Onesimus. Dat vormt de aanzet tot een reeks dramatische ontwikkelingen. Een indringende roman over liefde en opoffering, over vrijheid en gebondenheid. Een tijdloos boek dat de lezer sprakeloos achterlaat. `Een mus valt ter aarde is een epische roman die er op alle niveaus toe doet in reikwijdte, diepte, en in the heart. Uit het juryrapport `Meeslepend Een van de mooiste historische romans die de afgelopen jaren verschenen. National Post Canada

"1855. À la frontière de la Virginie et du Kentucky, la ferme des frères Benjamin et John Dickinson croule sous les dettes lorsque survient un abolitionniste du Nord qui encourage les esclaves à fuir. Déterminé à retrouver sa mère et sa fille déjà libres au Canada, Bry est le premier à partir, suivi de dizaines d''autres. Bientôt la ferme est saisie par la banque. John, aussi prédicateur itinérant, rassemble alors les siens vers une nouvelle vie à l''ouest. Quand, à la dernière minute, il abandonne le groupe, sa femme, ses deux filles et son fils Martin, âgé de 13 ans, doivent affronter l''inconnu. Après une rencontre en cours de route, Martin et Bry deviseront d''un plan pour amener l''esclave en fuite au Canada en toute sécurité, mais chaque membre de la famille en sera changé à jamais."--Back cover.

Rien de bien inquiétant, croit-on à première vue, derrière les surfaces lisses et propres qui dessinent les contours d''une ville assoupie. Pourtant, des trottoirs humides de Dundas aux lampadaires grisâtres de Parkdale, les formes qui se reflètent dans la nuit sont comme de drôles d''oiseaux de malheur. Ce sont les signes volatiles d''un grand jeu de piste urbain où il faut cavaler à perdre haleine pour ne pas être rattrapé par le passé, l''exubérance du désir ou la folie des grands espaces.