The Convict Lover
The Convict Lover by Merilyn Simonds is part biography, part fiction, a wholly compelling story about a seventeen-year-old girl and the prisoner she befriends in post-World War I Ontario. Simonds’ discovery of a cache of letters, albums, clippings, and other memorabilia pieces together the life of an unknown woman as she grows up during a tumultuous time in history.
I love how much Simonds included about the time these letters were written in. I know very little about 1919 Canada, even less about Canada’s prison system at that time. Simonds did a great job fleshing out the details to help readers understand the context of the story.
By piecing together the story of Phyllis Halliday through her letters from “Daddy Long Legs,” Simonds was able to create compelling characters for her story. It was interesting to know Halliday’s relatives contacted Simonds after this book was published and helped fill in some of the gaps for Simonds, especially those surrounding the convict she wrote to, whose real name was Joseph Cleroux.
Although I sympathized with the prisoner – it couldn’t have been easy living in those deplorable conditions – my favourite perspective to read from was Halliday. A chronically ill seventeen-year-old girl, still in school, conversing secretly with a prisoner? Talk about an interesting leading lady! I loved reading about her life and how she managed to smuggle things to the prisoner and his friends.
The Convict Lover is a thought-provoking story that historical fiction lovers will enjoy.
The Convict Lover Rating: ★★★★
I love how much Simonds included about the time these letters were written in. I know very little about 1919 Canada, even less about Canada’s prison system at that time. Simonds did a great job fleshing out the details to help readers understand the context of the story.
By piecing together the story of Phyllis Halliday through her letters from “Daddy Long Legs,” Simonds was able to create compelling characters for her story. It was interesting to know Halliday’s relatives contacted Simonds after this book was published and helped fill in some of the gaps for Simonds, especially those surrounding the convict she wrote to, whose real name was Joseph Cleroux.
Although I sympathized with the prisoner – it couldn’t have been easy living in those deplorable conditions – my favourite perspective to read from was Halliday. A chronically ill seventeen-year-old girl, still in school, conversing secretly with a prisoner? Talk about an interesting leading lady! I loved reading about her life and how she managed to smuggle things to the prisoner and his friends.
The Convict Lover is a thought-provoking story that historical fiction lovers will enjoy.
The Convict Lover Rating: ★★★★