Review of "Becoming Lady Washington"

My review of Betty Bolte's novel, Becoming Lady Washington, has been published in Compulsive Reader. Check out the link, below, to find out why I didn't like the book.

http://www.compulsivereader.com/2020/07/17/a-review-of-becoming-lady-washington-by-betty-bolte/

More from "Votes Love and War" flu sections

More from my central character,  Charlotte.

Around her neck, Keira was wearing a small cotton drawstring bag of camphor, and Elizabeth remarked to me privately that the strong smell would definitely keep people from getting close enough to spread their germs.

Ned was well, Keira said, though the CPR shops were hotbeds of disease, as men who had symptoms still came to work, not wanting to stay home and lose pay. She and Ned thought the ban on public gatherings was being inconsistently enforced and that its aim was to prevent unions from holding meetings and planning for the November civic election. The Trades and Labour Council was sending a delegation to the mayor and council asking that those laid off their jobs because of the ban on public gatherings, like theatre employees and musicians, be compensated for their lost wages. I was lucky; teachers continued to get paid.

Dad phoned me from the Prosper General Store to ask how I was and whether there was news of Baz. There wasn't.....On the 8th and 9th of October, the Canadians and some British army units took the town of Cambrai, and on October 11th the Canadian corps was relieved, but we didn't hear anything from Baz.

Dad said I'd probably get a letter soon and changed the subject back to the flu. There were no cases at present in Prosper, but in other small towns there were. In Carman, three of the four doctors had fallen ill, leaving just the one to tend patients for forty miles around. At our home, all was well. The local school and Prosper Collegiate were still open.

"Your old suitor, Mr. York, was by a few days ago," he said jokingly. "He just got back from overseas and dropped in on us to see if we'd board his child. He wants the little lad nearer so he can see him more often. Marta said yes."

He said goodbye, then, asking me to keep the family informed about my health, and telling me not to worry about them. "Way out here in the country, no germs can reach us.

The Flu Epidemic Sections of Votes, "Love and War"

In my novel, Votes, Love and War (Ottawa, Baico, 2019 ISBN  978-1-77216-191-5, $32), my central character, Charlotte, writes of her experiences during the heyday of the Manitoba women's suffrage movement and World War I.  These experiences include the "Spanish" flu epidemic of 1918-1919.  One of my readers told me that the novel is especially relevant today as we experience the Covid-19 pandemic.

Canada in 1918-1919 was much less prepared for a pandemic than Canada of 2020, and the virus was not the same, in that the 1918-1919 flu struck down people in the prime of life, while in 2020 the elderly seem to be the most susceptible - though in both instances there were many exceptions to the pattern. In both epidemics, person-to-person transmission seems to have been the reason for the spread of the virus.

The 1918-19 flu was called "Spanish" because there seemed to be  more cases in Spain than in other countries.  Actually, some of the first reported cases were in an army barracks in Kansas. Spain was probably more honest in reporting its statistics, while the countries at war in 1918 did not report the full incidence of the epidemic for fear it would interfere with morale. The historian Eslett Wynne Jones has written an informative book about the impact of the pandemic of 1918-19 on Winnipeg.

I've decided to share some portions of Votes, Love and War to show how my fictional Charlotte, a young teacher,  and her mother-in-law, Elizabeth Weaver, cope with the 1918-1919 pandemic. Charlotte's young husband, Baz, is overseas at war at the time. See below:

In March 1918, Mrs. Weaver drew my attention to a news item about an influenza epidemic at a military camp in Kansas. Having lost her doctor husband to typhoid, she was interested in communicable diseases. I listened with mild concern but didn't think much about it. We'd all had the flu at one time or another; it was seldom life-threatening except in the cases of the frail elderly and fragile infants. My worries were focussed on Baz... (pp. 341-342)...

In late August, cases were reported in the Eastern United States where some of the victims died within twenty-four hours of exhibiting symptoms. Mrs. Weaver consulted her husband's medical books and said that this virulent flu was "mutating" - changing slightly into new strains for which there was no vaccine. The crowding and movement of troops, the weakened condition of both soldiers and civilians in Europe, the dirty  living conditions of the war - all contributed to its spread... (p. 346)...

Meanwhile, cases had been reported in Newfoundland and the disease seemed to  be creeping westward. Next, cases were reported in Montreal and Toronto. On September 30th the Winnipeg Tribune headlined: "Fifteen Spanish Flu Victims will Reach City Tonight.  The sick  men were on a troop train from Quebec, bound for Vancouver, thence to Siberia to fight against the Bolsheviks.  According to the Tribune, all the men had been healthy on leaving Fort William. When the train got to Winnipeg, the sick men were taken to the convalescent soldiers' home run by the Imperial Order of Daughters of the Empire. Other ill soldiers had been dropped off at  military hospitals en route. On  October 3rd, the Tribune reported that two of the soldiers had died. A third died on October 9th. The Tribune claimed that men who were supposed to be quarantined had been allowed out to attend movies, thus spreading the disease to the community.... (pp. 346-7)

With a mask over my nose and mouth, I went out and bought menthol, cough medicine and lemons, which were much in demand. Meanwhile the death toll mounted in Eastern Cities... Winnipeg public health officer  Dr Alexander Douglas introduced a fifty dollar fine for anyone caught spitting in the street. In a  public statement he told the sick to go to bed and everyone else to avoid crowds... As of midnight, October 12th, all public meeting places were ordered closed, including churches, movie theatres, libraries and schools.

"You're getting a vacation!" Elizabeth told me. I smiled, but neither of us felt lighthearted."

To be continued in next posting.