Beth Powning is an automatic read for me. I love her writing!
This book didn’t disappoint.
Dealing with women’s rights, the suffragette movement, and friendships, it was terrific!
I can’t wait for the next book by her!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

As the wife of a sea captain, Josephine Galloway believes her life to be as she wishes it. After his death at sea, she finds herself in the position of not owning either her home or possessions, as they are to be her children’s property. Auctioned off as a worker, Flora is saved by Mrs. Galloway, but the fate of Flora’s sister, Enid, is unknown.

I really struggled with this book. I found the story far-fetched and a little bit repetitive.

I was very disappointed in this one because I so wanted to love it.

I really enjoyed reading this book! The author does a wonderful job weaving this story and no detail is thrown in without careful thought. For me it reminded me a little of Anne of Green Gables where there is an orphan who is saved from a unpleasant fate by someone who has no choice but to step in to save her. The focus of this story ultimately centres on women's rights and empowerment and gives us , the reader a glimpse of what women had to endure in time where women were not even considered a "person." The characters are all interesting and each one has an interesting story to tell. I would highly recommend this! To me it is a slightly darker version of Anne of Green Gables. I hope the author decides to continue the story with a sequel! I would love to see how the characters progress!

I first applied to read this book, but while waiting for approval I actually ended up finding and reading ‘The Sea Captain’s Wife’ the somewhat prequel to this book. I am quite glad I stumbled upon this book and discovered the very talented author, Beth Powning. Although I found both books quite different, I enjoyed that pairing of two adjacent stories in the same world. Instead of a prequel/sequel/series feel of subsequent books following the same character or story, this has a more immersive effect. Two stories intertwined but not a linear progression feels more natural to me, like living in a town and knowing multiple people from one family, hearing the same family lore from differing perspectives and watching how one person’s life choices become influences rippling through generations. To create two entire novel story arcs and flesh out so many characters takes seasoned writing talent. I found The Sister’s Tale less harrowing than the Sea Captain’s Wife but I was equally drawn into the lives and events Beth Powning has so artfully created. I will certainly be reading more of her writing.

A very interesting story dealing with a part of Canada's history about which I wasn't aware. The story takes place in New Brunswick from about 1887 to 1890 and includes some important historical events. Josephine, widow of a sea captain, is devastated to learn that since her husband died without a will, she has no rights to any of his property or even to claim their two daughters as her children. She has the added responsibility of caring for Flora, one of many home children sent from Britain to Canada. Due to some unfortunate circumstances, Flora was included in a pauper auction which sounds like a terrible practice and I can't believe Canada participated in such a custom. Flora's biggest concern is reuniting with her younger sister, also a home child who was sent to Canada at a later time and who Flora eventually learns was placed in Nova Scotia.

This was a great read which covers many important issues such as women's rights, the suffragette movement, education, equality, etc., and I highly recommend it. Even though this story takes place in Canada I'm sure conditions were much the same in other countries at that time. The book was well-written and I enjoyed the characters. There is a lot of information included in the afterword, with important milestone dates and an abundance of reference material. This is the first book I've read by Beth Powning and will probably look into reading some of her other novels.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book.

Book Review
The Sisters Tale by Beth Powning

Thank you to @netgalley and @knopfca for my early copy in return for an honest review

Based upon Canadian history this book follows the loves of several women brought together by circumstance. Each trying to build a life for themselves.

Flora- a Home Child who came to Canada from England fleeing poverty for the promise of a brighter future...

Josephine.... recently widowed she has lost everything. Under current Nova Scotian law, as an unmarried woman she cant own property or be the legal guardian of her own children.

Ellen, Lucy, Enid, Josephine, Flora…. All our drawn to the suffragist movement and what it may mean for their futures. These women are connected by their friendship, love, and home in a way that supports them financially and emotionally. Their shared belief that women deserve more fuels their passion for change.

I love a book that teaches me something. I am newly aquatinted with the home children that were sent to Canada from England to work as indentured servants. It is horrible to think of the role Canadians played in child labour at the time. Powning’s book focused more on the rights of women in Canada at the time, this being a subject in Canadian history that I am not well versed in I was happy to learn between the pages of this book.
Powning creates a narrative not only steeped in history but one that describes the gender inequality reflective of the time. The struggle not to define oneself by gender or circumstance but to create your own narrative based on your own passions and wants.

Overall a solid read for lovers of historical fiction and Canadian content. I also greatly appreciated the notes at the end in regards to the historical references of events and dates.

💫 Book Review 💫
The Sister’s Tale by Beth Powning

If ever there was a historical fiction novel about women finding their voices collectively, this is it.

Welcome to New Brunswick in the 1880’s where women have no rights and British Home Children are sold at auctions.

Where a woman left as a widow after her seaman husband dies at sea. But she is left with the knowledge that there is no will and technically she isn’t even the legal guardian of her own kids.

Where a wife isn’t a kin.

Where girls have to fight to get educated.

This book has a lot of of the suffragist movement. A time period that I did a lot of focus on when I was writing in high school... so for me, I enjoyed it a lot. It reminded me How stifling it was to be a woman back then. And reminded me how hard we still have to fight at the top of the company centuries later.

That said, it’s also one of those books that makes me accurately aware that the rights of women are one thing but that the fight of a POC is even harder. That while we may have the right to vote or be in school, we are no where near equality in society. Not even close.

Love books that keep me thinking about how far we have come and how far we still have to go. This one comes out May 25,2021. Look for it Historical fiction lovers :)

Though difficult to read about, the horrors of British workhouses and auctions of people in Canada are discussed in this book. The details are jarring but important to know. This book is definitely not rosy but such a great read with important topics including women's rights such as the vote and advocacy. We see terror, fear, anguish, resilience and glimmers of hope. What the human spirit can endure is unreal.

Josephine, a sea captain's wife, is a philanthropist and rescues people from dire circumstances. She is horrified at the pauper's auction in then St. John, New Brunswick and buys a young girl, Flora, an orphan who is cruelly separated from her sister, Enid. Josephine's circumstances change drastically and she discovers she has no rights whatsoever. The book is about these characters as well as others. Not only this but a past murder overshadows the story. There are mental and physical struggles as characters are pushed and pulled.

The characters and beautiful descriptions and historical details are wonderfully captured. I was quickly pulled in and engaged. The author's notes at the back explain what is fiction and what is true in this book. Those who seek a more challenging Historical Fiction book (aka not all fluff), definitely read this one. It's brilliantly compelling, arresting and crushing.

My sincere thank you to Knopf Canada (Penguin Random House Canada) and NetGalley for the privilege of reading the early e-ARC of this fascinating and memorable book.

The Canadian maritime author, Beth Powning, explores the relationships that hold us together when things fall apart. She expertly takes us back to 1887, when orphaned children were sent to workhouses, sisters were separated by an ocean, men still went to sea in square-rigged ships and women began to fight for their rights. “A Sister’s Tale” is her most recent Canadian historical fiction to be published May 25, 2021.

Josephine Galloway, the wife of a New Brunswick sea captain, becomes involved in the case of a British home child, Flora Salford, when the child’s luck runs out. Purchasing the teenager in a pauper auction saves the girl from a what would have been a disastrous outcome if the wealthy townsmen had it their way. Before fitting in to her new land and new family, Flora needs to find out what happened to her sister, Enid.

As is most often the case, we can’t move forward until we take care of the past. Flora is no exception. I loved this story about strong, determined women who work together despite what hurdles life has thrown them. Their tenacity and fortitude inspired me. I was appreciative of Powning teaching us about the forgotten pieces of our Canadian maritime history and the fight for women’s rights. I empathized with the plight of orphaned children who could do nothing to foretell nor avoid their fate.

I have not read the author’s previous work titled, “The Sea Captain’s Wife” but I understand that readers will reconnect with characters from this book. I am drawn to the cover featuring the rather sad and expressive boots of the sisters, Enid and Flora.

Thank you to Beth Powning, Penguin Random House Canada, Knopf Canada and NetGalley for the gifted advance copy. I received it for free and was under no obligation to provide feedback. This is my honest review.

Wow, what a beautifully written Canadian historical fiction. It is the story of Josephine, a sea captain's wife and Flora, an orphan from England and how they come together. We learn about the terrible pauper auctions where the poor in a community are auctioned off to the lowest bidder, with children sometimes being torn from their siblings. It is through these auctions that Flora finds herself living with Josephine and from there the story takes off. There is murder, suffragettes, lost love and the search for Flora's sister who she had to leave in England.
I found parts of the story slow but in all I thoroughly enjoyed learning so much about Canadian maritime history. I recommend this book!

I couldn’t decide whether this book should be rated at 3.5 or 4 stars.
This book is part of a very interesting piece of history in Canada. I really enjoyed that learning about it. I actually no idea that poor people were “auctioned” by Canadians. So interesting and sad all the same time.
I also really like how empowering this book is for women to see how far we have come. I did not know that when women were widowed in this time frame they basically had no rights if there was no will. I loved the struggles the characters faced in this novel.
For me though, this book didn’t flow as much as I wanted it to. It wasn’t a book I couldn’t put down, so therefore I’m undecided about giving it a rating.