Whitfield Editions

Sisters in Two Worlds

Containing 200 colour and black-and-white images, many of them never-before published, this extraordinary book chronicles the lives of two exceptional and inspirational women: sisters, writers, pioneers, and icons of the Canadian imagination.

Their childhood was spent in a manor house in the Suffolk countryside. As aspiring young authors, they attended literary evenings in the drawing rooms of Georgian London. But in 1832 Susanna Moodie and Catharine Parr Traill crossed the Atlantic to embark on new lives in the backwoods of Upper Canada. As pioneering wives they struggled to survive and raise their families in a strange and often hostile world. By the light of homemade candles, Susanna and Catharine wrote about their experiences, producing such enduring classics as Roughing it in the Bush and The Backwoods of Canada. And Catharine’s beautifully illustrated books on Canadian plants and wildflowers were the first of their kind.

In a handsome, illustrated format Sisters in Two Worlds recreates the remarkable lives of these two pioneering writers. Its absorbing narrative text is complemented by modern colour photographs of the places they knew, combined with archival images, paintings, letters, and family artifacts. Written by Canada’s foremost Moodie/Traill scholar, this visual biography is an informative view of two of this country’s seminal writers and a remarkable tapestry of life in early Canada.

"Michael Peterman's text combines complete authority and grace....In total it is like a mueum of Moodie-Traill lore that both demands and repays close attention." --Books in Canada

Breakout Dinosaurs

When it comes to dinosaurs, Canada had lots of them – from the scary giant T. Rex in Saskatchewan to strange, duck-billed creatures in Alberta and really ancient dinos in Nova Scotia. They've even found dinosaurs in the Arctic! Maybe some of them lived where you live...

Millions of years ago, Canada was a strange and exotic place. The Prairies were covered with a shallow inland sea in which sea monsters swam. Alberta had a coastline with river deltas where duck-billed dinos and horned and frilled ceratopsians feasted on flowering plants. Today, Canada possesses the richest single dinosaur site in the world in the badlands of Alberta. And we have excellent museums where you can see dino skeletons and fossils up close.

In  December of 2007, the spectacular new and expanded Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto opened the Jim and Louise Temerty Galleries of the Age of Dinosaurs with over 350 specimens on display. Some of these are featured here – and ROM curators provided expert advice for every page of the book. Dramatic color illustrations by Alan Barnard and a simple, absorbing text with lots of descriptive features and sidebars make this a dinosaur book for all ages and for readers in all parts of Canada.

“a book that should be in every school and public library in Canada.”  Resource Links.

•Nominated for the 2009 Silver Birch Express Award

Carnation, Lily, Lily Rose

“I hate Polly and I hate Dolly,” thought Kate as she sulked in her room. She had been the model for the painting Mr. Sargent was working on in the garden. But then Polly and Dolly Barnard had arrived. They were older than Kate – and had fair hair. Now it was Polly and Dolly who were posing for the painting – not Kate.

How Kate gets over her disappointment and takes part in the creation of John Singer Sargent’s well-loved painting is the focus of this charming, true story, illustrated with over 35 paintings and sketches plus period photos and memorabilia.

“…a handsome, well-researched and engaging volume which provides lessons in art history…and an effective introductory [Sargent] biography.” —Quill and Quire

“[an] exquisite book...gorgeously illustrated.”  —Washington Post

"...gently written and beautifully produced...essential reading for anyone of any age who is interested in painting and loves art." --American Artist

At Vimy Ridge

It was the most fearsome enemy bastion of all…

The English and French had tried to take it and failed. But on a chill Easter morning in 1917, the men of the Canadian Corps in France struggled up the shell-torn ground of Vimy Ridge. Only two years before, they had been regarded as a band of unruly colonials. Now, with careful planning, skill and bravery, the Canadians would earn the admiration of the world.

“At Vimy Ridge is a splendid introduction to a major event in Canadian history…. Few copies will sit for long on library shelves.”  —Quill and Quire

“…a superb account of the battle…well-chosen and strategically placed archival photographs, as well as portraits and maps, provide a splendid visual counterpoint to the text.”  —Globe & Mail