"Land Possessed" turns 50

From Land Possessed to Nature’s Victory

A conference by historian and playwright
Don Stewart
on the history of our region
through the eyes of Margaret Cook

Sunday, October 20, at 2 PM
at Strong Hall
1262 chemin de Mille-Isles
Mille-Isles, J0R 1A0

FREE !

2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of Margaret Cook’s novel of historical fiction Land Possessed.

Published by Giles Publishing in Lachute in 1969, the story takes place in 1869 and describes the lives of the Irish Pioneers of Argenteuil through a love story between Norah Kirby, a Protestant, and Dennis Neill, a Catholic. The book contains many accurate descriptions of the pioneer way of life: potash making, beer fermentation, chicken raising, a trip to Montreal, the Lachute Fair, etc. Even Fiddler Lake and Mille-Isles are mentioned in the book!  [...and Lake Anne -- ed.]

Margaret Cook (1897-1975) was a teacher at the Lachute Academy in the 1920s and wrote a monthly column for the Lachute Watchman between 1949 and the early 1970s titled Sunnyacres Sketches. She lived just north of Lake Barron. A play written by Don Stewart and based on her novel was performed in Morin Heights in 2005.