By Larissa Page
Genevieve Graham is a renowned author of Canadian historical romance novels. When I discovered her a few years ago, it was after learning she was local to me and therefore a few of her historical novels were set locally (which I love). I devoured three of them in quick succession and have been periodically picking away at more of her books since.
Bluebird is set during World War 1 and also in the region of Windsor, Ontario during the prohibition and rumrunning times in the early 1920s. The story begins with a small present-day storyline centering around a historian and the discovery of a few cases of rum from the 1920s and then jumps back to give us the origin story of how those bottles came to be there and the important players in their creation. From the hospital tents of France to the speakeasies of Windsor, Adele, Jerry, and John live a life of service then return from the war to a city and a way of living much different than the one they left.
Graham has a particular writing style and voice when writing about historical events and overlaying characters, relationships, and love stories over top of them. Bluebird is no different. Falling back into Graham’s writing is a comfort, like a warm hug, even when the historical events can be or are heartbreaking. Not unlike falling back to a favourite TV show to re-watch for comfort and familiarity when you’re feeling anxious and overwhelmed, Graham’s writing style is familiar throughout her books even as the stories change. Those already familiar with her work will be happy to know they can depend on Bluebird to be the same.
Those not already familiar with Graham’s writing can expect an easy reading experience. The subject matter may be tough at points but never traumatic (though perhaps dramatic). The characters are easy to relate to and understand; not much is hidden in the subtext, so we are not required to draw too many of our own conclusions.
The other wonderful thing about Graham’s novels is the historical education that goes along with them. Graham does her research and has said that one of her goals with her novels is to bring to light some of the events of Canada’s past that are lesser known. So, she learns about different periods and events and formulates a story around them, giving us characters of the time, relationships, and love stories, and also some insight into history we may not have already known.
Bluebird is no different in this way. Previous to reading, I hadn’t heard of the Nursing Sisters (with whom our leading lady Adele served during World War 1) or the tunnellers who dug under the trenches (like our stars of the book John and Jerry). I also knew very little about prohibition and rumrunners, which I found very interesting and exciting to have as a backdrop of a story. And the best part of the education piece is that Graham includes a historical note at the back that gives us more information on different aspects of the book and how Graham did her research.
Anyone who already loves Genevieve Graham will be happy to pick this one up, and anyone who has not yet experienced her writing will be well served for this to be their first.
Thank you, Simon and Schuster Canada, for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.