Goose Lane Editions will publish the new novel by award-winning author Beth Powning. The Bird Healer’s Daughter is a standalone book that loosely continues the story that began in The Sea Captain’s Wife and continued with bestselling novel, The Sister’s Tale.
Ursa, a resourceful unwed mother, sews men’s shirts to pay the rent on her modest Saint John, New Brunswick, flat. Lucy, an idealistic young woman from nearby Pleasant Valley, works as a spinner in a cotton mill to finance her dream of becoming a lawyer. When Lucy finds Ursa’s stray dog, their seemingly disparate lives intersect, and a friendship takes root that will change the course of not only their lives, but the lives of future generations of women as well.
“I was fascinated to learn what it was like to be one of the first women university students,” says Powning. “I have loved researching and recreating the New Brunswick of 1891, a time of profound and unsettling change much like today. I have loved feeling the rage and determination of the novel’s women, who march, form groups, and support one another in the struggle for justice.”
“What a delight to work with the smart and talented Beth Powning,” says Bethany Gibson, fiction editor. “Her interwoven narratives of women’s experience at a time of great social upheaval are so alive, so full of love and clarity, her sentences rich with sensory and historical detail. This is a very relevant novel, and a true page-turner. We are so proud to welcome this member of NB royalty into the GLE family.”
The Bird Healer’s Daughter is set for publication in Spring 2027.
