• Age: 10
• Grade: 5

Margaret Thompson offers a powerfully moving and historically accurate account of life in Fort St. James, in northern British Columbia, in the 1820s. Through the character of Peter, a young boy who is orphaned at the Fort, Thompson presents a vivid picture of the difficult life for both the fur traders and the Natives in what was then called the "Siberia" of the fur trade. Lonely and unsure of himself, Peter finds himself an eyewitness to a murder which threatens to destroy the good relations between the Company and the Carrier people. Through his friendship with the nephew of Chief Kwah of the Carrier, Peter comes to understand and sympathize with the Carrier culture, learning much about tolerance, compromise and acceptance, but also about the difficulties that divided loyalties can bring. Thompson also offers an innovative view of the role of women in the fur trade, painting a fascinating picture of the young James Douglas and his wife Amelia in the confrontation with Chief Kwah.

Margaret Thompson's first collection of short stories, Hide and Seek, was published in 1996, and in 2000, she won a BC2000 Book Award for her second book, an historical novel for young adults, Eyewitness. She has published stories, poems, and essays in literary magazines and anthologies, as well as a chapter book called Fox Winter and a collection of travel essays, Knocking on the Moonlit Door. A past president of the Federation of BC Writers, Margaret sits on the editorial board of the Federation’s quarterly journal, WordWorks. Born in england and educated at London University, Exeter University, and San Diego State University, Margaret has taught in the BC towns of Merritt, Madeira Park, Sechelt, and Fort St. James. She now lives in Victoria, BC, where she is able to pursue one of her favourite occupations, birdwatching.

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Eyewitness