• Age: 12 to 15
• Grade: 4 to 5
• Reading age: 12 to 15

Short-listed for the 2011 Information Book Award and commended for the 2011 VOYA Non-Fiction Honour List
From 1906 to 1914, the Empress of Ireland, one of the fastest and most elegant liners of the Edwardian era, graced the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Remembered primarily for sinking in only 14 minutes in the St. Lawrence River and for having a greater loss of passenger life than the Titanic, the Empress’s true legacy is the significant role it played in the building of Canada.
During the ship’s many crossings between Canada and England, it ferried royalty, politicians, scientists, authors, actors, captains of industry, and military servicemen aboard its decks, but most important, it carried more than 115,000 hopeful immigrants who left Europe to build new lives on Canadian soil.
Into the Mist is the story of the Empress of Ireland, of the many people who walked its decks, and how, in the early morning of May 29, 1914, it came to rest on the bottom of the St. Lawrence River.

Anne Renaud is a life-long Quebecker and is the author of several picture books, as well as historical non-fiction books for children, including: The Extraordinary Life of Anna Swan (CBU Press), A Bloom of Friendship: The Story of the Canadian Tulip Festival, Island of Hope and Sorrow: The Story of Grosse Île, and Into the Mist: The Story of the Empress of Ireland. An expanded edition of Pier 21: Stories from Near and Far, first published in 2008, is forthcoming from CBU Press. Anne’s work has been nominated for several awards, including the Silver Birch Award, the Hackmatack Children’s Choice Award, the Red Cedar Book Award and the Red Maple Award. The Extraordinary Life of Anna Swan ( for CBU Press, 2013) was shortlistedthe Quebec Writers’ Federation Prize for Children's & Young Adult Literature. Anne is also a regular contributor to children’s magazines, such as Highlights, Pockets, Cricket, Odyssey, Faces, Clubhouse and Shine. She hopes her books educate, entertain and inspire children.

Anne Renaud's profile page

• Short-listed, Information Book Award
• Commended, VOYA Non-Fiction Honour List

Not to be missed.

Seabreezes naval magazine (UK)

Anne Renaud has given a comprehensive, accessible account of this great ship and the significance of the role it played in transporting people and mail between England and Canada. The book would be an asset to students of Canadian 20th century history as well as a great book for browsing by any who are interested in Canadian history or major shipwrecks which have taken place in our country.

Resource Links

The many photographs and historical documents, such as advertisements and newspaper headlines, included in the book help the reader visualize the period, so that by the time the sinking is described, its tragedy seems all the more profound.

Montreal Review of Books

This is an interesting story from Canadas past, skillfully told in a style and format that young readers will find easily accessible and that will broaden their understanding of a critical time in Canadas history.

Canadian Teacher magazine

Into the Mist: The Story of the Empress of Ireland