• Age: 13
• Grade: 8

Based on Cartwright’s ill-fated expedition in search of the Beothuk. Jonah Squibb and his Royal Navy companions are tasked with making the first peaceful contact with the Beothuk in more than a century and a half. Conspiring against them are the unforgiving wilderness, unscrupulous merchants and politicians, and the Beothuk’s mistrust of the party’s motives. Greed and compassion collide in this robust and spirited novel that recreates the epic 1768 Cartwright mission to right the wrongs of a bloody past. The novel breathes new life to events that sealed the fate of the Beothuk and etched the very soul of Newfoundland.

Derek Yetman is a former journalist and editor, and the author of four previous books, including Midshipman Squibb and The Beothuk Expedition (Breakwater Books). His historical novels of Newfoundland have an authenticity that comes from his many years as a sailing skipper and student of Newfoundland history. He has served as a naval reservist, officer of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, secretary to the Crow’s Nest Officers’ Club, and communications manager for Canada’s national ship and ocean technology research centre. His debut novel won first prize in the Atlantic Provinces Writing Competition and later books have won widespread praise for their depiction of life and events from the island’s colourful past. He lives and works in St. John’s and Chance Cove, Trinity Bay.   

 

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“The young narrator, Newfoundland-born Jonah Squibb and his shipmates (an assortment of scoundrels and idealists, including John Cartwright and Sir Hugh Pallister) are completely convincing. The Beothuk Expedition is a story of high adventure that kept me engaged until the very end.”

Bernice Morgan, Random Passage and Cloud of Bone

The Beothuk Expedition

John Cartwright, an officer in England’s Royal Navy, was given an unusual mission in 1768. His task: to make peaceful contact with the Beothuk, Newfoundland’s indigenous people. Early Canadian history is brought vividly to life in this fictionalized but well researched account of his failed journey. The grim details of the daily lives of both seamen and settlers are compelling. Yetman’s book also incorporates an unvarnished look at the conflicted, often tragic relationship between the Europeans and the Beothuk. The seeds of modern day Aboriginal issues can clearly be seen in this historical tale.

Aboriginal people are described in demeaning ways reflecting the culture at the time.

Caution: Non-gratuitous graphic violence is depicted throughout the book demonstrating the consequences of the rules, beliefs and attitudes prevalent at the time.