08/31/2026
Simcoe Reads Spotlight #4 Selected by Paula Murphy for Innisfil Idealab & Library
Finding Flora by Elinor Florence ... In 1905, Scottish newcomer Flora Craigie jumps from a moving train to escape her abusive husband. Desperate to disappear, she claims a homestead near Alix, Alberta, determined to start a new life for herself. She finds that her nearest neighbours are also a Welsh widow with three children, two American women raising chickens, and a Métis woman who makes a living by breaking wild horses.
While battling the harsh environment , the five women grapple with the differences of their backgrounds and the secrets each struggles to keep. As the competition for land along the new Canadian Pacific railway lines heats up, Flora’s violent husband closes in, and a land agent threatens the lives and livelihoods of the women just as they’re coming into their own.