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Skaha Crossing

by Elizabeth Pryce

287 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #04-1600; ISBN 1-4120-3785-9; US$24.00, C$27.95, EUR20.00, £14.00

The paths of trappers, settlers and Indians come to life in Skaha Crossing; the first part of an historical fiction trilogy written by B.C. historian E. Pryce.

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About the Book

About the Author

Excerpts

About the Book

In this first part of an historical fiction trilogy, B.C. historian Elizabeth Pryce celebrates the bonds of friendship and romance, along with the hardships and achievements of her dynamic characters: Two Way, the son of an Okanagan chief; and the self-reliant trapper, Rayne McAllister.

The novel spans the first sixty years of the 1800s, bringing to life the fur trade and frontier era of British Columbia history. Pryce creates Skaha Crossing, a fictional rest stop on the Hudson's Bay Fur Brigade Trail, linking the fur trade of the north at Fort St. James with its southern inland capital at Spokane House. Skaha Crossing becomes the first settler community in the southern Okanagan Valley of British Columbia. Pryce has written a story rich in character and history, creating a strong, peaceful bridge between two cultures and two eras of Canadian history.

In an initial review, author and historian Robert Cowan suggests: "What a good read! Excellent characterization, good description of landscape and treatment of native issues and people. I loved the ambiguity and subtlety of the various relationships, as well as how Pryce handles the thoughts and feelings of both male and female characters."

The cover artwork was commissioned for Skaha Crossing and painted by southern Okanagan artist Jill Leir Salter. It depicts the Twin Falls at Okanagan Falls, BC as they existed prior to any development in the area.

The second novel of the series, Skaha, is expected in late 2005.

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About the Author

Elizabeth Pryce has authored several short stories published in the Okanagan Historical Society's Okanagan History. She is a life member of the society and editor for the Penticton branch. In the 1980s, Pryce wrote an historical series for the South Okanagan Review and assisted in researching local history for Skookum Publications. The author's tie with the South Okanagan Valley began in the early 1900s when her paternal and maternal grandparents arrived in the White Lake and Okanagan Falls regions of British Columbia. Pryce was born and raised in Okanagan Falls, enlisted in the R.C.A.F. in the early 1950s, and later worked for the City of Penticton, retiring in 1997. Elizabeth and her husband, John Bork, have resided near White Lake since 1979.

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Excerpts

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