Snow in the Vineyard

About the Book

Snow in the Vineyard is a fictional introspective of a boy who experienced life on the homestead, in the town and years later returned as editor-publisher of the hometown newspaper.

By the time Albert and Saskatchewan achieved provincial status in 1905, settlers by the hundreds of thousands flocked to the free homesteads of the western prairie. In the Palliser Triangle, on a veneer of topsoil, they faces choking drought, incessant winds, unrelenting winters, and plagues of pests. Only a fraction survived the hardships of the unforgiving prairie. Tom Reardon and his bride Hannorah settled a marginal quarter north of the fictional town of Henley Junction.

The story follows their lives, loves and tragedies through three generations as they interact, inter-marry and feud with neighbors and towsfolk. Their lives become entangled in intrigue, including rape, murder, political blackmail and eco terror. Fundamental to their existence is an endless campaign to stabilze the region with a small share of Red Deer River water. In the end, love conquers all except the futile quest for a secure supply of water.

About the Author

Shortly after the death of his father in 1932, Jack Gorman arrived at the homestead of his grandparents, Tom and Hannorah McCafferty, 30 kilometres north of Hanna. Unaware that a choking depression raged, he spent happy and memorable formative years following his limping, one-eyed grandfather's every step. After a few school years and an after school job at the Hanna Herald he went to a nomadic career in journalism and public relations. In 1979 he returned to Hanna as editor-publisher of The Hanna Herald where he supported the campaign for diversion of water from the Red Deer River. Gorman is the author of the best selling biography Pere