Settlers in Canada is a children's novel

Children's literature

Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...

 written by Frederick Marryat

Frederick Marryat

Captain Frederick Marryat was an English Royal Navy officer, novelist, and a contemporary and acquaintance of Charles Dickens, noted today as an early pioneer of the sea story...

. It was published in 1844 and was his twenty-first book. It is set in the wilderness of Upper Canada

Upper Canada

The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...

 in the 1790s. Marryat had himself visited Canada in 1837.

Plot summary

The story is centered around a reasonably well off family (the Campbells) who lose their estate and decide to emigrate

Emigration

Emigration is the act of leaving one's country or region to settle in another. It is the same as immigration but from the perspective of the country of origin. Human movement before the establishment of political boundaries or within one state is termed migration. There are many reasons why people...

 to Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. It begins after they have inherited the family estates, and have settled down there. Their eldest son is has gone to college and the second son is in the navy

Navy

A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...

. One day a claimant to the estate appears. His claim proves to be true and the Campbells must give up the estate.

Mr. Campbell had given up his business to take over the estate and with the legal costs as well they have very little money left. They just have enough to journey to Canada, and take up a settlement near Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...

. The family is united in their troubles and they pull together to make their farm a success, in the process, dealing with the weather, hostile Indians

Aboriginal peoples in Canada

Aboriginal peoples in Canada comprise the First Nations, Inuit and Métis. The descriptors "Indian" and "Eskimo" have fallen into disuse in Canada and are commonly considered pejorative....

 and forest fires.

Eventually a letter arrives to say that the relative who had taken the estate, has died, and it is now theirs once again. Mr. and Mrs. Campbell travel home and the rest of the family go their separate ways.

External links

• Settlers in Canada at Project Gutenberg