About BC Books Online
BC Books Online was created for anyone interested in BC-published books, and with librarians especially in mind. We'd like to make it easy for library staff to learn about books from BC publishers - both new releases and backlist titles - so you can inform your patrons and keep your collections up to date.
Our site features print books and ebooks - both new releases and backlist titles - all of which are available to order through regular trade channels. Browse our subject categories to find books of interest or create and export lists by category to cross-reference with your library's current collection.
A quick tip: When reviewing the "Browse by Category" listings, please note that these are based on standardized BISAC Subject Codes supplied by the books' publishers. You will find additional selections, grouped by theme or region, in our "BC Reading Lists."
Description
This is a story about a remarkable Sikh family and the communities they lived in and supported in both Canada and India. Kapoor Singh Siddoo arrived in British Columbia in 1912 and overcame racial prejudice and legal discrimination to transform himself from labourer to lumber baron. He and his wife, Besant Kaur, fostered in their daughters a vision of service and activism that they fulfilled by establishing a hospital in Punjab and introducing an Indian spiritual tradition to their new home in Canada. Hugh Johnston tells their story with warmth and perceptiveness, while telling a larger tale about the trials and tribulations faced by immigrant communities in Canada.
Contributor Notes
Hugh J.M. Johnston is a historian affiliated with Simon Fraser University. He is the author of two previous books on Punjabis in Canada, The Voyage of the Komagata Maru and The Four Quarters of the Night: The Life Journey of an Emigrant Sikh.
Editorial Reviews
Hugh Johnston swept me away on the long arc of his narrative ... Jewels of the Qila is a deeply researched and engagingly written story of an unconventional family sustained by faith, friendships made and tested in Canada, and concern for the welfare of the people of India.
— Shauna Singh Baldwin, author of What the Body Remembers and The Tiger Claw
Johnston’s vast knowledge of Canadian immigration history has resulted in a book that will long set the standard for those aspiring to recover the social history of British Columbia.
— Harjot S. Oberoi, Department of Asian Studies, University of British Columbia
Jewels of the Qila is not just a success story about one unusual family. This is a splendidly serious, smart and multifaceted investigation of events and characters in both India and Canada. Using Kapoor [Singh Siddoo]'s wide-ranging life as a prism, Johnston has provided an authoritative and engaging overview of Sikhs in B.C.
— BC BookWorld, Autumn 2012
