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
Every March between 1826 and 1854, the York Factory Express began its journey from the Hudson's Bay Company's headquarters on the Pacific Ocean, where the express-men paddled their boats up the Columbia River to the base of the Rocky Mountains at Boat Encampment, a thousand miles to the east. At Jasper's House they were 3,000 feet above sea level. Their river route would return them to salt water once more, at York Factory, on the shores of Hudson Bay. It was an amazing climb and an amazing descent, and they would do a similar climb and descent on their journey home to the mouth of the Columbia. The stories of the York Factory Express, and of the Saskatchewan Brigades they joined at Edmonton House, are told in the words of the Scottish traders and clerks who wrote the journals. However, the voyageurs who made the journey possible are the invisible, unnamed Canadiens, Orkney-men, Iroquois, and their Métis children and grand-children, who powered the boats back and forthacross the continent every year. But their history was oral. If the traders had not preserved the stories the voyageurs told them, we would not know this history today - as it is portrayed in The York Factory Express.
Contributor Notes
Nancy Marguerite Anderson fell into the stories of the pre-gold rush history of the territory west of the Rocky Mountains when she researched her great-grandfather's writings. Her first book, The Pathfinder, told the story of Alexander Caulfield Anderson's life in the Hudson's Bay Company and of his experiences in the early colonial history of British Columbia. Many of these stories are told on Nancy's blog. Visit www.nancymargueriteanderson.com.
Editorial Review
"Therein lies both the charm and the value of this book, sympathetic story-telling grounded in primary documents, liberally quoted to keep the reader as close as possible to the words and experiences of those who worked and travelled the York Factory Express." BC Studies
"The York Factory Express provides a fascinating window into the lives of a distinct group of men. Anderson peppers her story with thoughtful commentary that places the men's experiences in the context of the times and invites thinking about the past in general." Canada's History
"The fascinating narrative is supported by excerpts from journals of six express leaders. I love reading these accounts of earlier travellers on the historic river." - BC Review
