Overview

Ranald McDonald, son of a Scottish Hudson's Bay Factor and a Chinook princess, spends his youth at various Forts in the Pacific Northwest, interacting with Indigenous peoples, as well as Scots, English, Quebecois, and Hawaiians. At Fort Astoria, he befriends a Japanese shipwreck survivor. After a stint in central Canada, young Ranald ships aboard a whaling vessel bound for the Orient. He then purposely shipwrecks himself in Japan at a time (1848) when that country is totally closed to foreigners. Imprisoned at first, Ranald learns Japanese and soon becomes a valued translator. Eventually leaving Japan, he prospects for gold in Australia, and then travels to British Columbia, where he engages in prospecting and ranching. Subsequently he joins the Vancouver Island Expedition. Finally, McDonald retires to Fort Colville, where he lives out his final days. The author faithfully embeds the known facts of MacDonald's life into this fascinating novel.

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9781684923588

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Reviews

""A bold, modern echo of the classic adventure tale, Columbia Son showcases a master of language and landscape at work, weaving a rich and inviting portrait of personal wanderlust and self-discovery set against the turbulent currents of Victorian colonialism."" -- Barry Potyondi, historian and author of The Bittersweet Year and In Palliser's Triangle

Author Information

An adventurer himself, Don Gayton's varied life experience has influenced his writing. Growing up in the US West Coast, he attends a multi-racial highschool in Seattle. Graduating, he hitchhikes around Europe and then returns to the US to attend college. Bitten again by the adventure bug, he joins the Peace Corps, and works with peasant farmers in rural Colombia. Returning, he works on cattle ranches in eastern Washington. Motivated by his opposition to the Vietnam War, Gayton and his family move to Canada, where he works with Indigenous farmers in rural Saskatchewan. He is now settled in a small town in British Columbia's Okanagan, where he writes and consults on ecological matters. Gayton's extensive readings in history, ecology and fiction have deeply influenced his writing.

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