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The Loyalist Trilogy #3

The Loyalist Legacy

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After the crushing end of the War of 1812, William and Catherine Garner find their allotted two hundred acres in Nissouri Township by following the Thames River into the wild heart of Upper Canada. On their valuable land straddling the river, dense forest, wild beasts, displaced Natives, and pesky neighbors daily challenge them. The political atmosphere laced with greed and corruption threatens to undermine all of the new settlers’ hopes and plans. William knows he cannot take his family back to Niagara but he longs to check on his parents from whom he has heard nothing for two years. Leaving Catherine and their children, he hurries back along the Governor’s Road toward the turn-off to Fort Erie, hoping to return home in time for spring planting.

With spectacular scenes of settlers recovering from the wartime catastophes in early Ontario, Elaine Cougler shows a different kind of battle, one of ordinary people somehow finding the inner resources to shape new lives and a new country. The Loyalist Legacy delves further into the history of the Loyalists as they begin to disagree on how to deal with the injustices of the powerful “Family Compact” and on just how loyal to Britain they want to remain.

300 pages, Paperback

Published November 7, 2016

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About the author

Elaine Cougler

7 books59 followers
Elaine’s award-winning historical novels are about the lives of settlers in the Thirteen Colonies who remained loyal to Britain during the American Revolution. She used the backdrop of the American Revolution, the War of 1812, and the Rebellion of 1837 for page-turning fictional tales where the main characters face torn loyalties, danger, and personal conflicts. Her Loyalist trilogy is comprised of The Loyalist’s Wife, The Loyalist’s Luck and The Loyalist Legacy. The newly released prequel to this series is The Loyalist’s Daughter where 14-year-old Lucinda Harper and her father witness the dumping of tea chests into Boston’s harbour, an act which precipitates the American Revolutionary War.
Elaine wrote a different kind of history in the creative non-fiction book about the last (at the time) surviving member of the Canadian Cancer Society “inner sanctum” team, Ronald G. Calhoun, who managed Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope in 1980. The Man Behind the Marathons: How Ron Calhoun Helped Terry Fox and Other Heroes Make Millions for Charity launched in 2019 and is a recipient of the Book Excellence Award and is an Amazon #1 Bestseller.
Elaine’s writing journey has led to speaking gigs, cruises, trips, and also to her giving workshops on a variety of subjects. She says you learn a lot when you embrace your dreams.

She and her husband have two grown children.


Links:
Elaine can be found on YouTube and LinkedIn and through the following links: @ElaineCougler www.elainecougler.com http://www.facebook.com/ElaineCougler...

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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
Profile Image for Kathleen Kelly.
1,308 reviews107 followers
January 10, 2017
The Loyalist Legacy is the third book in the Loyalist series. I did not read the first two but that did not deter me from understanding what the story was about. The Loyalists were people who stayed loyal to the crown after the Revolutionary War. After they were defeated a lot of them moved to Canada, in Ontario near Niagara Falls. In this particular story we have William and Catherine Garner who eke out an existence on their two hundred acres. The novel starts out with Catherine alone with the children because her husband has gone to seek his brother Robert, who has gone to find their parents as they have disappeared from their home . Turns out that their father John has been arrested and put in jail for no reason other than the fact he was a Loyalist and because of one mans, John Strachan, hatred of the Loyalists. Bishop Strachan was the first Anglican Bishop in the area and was very political. He did not believe that the voice of the people was the voice of God.

The story spans 20 years and includes the struggles the families have with the Family Compact which is a group of men who exercised most of the political, economic and judicial power in Upper Canada (modern Canada) led by Bishop Strachan. There is political upheaval throughout the whole story but these people are strong, the reader gets to read about how these people survived the harsh winters, and the environment. There is also a bit about the slaves who ran away from their owners and how they are hunted, and how the Garners help these people along their way to relocate into Canada, not unlike the underground railroad that was prevalent during the Civil War. The Garners also befriended a Chippewa family that Catherine had taken in and fed and clothed. The family had left the reservation because there was hardly any game left on a small parcel that was given to the Chippewa's.

The town thrives and grows with the addition of a school, a general store and of more people coming to the area and settling down. There are many different characters that help to tell the story of this family, births, deaths and marriages that make this story very readable. Many characters are from history but the Garner family is fictional but it does give the reader an insight into the difficult life was for settlers in this era.

I loved the story, learned about the area and the history of Ontario which was interesting, and just loved the story of life for one family. If you love historical fiction, this series should please you.

This review is voluntary.
Profile Image for Indie Editor Nancy.
1,171 reviews6 followers
December 12, 2016
This book was an absolute joy to read, excellent writing with historical significance that is very meaningful to this reader who shares a loyalist ancestry. This story is the third in the series and follows the John Garner Family as they try to survive in Ontario in the face of war, unfriendly natives, and harsh weather conditions.
The author weaves a story of family love, with struggles to be independent and free from the constant fears of war, loyalty to the British who seem to make it impossible to live without offering any support to the family.
"Put your hands on my loaf," she said to Eva. "Gently but firmly shape it into the pan. Trust that it will rise and fill in the empty spaces."
"A wagon, Mama, she called. "Full of people. should I get the rifle?" Even though the girl was just learning the fine points of baking bread she had spent hours practicing her shooting. her mother made certain that not only the boys could shoot but her daughter also."


Profile Image for Elaine Cougler.
Author 7 books59 followers
April 20, 2018
When I wrote this book I really thought about the history of this time period as I always do. This time, however, I was partly connecting to my own family's history. I even used my 3rd great grandparents farm as the setting. That was so much fun!
Imagining what happened to real people is always intriguing but when those people are my people, it's all the more important to get it right. I think I did and that's why I gave my own book 5 stars. (Even though that feels strange.)
I finished the book in 2016 but read it dozens of times in honing it so it would be the best it could be.
I hope you enjoy this book whether you read it in paperback or ebook. (Kindle, Kobo). Please consider writing a lovely review for me.
Thanks so much, Elaine.


Profile Image for ChillwithabookAWARD With.
443 reviews14 followers
October 3, 2018
Loyalist Legacy by Elaine Cougler has received a Chill with a Book Readers' Award.
www.chilliwthabook.com

"I have read all three of the series and found them absolutely fantastic. I cannot believe how much time and energy you put into writing this splendid detailed novel."

Pauline Barclay - Founder of Chill with a Book Awards
Profile Image for Helen Hollick.
Author 43 books505 followers
February 22, 2019
This book has received a Discovering Diamonds Review:
Helen Hollick
founder #DDRevs

"I found their [the Garner family] story fascinating for the very reason that, despite this being a series of novels, thanks to Ms Couglar's writing skill, it all seemed so believable and real."
Profile Image for Kathleen Kelly.
1,308 reviews107 followers
February 16, 2017
The Loyalist Legacy


The Loyalist Legacy is the third book in the Loyalist series. I did not read the first two but that did not deter me from understanding what the story was about. The Loyalists were people who stayed loyal to the crown after the Revolutionary War. After they were defeated a lot of them moved to Canada, in Ontario near Niagara Falls. In this particular story we have William and Catherine Garner who eke out an existence on their two hundred acres. The novel starts out with Catherine alone with the children because her husband has gone to seek his brother Robert, who has gone to find their parents as they have disappeared from their home . Turns out that their father John has been arrested and put in jail for no reason other than the fact he was a Loyalist and because of one mans, John Strachan, hatred of the Loyalists. Bishop Strachan was the first Anglican Bishop in the area and was very political. He did not believe that the voice of the people was the voice of God. The story spans 20 years and includes the struggles the families have with the Family Compact which is a group of men who exercised most of the political, economic and judicial power in Upper Canada (modern Canada) led by Bishop Strachan. There is political upheaval throughout the whole story but these people are strong, the reader gets to read about how these people survived the harsh winters, and the environment. There is also a bit about the slaves who ran away from their owners and how they are hunted, and how the Garners help these people along their way to relocate into Canada, not unlike the underground railroad that was prevalent during the Civil War. The Garners also befriended a Chippewa family that Catherine had taken in and fed and clothed. The family had left the reservation because there was hardly any game left on a small parcel that was given to the Chippewa's. The town thrives and grows with the addition of a school, a general store and of more people coming to the area and settling down. There are many different characters that help to tell the story of this family, births, deaths and marriages that make this story very readable. Many characters are from history but the Garner family is fictional but it does give the reader an insight into the difficult life was for settlers in this era.I loved the story, learned about the area and the history of Ontario which was interesting, and just loved the story of life for one family. If you love historical fiction, this series should please you.


Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews

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