A Sea of Sorrows

A Sea of Sorrows
Book no.	31
Series	Dear Canada
Author	Norah McClintock
Publisher	Scholastic Canada
Published	September 1, 2012
Pages	176
ISBN	9781443107105
Setting	Ireland Montreal, Canada East
Timeline	April – December 1847
Preceded by
Chronology	A Rebel's Daughter
Publication	Torn Apart
Followed by
Chronology	Where the River Takes Me
Publication	Pieces of the Past

A Sea of Sorrows: The Typhus Epidemic Diary of Johanna Leary is historical fiction book written by Norah McClintock. It is the thirty-first book in Dear Canada as well as the author's sole entry in the series. The book was published in September 2012 and translated into French in March 2013. It was followed by Carol Matas's Pieces of the Past.

Dedication

"To Mary Ellen Carson McClintock"

Book description

• English
• French

"August 1, 1847
Just today I heard Mrs. Johnson say that the Irish are lazy. A gentleman protested that the potato crop had been ruined for two years in a row and that people were starving not out of laziness but from lack of food. "The fever sheds are overflowing," he said. "The wretched souls who survived the ocean voyage are now dying in droves." To which she replied, "Their landlords should be ashamed of themselves for shovelling their problems onto our shores."
I knew that the sheds were filled with decent people who had never needed any charity until they were forced to watch their loved ones die of hunger.
I despise Mrs. Johnson."

"1er août 1847
Mme Johnson a déclaré que les Irlandais sont paresseux. L'homme lui a objecté que les récoltes de pommes de terre avaient été désastreuses deux années de suite et que les Irlandais mouraient de faim non pas par paresse, mais par manque de nourriture. «Il en déborde de partout, a-t-il dit. Ces pauvres âmes en peine qui ont survécu à la traversée meurent par centaines.» Ce à quoi Mme Johnson a répliqué: «Leurs propriétaires devraient avoir honte de s'être débarrassés du problème en les envoyant sur nos côtes.»
J'étais bien placée pour savoir que les baraques étaient pleines de bonnes personnes qui n'avaient jamais eu besoin de la charité de qui que ce soit avant d'être forcées de regarder mourir de faim ceux qu'elles aimaient de tout leur cœur.
Je méprise Mme Johnson."

Characters

Main article: List of A Sea of Sorrows characters

• Johanna Leary

Author

Main article: Norah McClintock

Editions

• Physical
• eBook

Une mer de chagrin
French edition
9781443125277
(March 2013)

A Sea of Sorrows
Dear Canada eBook
B07TCDK6B2
(September 2012)

Une mer de chagrin
French eBook
B07TDCWQ29
(March 2013)

Awards

• Resource Links, Best of the Year (2013) - commended
• Best Books for Kids and Teens, Canadian Children's Book Centre (2013) - commended

Acknowledgements

"The publisher wishes to thank Barbara Hehner for her attention to the factual details, and Dr. Ross Fair, Ryerson University, for sharing his historical expertise."

Notes

• The portrait on the cover is a detail from Christen Brun's 1869 painting A Basket of Ribbons. The background is a detail of the c. 1850 woodcut Emigrants arrival at Cork, a scene on the quay.

External links

• A Sea of Sorrows at Scholastic Canada
• A Sea of Sorrows at Scholastic Canada (French)
• A Sea of Sorrows Discussion Guide at Scholastic Canada
• A Sea of Sorrows at Teaching Books