The Seamstress of Acadie

Sylvie Galant loves her simple farming life in Acadie (present-day Nova Scotia) and has no aspirations to ever leave her beloved apple orchard. She sews garments both practical and beautiful for all her neighbors and enjoys teasing her siblings. Tensions between the French and British reach a fever pitch, however, in the mid-18th century. To spite the French, the British take the Acadian lands, load even old people onto crowded ships, and resettle them in the American Colonies. In a foreshadowing of what will happen to her Mi’kmaq former neighbors and other Indigenous peoples, Sylvie and the other Acadians are separated from loved ones and forced to forsake their language, religion, and customs. When Sylvie meets British ranger Will Blackburn, there is an immediate spark, but he has recently published a popular book about his exploits against the French. As he woos Sylvie, Will must reconcile the treatment of the Acadians with his own role.