Children of the Klondike – coming to a bookstore near you in April 2010

Imagine growing up in a northern frontier community populated by lucky millionaires, down-and-out dreamers, and avid adventurers. Imagine being a child during the world’s most famous treasure hunt. My latest book returns to territory previously explored in Women of the Klondike and Hiking With Ghosts to tell the stories, both humorous and heartbreaking, of the Klondike gold rush’s youngest participants.

Advance praise from Ken McGoogan, bestselling author of Fatal Passage and Race to the Polar Sea, and recipient of the Pierre Berton Award for history:

    “Writers as diverse as Robert Service, Jack London, and Pierre Berton have written about the Klondike gold rush. But none of them ever said a memorable word about the children who grew up in this exploding world of dancehall girls, wild-eyed miners, and greedy con men. With Children of the Klondike, Frances Backhouse has created a vivid, readable account that fills a gaping hole in a colourful period of Canadian history. Bravo!”

Click to read an excerpt

On July 14, 1897, the steamship Excelsior docked in San Francisco and a band of scruffy individuals, just returned from the far north, walked down the gangplank dragging suitcases and sacks that collectively held half a million dollars’ worth of gold. Their arrival sparked one of the most colourful episodes in northern history—the Klondike gold rush. Over the next few years, some 100,000 people from around the world set out to make their fortunes in the Klondike fields. Among them were a surprising number of adventurous women of every description: entrepreneurs, nurses, teachers, prospectors, nuns, prostitutes, journalists and wives. This is their story, mined from diaries, letters, memoirs and newspapers, and illustrated with archival photos. Published by Whitecap Books, 1995. ISBN: 1-55285-407-8.

Awards:

Finalist for the 1996 VanCity Book Prize (for best BC book pertaining to women’s issues).

Runner-up for the 1996 Edna Staebler Award for Creative Nonfiction.

Reviews:

Rocky Mountain News: “Women of the Klondike is a superb treatment of a long-neglected side of the [gold] rush, the stories of the women … who accompanied their husbands, or ventured north alone, to seek a fortune or take part in the adventure.”

The StarPhoenix: “Frances Backhouse has done an admirable job of breathing new life into the familiar story of the Klondike gold rush. Many historians seem to have forgotten—or have neglected to mention—the significant role played by women. Backhouse reminds us with stories that are rich in energy, humour and poignancy.”

The Coast Independent: “Women of the Klondike is an extremely well-researched book and the stories make fascinating reading.”

Elliott Bay Booknotes: “Frances Backhouse … brings the Klondike alive with stories of the women who ventured North. … Women of the Klondike is filled with colorful tales of women’s ingenuity and of their hardships, too.”

Focus on Women: “Carefully researched and pieced together, the book is a patchwork quilt of women’s experiences in the Klondike—women of all backgrounds, temperaments, and vocations, from adventure travellers to laundresses and dance-hall girls. …it should be in every library.”

The Mackenzie Valley Viewer: “Frances Backhouse has managed to give us a clear insight into a disappeared world, when women were considered much weaker than men, and shows us the talk, admiration and distrust that daring, courageous women got.”

The New Brunswick Reader: “Women were far more numerous [in the Klondike], and certainly more various, than accounts by males have tended to suggest. Women of the Klondike by Frances Backhouse does a thorough job of righting this historiographic imbalance.”

Canadian Geographic: “Women of the Klondike is a valuable contribution to the growing literature which shows, without a doubt, that a woman could be just as adventurous—and crazy—as any man.”

Owls of North America delves into the lives of these enigmatic and fascinating birds of prey, shedding light on their anatomy, adaptations, life history and ecology. The engaging text is enhanced by line drawings and numerous colour photos. Individual profiles of the 23 owl species found in Canada, the U.S. and northern Mexico include detailed information about appearance, voice, feeding, breeding, distribution, habitat and conservation, as well as range maps. Like Woodpeckers of North America, this is a solid reference for birders, naturalists and general readers. Published by Firefly Books, 2008. ISBN: 1-55407-342-1.

Look inside the book.

Reviews:

Chicago Tribune-City: “Wildlife author Frances Backhouse’s well-researched and informative book helps us get closer to these haunting and often misunderstood birds.”

Birdfreak.com: “…a stunning, photo-loaded book … appealing for anyone that loves owls. The text, while not simple, is definitely readable for younger audiences (pre-teen and up). It was hard to keep our 10-year-old niece (Sammie) from running off with the book.”

January Magazine: “Readers with an interest in owls will simply not find a better book than respected science and environment writer Frances Backhouse’s Owls of North America. … The book is large and handsome, suitable for coffee table adornment, but don’t let it spend too much time there.”

Click to read an excerpt

Woodpeckers of North America is the definitive reference about this remarkable group of birds, covering their history, habits, adaptations and future prospects. In addition to chapters on woodpecker anatomy, communication, nesting, feeding, community ecology and conservation, it provides detailed profiles of all 28 species found in Canada, the U.S. and northern Mexico, including the recently rediscovered ivory-billed woodpecker. Colour photos and line drawings complement the fact-filled text. Published by Firefly Books, 2005. ISBN: 1-55407-046-5.

Look inside the book.

Reviews:

The Globe and Mail: “This gorgeous book is packed with fascinating information and lovely colour photographs.”

Victoria Times Colonist: “[Backhouse] notices and relates little details about woodpeckers that make ordinary people react with pleasant surprise and want to read more.”

2theadvocate.com: “If you’re like me and enjoy watching the woodpeckers’ antics, you might want to get a copy of this book to keep close at hand as you’re sitting out on the porch or patio and enjoying the free show these beautiful animals provide.”

Library Journal: “This attractive, authoritative book deals with all 28 species of woodpeckers found from central Mexico northward (i.e., North America in the faunal region sense). Backhouse … is extremely knowledgeable about the biology and behavior of these popular birds.”

Bloomsbury Review : An engaging and informational introduction, but has enough advanced detail to be a practical and expert guide for experienced ornithological fans…. This is a thorough and enjoyable approach to the subject.

Ibis : A well-produced and attractive tome … and one that is well worth reading…. [Backhouse’s] text is scientifically well grounded.

A little over a century ago, the lure of Klondike gold led thousands of fortune-seekers to travel the Chilkoot Trail from dockside in Dyea, Alaska, to Lake Bennett on the Canadian side of the international border. In Hiking With Ghosts, Frances Backhouse takes readers on a journey back in time along this world-famous northern footpath, now a 53-kilometre backpacking route jointly maintained by the U.S. National Parks Service and Parks Canada. Combining first-hand experience and practical advice with engaging accounts of the Chilkoot’s human and natural history, this book is a useful starting point for anyone planning to hike the trail and an equally enjoyable read for the armchair traveller. Published by Raincoast Books, 1999. ISBN: 1-55192-276-2. Sorry, this book is out of print.

Awards:

BC2000 Book Award

Reviews:

Victoria Times Colonist: “Martha Black tackled the Chilkoot Trail in 1898 in a corduroy velvet outing costume. … A century later, Victoria author Frances Backhouse retraced Martha’s steps, but Backhouse’s outfit was the finest Mountain Equipment Co-op could offer. The result is a delightful mix of history, nature, photography and travel, all packaged in a paperback book that will satisfy the eco-tourist or the more sedentary reader.”

Focus on Women: “Richly textured, with luscious photographs, this book is a treat to read. … I recommend it.”

Quill and Quire: “Another enjoyable trekking volume based on a historic anniversary is Frances Backhouse’s Hiking With Ghosts. Part travelogue, part guidebook … [it] combines human and natural history with personal anecdotes that are as faithful a recreation of a week-long hike as you’re likely to read.”

The Martlet: “It made me want to get my tent and sleeping bag and head up to northern BC. … Backhouse writes descriptions to tempt any hiker or nature-lover and her obvious enjoyment of her second trip over the Chilkoot, despite some bad weather, shines through.”

Castles of the North, a joint work by 11 authors and editor Barbara Chisholm, celebrates the history of Canada’s grand hotels. Frances Backhouse contributed three chapters on the Canadian Pacific Railway’s turn-of-the-century western mountain resorts. From the rustic charm of Glacier House, Mount Stephen House and Fraser Canyon House—all, sadly, no longer standing—to the opulence of the Banff Springs Hotel and Château Lake Louise, these are the places where Canadian mountaineering and mountain tourism began.  Published by Lynx Images, 2001. ISBN: 1-894073-14-2.

Reviews

The Ottawa Sun: “… an archival celebration of 50 of the most glamorous buildings ever to grace the Dominion. Happily, the book, with its generous supply of photos, goes beyond a bricks-and-mortar account … to give [the hotels] their due as national symbols of a new Victorian Dominion.”