Fiction

The year is 1669.  In French colonial Quebec, Paul Guibeau has won fame for his bravery in fighting the Iroquois, and now he hopes to turn this success into a military career.  When he overhears Count Frontenac commissioning Louis Joliet to chart the location of a fabled island in Lake Superior containing a rich supply of copper, Paul is determined to achieve glory by being the first to return with news of this mineral wealth.  He sets off in a race across the wilderness with his friend and ally, a Huron Indian named Red Bear, in search of this island…but he does not count on the incursions of the Miami Indians into the lands now vacated by the fierce Iroquois.  An unexpected struggle for freedom and for life itself now stands between him and his dreamed-of glory...

This book is the first of a pair that follow the discoveries of Marquette and Joliet in the 17th century.  In The Race for Copper Island, we find Joliet and his companions setting off westward into the upper Great Lakes, in search of rich copper deposits that had been reported by missionaries in that region.  At a Jesuit Mission near Sault Sainte Marie, Joliet meets with Father Marquette, whose observations and detailed maps of the shores of Lake Superior prove invaluable to his quest.  At the same time, Father Marquette tells Joliet of his great desire to explore the Great River the natives have told him of—a river they call the Mississippi—the fulfillment of which will follow in the next volume, The Marks of the Bear Claws.

5.5" x 8.5"       paperback         150 pages

5.5" x 8.5"       paperback         200 pages

Paul Guibeau has spent the winter at the Mission of Saint Ignace and now is anxious to set out with Father Marquette and Sieur Joliet on their voyage of discovery.  More than anything, though, he wants his friend Red Bear to accompany them—not only to help protect them, but in the hopes that by spending the months ahead with the great Missionary, Red Bear may finally consent to become a Christian.  But Red Bear fears Marquette and instead heads east with his people.  Who, then, is encircling the camp each night with the marks of bear claws?  Mystery and danger abound on this journey into the unknown…

The story of Père Marquette and his participation in the discovery of the Mississippi River was one that was dear to Father Spalding, for he had done much of his own research on the life of this great Jesuit.  He used details from Volume 59 of the Jesuit Relations (which includes the actual journals kept by Marquette during his travels) to construct this story (though of course he added fictional elements as well).  The result is a riveting tale of courage and faith valuable as much for itself as for its historic significance.

5.5" x 8.5"       paperback         164 pages

5.5" x 8.5"       paperback         154 pages

One misty summer afternoon, Peter Staunton was wandering near the ruined castle of Carreg Cennen in the hill country of the Welsh border. He stumbles across a rusted metal gauntlet and idly slips it on his hand. This is the start of an adventure that takes him back in time to the 14th century, when his Norman ancestors held the castle.

Now, as Peter de Blois, he is plunged into a bewildering medieval world of chivalry and honor, of archery and falconry, of grand feasts and castles, but most of all, of heart pounding jousting tournaments. But all these rousing pastimes ominously give way to a rebellion among the Welsh tribes, culminating in a fierce assault on the castle fortress and its Norman defenders. Surrounded and outnumbered, the Normans must get word of the attack to the nearest castle. The only way out is down an immense cliff wall. Can Peter make the climb in time?

A finely authentic picture of life in the 14th century.

These rousing pastimes give way to ominous rebellion. Suddenly besieged in their castle, surrounded and outnumbered, these Normans are in peril. Will Peter now be the only one who can save the day?

Hardcover, 248 pages.