If I Could Travel Back in Time by A.M.Westerling

Gosh, that’s a tough one because to tell you the truth, I would love to visit every time period that I’ve written about. And, to a certain extent, I have.

I’ve visited castles in Luxembourg and The Netherlands. I’ve seen a bit of the Cariboo Road and strolled down Barkerville’s Main Street. (Below is St. Saviour's Anglican Church at the end of Main Street and below that is a picture of the original Cariboo Road just outside of Lytton, British Columbia.)

I’ve visited Ribe, a Viking village in Denmark. 

Ribe and Barkerville are living museums and that’s a kind of time travel without the inconvenience of actually having to deal with the not so nice aspects of historical life ie the smells, questionable personal hygiene, lack of sanitation, no modern medicine, no central heating. etc.

Having said that, I’ve never been to England and would love to visit London during the Regency period, roughly 1800-1820. I’d love to attend a proper ball and drive in a fancy carriage through Hyde Park. I’d love to visit a dressmaker and walk out with a fashionable new wardrobe. I’d love to attend the theatre or spend an afternoon at Almack’s in one of my new dresses. I’d love to spend a weekend at a house party in the country and wear an elegant riding habit. (I would ride astride, not side saddle, just to be scandalous!) I’d love to be the lady of the household with a personal maid to dress me and an army of servants at my beck and call. (Okay, okay, so I’m the lady of my own household but I am the maid and I am the servant army and I dress myself. 😊 )

I’d love to ride along Rotten Row and spend an afternoon watching the horse races at Ascot wearing some sort of stunning hat crafted by the best milliner London has to offer. And all of this, of course, accompanied by a dashing Duke or perhaps a Captain of the Royal Navy resplendent in his blue uniform.

And after experiencing all that, I would be quite happy to return to my own time and my own life. 

Would you like to experience a little time travel of your own? How about reading Barkerville Beginnings, or any of the books in the Canadian Historical Brides Collection? You can find it HERE at your favourite online book store. 

The entire Canadian Historical Brides Collection is available HERE.

Here's what readers are saying about Barkerville Beginnings:

"I really enjoyed “Barkerville Beginnings”, from the very first page I was hooked. I found the story very immersing and appreciated how Ms. Westerling wrote so vividly that I felt like I was right there in the story with each of the characters; seeing and experiencing everything that they did.

A few years ago I worked for Barkerville and have a fairly good knowledge of its history and the townsite as it stands today. With this understanding of the townsite I feel like Ms. Westerling did a very good job of portraying the town, the history, and bringing to life some of the more prominent figures who lived in Barkerville, including judge Begbie and Moses, the town barber. I also found it very refreshing that she didn’t just incorporate the European history that is typically covered, instead there was an incorporation of the Chinese history and their contributions to the town included and given as much merit as any of the businesses that were owned and run by the white town folks." Crystal B.

"As someone who has lived my whole life in British Columbia, and has visited ALL of the cities and towns mentioned (with the exception of those in England) in this work of historical fiction, I was satisfied and delighted with the careful attention to factual detail that was expertly woven into the story." Discerning Reader 

 

I really enjoyed “Barkerville Beginnings”, from the very first page I was hooked. I found the story very immersing and appreciated how Ms. Westerling wrote so vividly that I felt like I was right there in the story with each of the characters; seeing and experiencing everything that they did.

A few years ago I worked for Barkerville and have a fairly good knowledge of its history and the townsite as it stands today. With this understanding of the townsite I feel like Ms. Westerling did a very good job of portraying the town, the history, and bringing to life some of the more prominent figures who lived in Barkerville, including judge Begbie and Moses, the town barber. I also found it very refreshing that she didn’t just incorporate the European history that is typically covered, instead there was an incorporation of the Chinese history and their contributions to the town included and given as much merit as any of the businesses that were owned and run by the white town folks.