Indian summer, 1607. Intrepid explorer and map-maker Samuel de Champlain has founded a new and precarious settlement in Annapolis Royal, New France (present-day Nova Scotia). As winter looms, two threats emerge: boredom amongst the men and the deadly sickness scurvy. Champlain hits upon the idea of a moveable feast -- an order of "good cheer" -- where nobles and men can enjoy good local food, excellent wine, and camaraderie.
Separated by the breadth of a continent and exactly four hundred years is twenty-first-century blue-collar worker Andy Winslow and his friends, whose urban landscape is threatened by encroaching environmental and economic disaster. In alternating narratives, award winning author and master storyteller Bill Gaston bridges the divide across land and time in this illuminating story about survival, love, friendship, and feast.
A fascinating yet little-known figure in North American history, the French explorer and mapmaker Samuel de Champlain was the subject of a recent best-selling biography by historian David Hackett Fischer. "The Order of Good Cheer, " a highly readable novel by master storyteller Bill Gaston, offers a beautifully shaded, fictionalized portrait of Champlain, as well as a marvelous window into Canadian culture past and present. In 1607, Champlain and his companions struggled to establish a French colony on foreign soil while warding off scurvy. Separated by the breadth of a continent and exactly 400 years is 21st-century blue-collar worker Andy Winslow and his friends, whose urban landscape is threatened by encroaching environmental and economic disaster. In alternating narratives, Gaston bridges the divide across land and time in this illuminating story about survival, love, feast, and friendship.
