In the early 19th century, when the Hudson's Bay Company sent men to its furthest posts along the coast of North America's Pacific northwest, letters addressed to those men followed them in the company's supply ships. Some of these letters missed their intended recipients, who had deserted their ships, or died, or returned to Britain. The company kept the correspondence and amassed a file of "undelivered letters", many of which remained sealed for 150 years. The letters tell the stories of ordinary people whose lives are rarely recounted in traditional histories. Editorial commentaries frame, for contemporary readers, the words of early 19th-century working- and middle-class British folk as well as letters to "voyageurs" from Quebec. Their stories offer insights into the varied worlds of men and women who settled the Pacific Northwest.
Trustpilot
2 months ago
1 day ago
