𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 𝒔𝒑𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝑾𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝑵𝒐𝒘! 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑱𝒐𝒏 𝑻𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒆.
𝗦𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗠𝗮𝘆𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘀: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗱𝗮’𝘀 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘀, 𝗯𝘆 𝗟𝗼𝗿𝗶 𝗠𝗰𝗞𝗮𝘆.
I’ve spent the past 4 years writing a book about an unmarked grave and a lost Nova Scotian story, so I eagerly read Lori McKay’s new book on her quest to find the last resting place of the Murray quints and to save the story before it’s lost to time.
I first heard about this book around 2019, when Lori and I were students together at the MFA program at King’s. Her pitch captivated me and I knew she’d be able to bring this story to life.
It revolves around Little Egypt, N.S., in the winter of 1880. Maria Murray prepared to give birth – and was stunned when the babies kept coming, five in all.
The story of Canada’s first quintuplets went old-school viral, and every report credited a man for delivering healthy babies. Lori knew that wasn’t the truth – her great-great-grandmother had delivered the babies. The doctor likely turned up when the hard work was done. And the babies weren’t healthy, but born in a miserable poverty that soon claimed their lives.
It is shockingly easy to read whole history books about Atlantic Canada that don’t name a single woman. Lori’s deeply feminist book is a huge win for those of us who want a deeper understanding of the past. Some of the most fascinating sections aren’t even about the quints, but rather about the lives of women in the 1880s.
Can you imagine giving birth to 18 humans? Being pregnant for nearly 20 years? And to do it on a tiny farm with little food or warmth? And yet our ancestors did it, and we enjoy the flowers of their labour today.
Lori weaves her own family history and personal quest into a brilliant book that will leave you understanding why PT Barnum wanted to display the mummies of the babies, and how our ancestors dealt with death when it was a menacing presence in daily life. This book would make a great gift, especially for the women in your life – sent with flowers.