The Colony of Unrequited Dreams, a Canadian bestseller, is a novel about Newfoundland that centres on the story of Joe Smallwood, the true-life controversial political figure who ushered the island through confederation with Canada and became its first premier.
Narrated from Smallwood's perspective, it voices a deep longing on the part of the Newfoundlander to do something significant, “commensurate with the greatness of the land itself.” Smallwood’s chronicle of his development from poor schoolboy to Father of the Confederation is a story full of epic journeys and thwarted loves, travelling from the ice floes of the seal hunt to New York City, in a style reminiscent at times of John Irving, Robertson Davies and Charles Dickens. Absorbing and entertaining, The Colony of Unrequited Dreams provides us with a deep perspective on the relationship between private lives and what comes to be understood as history and shows, as E. Annie Proulx commented, “Wayne Johnston is a brilliant and accomplished writer.”
The New York Times said, “this prodigious, eventful, character-rich book is a noteworthy achievement: a biting, entertaining and inventive saga.... a brilliant and bravura literary performance.”
- Available Now
- Indigenous Voices of Canada
- Historical Fiction
- Mystery
- Thrillers
- Romance
- Classics
- Comics and Graphic Novels
- Science Fiction
- Fantasy
- Horror
- Cooking & Food
- Travel
- See all
- Available Now
- Indigenous Voices of Canada
- Popular Audiobook Picks
- Great Narrators
- Read by the Author
- Ultimate Performance: Full Cast Audio
- Read by a Celeb
- Audiobooks Under 3 Hours
- Poetry is Meant to be Spoken
- Award-Winning Audiobooks
- See all