All Gone Widdun [Paperback]

Annamarie Beckel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1999

This is a novel of one mans quixotic mission to save the Beothuk of Newfoundland from extinction, his love for Shawnadithit, and the tragedy of her life and the lives of her people. Based on true accounts, the novel is told in the alternating first-person narratives of William Epps Cormack, an eccentric Newfoundland-born Scottish merchant, and Shawnadithit, a young Beothuk woman captured by English settlers in 1823 who proved to be the last Beothuk.

Movie rights under negotiation.

Editorial Reviews

Review

All Gone Widdun's portrait of sanctioned inhumanity is near brilliant . . . a captivating story, very well told. -- Globe & Mail, July 24, 1999, Jim Bartley

Beckel offers us a new world and new insights into the human heart. It's a beautiful story, beautifully rendered. -- Creativity Connection, October, 1999, Marshall Cook

The only time I put it down was to dry my eyes. ( Gerald Squires, cover artist)

All Gone Widdun is a very powerful, well-written novel which truly brings alive the character of Shawnawdithit. Through her words and actions we are brought to realize the full tragedy of her unfortunate race, and the longings of Shawnawdithit to be once again with her own people. This novel will provide many hours of reading enjoyment and at the same time highlight one of the saddest chapters in our history. -- Mike McCarthy, Evening Telegram

From the Publisher

All Gone Widdun won the first place award for fiction at the Midwest Independent Publishers Association 1999 Book Awards Ceremony held at the Minneapolis Public Library on May 10, 2000. The novel was also among the three finalists for "Best of Show," which included all entries -- fiction, poetry, and all non-fiction categories.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 392 pages
• Publisher: Breakwater Books Ltd; 1St Edition edition (April 1, 1999)
• ISBN-10: 1550811479
• ISBN-13: 978-1550811476
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,521,823 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All Gone Widdun, April 21, 2000

By 

Linda Belote "book guru" (Hancock MI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: All Gone Widdun (Paperback)

This moving historical novel relates the story of Shanawdithit, the last known surviving Beothuk and William Epps Cormack, an Englishman who spent years looking for Beothuk survivors in the early 1800s. Based on thorough research, the novel takes us from the wild, almost unknown (to Europeans, of course) interior of Newfoundland, to "high society" in St. John's, to museums in Great Britain (to which, shamefully, the skulls of the three last known Beothuks, Shanawdithit, Demasduit and Nonosabasut were taken. Shanawdithit's skull was apparently destroyed in London as a consequence of WWII bombing. Demasduit and Nonosabasut are stored in the Mammals and Birds section of the Royal Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.) Although the author casts this work as fiction, it is as historically accurate as existing documents and the archaeological record permit. It's a super read.