"My father has married me to a mad old man." These words, written on a slip of paper inside a fading brocade collar, are a clue to the unlikely marriage of a Jewish remittance man and a 14-year-old orphan in a remote Newfoundland fishing station. The Winterhouse is a compelling novel about finding oneself and creating one's own community.

Robin McGrath is the author or editor of fifteen books, including Trouble and Desire (1995), Escaped Domestics (1998), Hoist Your Sails and Run (1999), Donovan's Station (2002),Covenant of Salt (2005), and Livyers World(2007).  She has published over two hundred pieces in magazines such as Beaver, Inuit Art Quarterly, Parchment, TickleAce, Fiddlehead and Room of One's Own. 

She is an occasional contributer to CBC Radio, has written and narrated three video scripts, had her first play staged in 2002, and is currently the non-fiction columnist for the St. John's newspaper The Telegram.

Robin was born in Newfoundland and lives in Labrador with her husband, provincial court judge, John Joy.  She is a member of The Writers Union of Canada and the Letterset Association of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Robin McGrath's profile page

• Winner, The Helen and Stan Vine Canadian Jewish Book Award

McGrath is a powerful and evocative writer, and this novel deserves to be widely read by everyone who enjoys historical fiction, especially those who like Newfoundland history and want to explore some of the lesser-known corners of our past.