Cyril Rowntree, a mixed-race Jamaican, migrates to Canada after his mother and surrogate grandfather die. Cyril arrives in Toronto and sets about earning a degree, works two jobs and begins to navigate his way through the implications of being racialized in his new land.
A chance encounter with a panhandler named Patricia leads Cyril to a suitcase full of photographs and letters dating back to the early 1920s. Cyril is drawn into the letters and their story of a white mother’s struggle to come to terms with the need to give up her mixed-race baby, Edward. Abandoned by his white father as a small child, Cyril feels a compelling connection to the boy and begins to look for the rest of Edward’s story.
As he searches, Cyril unearths hidden pieces of Black history and gradually gains the confidence to trust his own judgment.
A chance encounter with a panhandler named Patricia leads Cyril to a suitcase full of photographs and letters dating back to the early 1920s. Cyril is drawn into the letters and their story of a white mother’s struggle to come to terms with the need to give up her mixed-race baby, Edward. Abandoned by his white father as a small child, Cyril feels a compelling connection to the boy and begins to look for the rest of Edward’s story.
As he searches, Cyril unearths hidden pieces of Black history and gradually gains the confidence to trust his own judgment.
“Murray’s rich narrative offers mystery, but it also spans decades of Canadian history, differentiating Finding Edward from the typical immigrant story… Much of the history is well-woven into the narrative, though secondary characters often function as mouthpieces for tidbits of Black Canadian history.”
– Quill & Quire
“Sheila Murray’s debut novel Finding Edward is a significant literary work that gives a voice to the voiceless and infuses the present with a previously unrecorded past, bridging much of the black experience in twentieth century Canada, from Africville to the lumber camps of British Columbia.”
– Rebel Women Lit
“…Finding Edward offers readers a clear-sighted and deeply felt novel, which reminds us there are more ways of knowing what happened in the past than just knowing what happened. This is a powerful debut that considers the history and the present of Black people through a truly vibrant set of characters.”
– Literary Review of Canada
Governor General's Literary Award | 2022 | Short-listed
Canada Reads | 2023 | Short-listed
One Book One Aurora | 2023 | Commended
