joanna van kool

The struggles of women to gain an education are well-known, but the three generations of women in The Followers are determined in more ways in their desire to learn. Initially members of a devout fundamentalist Presbyterian community in the mid-nineteenth century, we follow their lives and loves as they travel across three continents to achieve their various goals. Margaret, strong but gentle, the second wife of a farmer in Nova Scotia, gives birth to her fourth daughter, Catharine, who is different from her siblings even as a youngster. While her mother is unable to read and write, Catharine makes decisions that often do not meet with the family's approval. Her own daughter, Maggie, has very different goals, which also run contrary to the family's expectations. We come to admire these women as we follow their journeys through life and are drawn to hope as much as they do that their ambitions will be achieved.