Clara Callan A Novel

Set in the 1930s, this epistolary novel tells the story of two Canadian sisters, Clara and Nora Callan, through their letters and journal entries between 1934 and 1939. Clara, a schoolteacher, remains in her small hometown of Whitfield, Ontario, after their father's death and struggles to maintain her independence and dreams of freedom within the confines of a traditional rural community. Her sister, Nora, moves to New York City to pursue a glamorous career as a radio soap opera star, which proves to be less exotic than it initially appears. The story contrasts Clara's quiet, introspective life—which is shattered by a series of unforeseeable and life-altering events—with Nora's worldly, but often difficult, experiences. The novel explores themes of sexual politics, the Great Depression, and the looming threat of fascism on the eve of World War II, ultimately testing the bond between the two vastly different sisters.

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