Lois Simmie’s purpose in this novel is to illustrate a once infamous scandal that rocked Saskatchewan in the early 1900s. The transgression in this novel involves a desperately crazed man, his wife and a naïve, ignorant young woman. The author is able to wind together an honest story of devotion and death. Lois Simmie accomplishes her purpose by collaborating facts from letters, police files, and documents. She wrote the novel as a factual narrative, which captures the realism of the characters involved. By doing this she was able to educate many Canadians of just how forgotten some of Saskatchewan’s history really is.
The Secret Lives of Sgt. John Wilson is an appropriate novel to have included in the grade 12 curriculum. It is advantageous in learning about Canadian history, which is what most of ELA A/B 30 is based upon. This book is worth its value in the potential time expended because of the significance that this affair had on Saskatchewan’s past. The way this book has been formatted makes it nearly impossible to doubt the authenticity of the story, and is a mystery unfolded for literary audiences everywhere.
This novel is an account of a crime that involves a man named Sgt. John Wilson, arranged in a way that a work of fiction