An Act of Injustice A Novel

A bride, a groom, and a lover. One will die, another will hang, and the survivor will begin an obsessive 20-year odyssey to discover the truth. Three people caught up in the harsh class differences and religious and racial prejudices of Victorian Canada, where a vast new territory—the “Queen’s Bush”—is being opened to settlement in Ontario’s Georgian Bay country. Inspired by the true lives of Rosannah Leppard and Cook Teets, An Act of Injustice follows disgruntled newspaperman Leonard Babington in a combination courtroom drama, murder mystery, and meditation on the moral malaise of Victorian Canada. His obsession plunges him into the labyrinth world of Ottawa power politics, the salons of a smug “Toronto the Good,” and the licentiousness of the city’s Insane Asylum. With literary distinction and storytelling mastery, this historical novel brings the urgency of today’s headlines to the struggle for romance, justice, and equality in a young, 20th century Canada.

Ray Argyle has been a journalist, publishing executive, and communications consultant. He founded Argyle Communications Inc. Ray lives in Kingston, Ontario.