BC BOOK PRIZE finalist in 2006  "in the opinion of the judges of the BC Book Prizes merits distinction as one of the five works contributing most to an appreciation of British Columbia published this year."

Shortlisted for the Victoria Butler Book Prize 2006

* Guest Speaker for the Lieutenant Governor's Tea in November 2006

Meet the Author in Daryl

John Muir - West Coast Pioneer - By Daryl Ashby

This illuminating biography - based on the little known life of British Columbia Pioneer John Muir from Scotland who came out to Vancouver Island in the late 1840's to work as 'consignee' labourers for the Hudson's Bay Company. Ashby records the story of the Muirs' struggle to develop a country based on democratic principles - in opposition to the hierarchic edicts of Governor James Douglas. Drawing on the Muir family diaries, Ashby recounts the family's voyage from Scotland, their search for coal at Fort Rupert and Nanaimo, and their challenge to the Hudson's Bay Company when they initiated what may have been the first labour strike in Canada. Muir proceeded to acquire property in Sooke, building the first successful steam-operated sawmill in B.C. and developing the largest privately owned fleet of ships in the Northwest. He became a magistrate, with a sense of justice for the working man, and then a member of the first Legislative Assembly.

Ashby is to be commended for vividly bringing back to life this vibrant figure, a man who deserves to be better known in his own right and his contribution to the development of the West.

View Chapter One

Email Daryl today to find out where you can purchase his book. 

NEWS FLASH!      "A NEW BOOK IS COMING SOON"

Vanishing Act

Daryl is currently working on his 2nd book which should be printed and on the shelves of bookstores in time for Christmas 2009. This is one book that you will not want to miss reading. It is a combination of truth, mystery, intrique and more.

Introduction