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Start giftingFirst Snow, Last Light
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Learn moreFrom the author of the critically acclaimed, prizewinning and internationally bestselling The Colony of Unrequited Dreams comes an epic family mystery with a powerful, surprise ending, which features the return of the ever-fascinating Sheilagh Fielding, one of the most memorable characters in fiction.
Ned Vatcher, only 14, ambles home from school in the chill hush that precedes the first storm of the winter of 1936 to find the house locked, the family car missing, and his parents gone without a trace. From that point on, his life is driven by the need to find out what happened to the Vanished Vatchers. His father, Edgar, born to a poor family of fishermen, had risen to become the right-hand man to the colony's prime minister, then suffered an unexpected fall from grace. Were he and his wife murdered? Was it suicide? Had they run away? If so, why had they left their only child behind?
Ned soon finds himself enmeshed in another family, that of his missing father and the poverty from which the man somehow escaped. His grandparents, Nan and Reg, his Uncle Cyril and others, are themselves haunted by the inexplicable disappearance of a third Vatcher, a young man who was lost at sea on a calm and sunny day years earlier. Two other people loom large as Ned becomes Newfoundland's first media mogul, building an empire to insulate him from loss: a Jesuit priest named Father Duggan, and Sheilagh Fielding, a boozy giantess who, while wandering the city streets at night, composes satiric columns that scandalize the rich and powerful. In Ned, Fielding sees a surrogate for her two lost children, the secret that dogs her life, while Ned believes the enigmatic Fielding to be his soulmate.
The novel builds to a spectacular resolution of the mystery of all the Vanished Vatchers. Only Wayne Johnston could create such larger-than-life, mythic characters embroiled in events that leave us contemplating not only their tragedies and triumphs, but the forces that compel us all to act in ways that surprise and sometimes terrify us.
WAYNE JOHNSTON was born and raised in the St. John's area of Newfoundland. His #1 nationally bestselling novels include The Divine Ryans, A World Elsewhere, The Custodian of Paradise, The Navigator of New York and The Colony of Unrequited Dreams, which has been made into a stage play and is being developed as a TV series. Johnston is also the author of the Charles Taylor Prize-winning and bestselling memoir, Baltimore's Mansion. He lives in Toronto.
David Ferry (Ned)
David has worked extensively on stage and in film and TV. He played a recurring role in the 2017 hit Marvel/FX Network series Legion; as well as a recurring role in the new CTV series The Detail. He has been nominated for Genie and Gemini awards.
Recent Theatre Credits include: James Tyrone in Long Day’s Journey Into Night (Victoria Critics Award);
George in Of Mice And Men; Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman (Victoria Critics Choice Best Performance Award.) He played Captain Ahab in Moby Dick for the Stratford Festival. In Toronto David twice won the Toronto Critics Best Actor award for his performances in Blasted and in Blackbird. He won a DORA best actor awards, winning for his work as Edward in Someone To Watch Over Me.
David starred in the CBC Radio series Midnight Cab and won the Best Actor Nellie award for his work in JOHN. Recently David also directed the audio book adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s graphic novel series Angel Catbird for Audible.
Mary Lewis (Sheilagh)
Mary Lewis is a writer, film and television director and actress. She is the recipient of multiple national and international awards for excellence in Directing, Writing, and Animating, including a Gemini and a Genie for her film and television directing work, Best Film Awards at AIFF, TIFF, VIFF, best Screenplay at Flicks, and more. Training and education include: Acting at the National Theatre School of Canada, Directing at the Canadian Film Centre, MFA Screenwriting at York University, BA English and French Literature at Memorial University of Newfoundland, and Humanities at Le Petit Seminaire de Quebec. Mary is screenwriter of feature films (February and Butterfly Jump), currently in development. Born in Kampala, Uganda, she was raised in Newfoundland and divides her time between St. John’s and Toronto.
Gordon Pinsent (Reg)
Gordon Pinsent was born in Newfoundland. He began his career at the Manitoba Theatre Centre, which led to roles at the famed Stratford Festival. In 1962, he made his TV debut with a guest appearance on the US series Hallmark Hall of Fame, as well as becoming a regular on the Canadian series Scarlett Hill. The following year, he played a recurring role as Mountie Sergeant Scott on the beloved children's series The Forest Rangers. In 1966, he landed the lead in the Canadian series Quentin Durgens, M.P. Just a short while later, Pinsent played Jamie McDonald in The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), starring Steve McQueen. Guest appearances on popular U.S. series followed. In 2003, Pinsent received the ACTRA Toronto Award of Excellence and in 2004, an Award of Excellence at the Banff Television Festival and was inducted in 2007 into Canada's Walk of Fame. From 2008 - 2011 Pinsent worked on CBC Radio One’s documentary, The Late Show. He attained recent notoriety for reading from Justin Bieber's autobiography on This Hour Has 22 Minutes in 2010. In 2014 he won the Canadian Screen Award for Actor in a Supporting Role for The Grand Seduction. He continues to work steadily both on TV and in film.
Ryan Wells (Brendan)
Ryan Wells is a 13-year-old and lives in the small town of Bay De Verde in Newfoundland. He is a grade 8 student of Baccalieu Collegiate located in Old Perlican. Before Ryan went to Baccalieu Collegiate he knew he wanted to be involved in the school drama program. Ryan has been involved in drama for the last two years and plans on continuing to participate in the drama program. Although only being in drama two years, Ryan has had many complements and achievements because of his acting. In his first year he was nominated for best acting in a supporting role at the Regional Drama festival. The following year he was a narrator in a comedic role. Ryan received the award for the Best Actor in a comedic role. Ryan continues to work hard on his acting abilities on stage.
WAYNE JOHNSTON was born and raised in the St. John's area of Newfoundland. His #1 nationally bestselling novels include The Divine Ryans, A World Elsewhere, The Custodian of Paradise, The Navigator of New York and The Colony of Unrequited Dreams, which has been made into a stage play and is being developed as a TV series. Johnston is also the author of the Charles Taylor Prize-winning and bestselling memoir, Baltimore's Mansion. He lives in Toronto.
David Ferry (Ned)
David has worked extensively on stage and in film and TV. He played a recurring role in the 2017 hit Marvel/FX Network series Legion; as well as a recurring role in the new CTV series The Detail. He has been nominated for Genie and Gemini awards.
Recent Theatre Credits include: James Tyrone in Long Day’s Journey Into Night (Victoria Critics Award);
George in Of Mice And Men; Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman (Victoria Critics Choice Best Performance Award.) He played Captain Ahab in Moby Dick for the Stratford Festival. In Toronto David twice won the Toronto Critics Best Actor award for his performances in Blasted and in Blackbird. He won a DORA best actor awards, winning for his work as Edward in Someone To Watch Over Me.
David starred in the CBC Radio series Midnight Cab and won the Best Actor Nellie award for his work in JOHN. Recently David also directed the audio book adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s graphic novel series Angel Catbird for Audible.
Mary Lewis (Sheilagh)
Mary Lewis is a writer, film and television director and actress. She is the recipient of multiple national and international awards for excellence in Directing, Writing, and Animating, including a Gemini and a Genie for her film and television directing work, Best Film Awards at AIFF, TIFF, VIFF, best Screenplay at Flicks, and more. Training and education include: Acting at the National Theatre School of Canada, Directing at the Canadian Film Centre, MFA Screenwriting at York University, BA English and French Literature at Memorial University of Newfoundland, and Humanities at Le Petit Seminaire de Quebec. Mary is screenwriter of feature films (February and Butterfly Jump), currently in development. Born in Kampala, Uganda, she was raised in Newfoundland and divides her time between St. John’s and Toronto.
Gordon Pinsent (Reg)
Gordon Pinsent was born in Newfoundland. He began his career at the Manitoba Theatre Centre, which led to roles at the famed Stratford Festival. In 1962, he made his TV debut with a guest appearance on the US series Hallmark Hall of Fame, as well as becoming a regular on the Canadian series Scarlett Hill. The following year, he played a recurring role as Mountie Sergeant Scott on the beloved children's series The Forest Rangers. In 1966, he landed the lead in the Canadian series Quentin Durgens, M.P. Just a short while later, Pinsent played Jamie McDonald in The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), starring Steve McQueen. Guest appearances on popular U.S. series followed. In 2003, Pinsent received the ACTRA Toronto Award of Excellence and in 2004, an Award of Excellence at the Banff Television Festival and was inducted in 2007 into Canada's Walk of Fame. From 2008 - 2011 Pinsent worked on CBC Radio One’s documentary, The Late Show. He attained recent notoriety for reading from Justin Bieber's autobiography on This Hour Has 22 Minutes in 2010. In 2014 he won the Canadian Screen Award for Actor in a Supporting Role for The Grand Seduction. He continues to work steadily both on TV and in film.
Ryan Wells (Brendan)
Ryan Wells is a 13-year-old and lives in the small town of Bay De Verde in Newfoundland. He is a grade 8 student of Baccalieu Collegiate located in Old Perlican. Before Ryan went to Baccalieu Collegiate he knew he wanted to be involved in the school drama program. Ryan has been involved in drama for the last two years and plans on continuing to participate in the drama program. Although only being in drama two years, Ryan has had many complements and achievements because of his acting. In his first year he was nominated for best acting in a supporting role at the Regional Drama festival. The following year he was a narrator in a comedic role. Ryan received the award for the Best Actor in a comedic role. Ryan continues to work hard on his acting abilities on stage.
WAYNE JOHNSTON was born and raised in the St. John's area of Newfoundland. His #1 nationally bestselling novels include The Divine Ryans, A World Elsewhere, The Custodian of Paradise, The Navigator of New York and The Colony of Unrequited Dreams, which has been made into a stage play and is being developed as a TV series. Johnston is also the author of the Charles Taylor Prize-winning and bestselling memoir, Baltimore's Mansion. He lives in Toronto.
David Ferry (Ned)
David has worked extensively on stage and in film and TV. He played a recurring role in the 2017 hit Marvel/FX Network series Legion; as well as a recurring role in the new CTV series The Detail. He has been nominated for Genie and Gemini awards.
Recent Theatre Credits include: James Tyrone in Long Day’s Journey Into Night (Victoria Critics Award);
George in Of Mice And Men; Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman (Victoria Critics Choice Best Performance Award.) He played Captain Ahab in Moby Dick for the Stratford Festival. In Toronto David twice won the Toronto Critics Best Actor award for his performances in Blasted and in Blackbird. He won a DORA best actor awards, winning for his work as Edward in Someone To Watch Over Me.
David starred in the CBC Radio series Midnight Cab and won the Best Actor Nellie award for his work in JOHN. Recently David also directed the audio book adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s graphic novel series Angel Catbird for Audible.
Mary Lewis (Sheilagh)
Mary Lewis is a writer, film and television director and actress. She is the recipient of multiple national and international awards for excellence in Directing, Writing, and Animating, including a Gemini and a Genie for her film and television directing work, Best Film Awards at AIFF, TIFF, VIFF, best Screenplay at Flicks, and more. Training and education include: Acting at the National Theatre School of Canada, Directing at the Canadian Film Centre, MFA Screenwriting at York University, BA English and French Literature at Memorial University of Newfoundland, and Humanities at Le Petit Seminaire de Quebec. Mary is screenwriter of feature films (February and Butterfly Jump), currently in development. Born in Kampala, Uganda, she was raised in Newfoundland and divides her time between St. John’s and Toronto.
Gordon Pinsent (Reg)
Gordon Pinsent was born in Newfoundland. He began his career at the Manitoba Theatre Centre, which led to roles at the famed Stratford Festival. In 1962, he made his TV debut with a guest appearance on the US series Hallmark Hall of Fame, as well as becoming a regular on the Canadian series Scarlett Hill. The following year, he played a recurring role as Mountie Sergeant Scott on the beloved children's series The Forest Rangers. In 1966, he landed the lead in the Canadian series Quentin Durgens, M.P. Just a short while later, Pinsent played Jamie McDonald in The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), starring Steve McQueen. Guest appearances on popular U.S. series followed. In 2003, Pinsent received the ACTRA Toronto Award of Excellence and in 2004, an Award of Excellence at the Banff Television Festival and was inducted in 2007 into Canada's Walk of Fame. From 2008 - 2011 Pinsent worked on CBC Radio One’s documentary, The Late Show. He attained recent notoriety for reading from Justin Bieber's autobiography on This Hour Has 22 Minutes in 2010. In 2014 he won the Canadian Screen Award for Actor in a Supporting Role for The Grand Seduction. He continues to work steadily both on TV and in film.
Ryan Wells (Brendan)
Ryan Wells is a 13-year-old and lives in the small town of Bay De Verde in Newfoundland. He is a grade 8 student of Baccalieu Collegiate located in Old Perlican. Before Ryan went to Baccalieu Collegiate he knew he wanted to be involved in the school drama program. Ryan has been involved in drama for the last two years and plans on continuing to participate in the drama program. Although only being in drama two years, Ryan has had many complements and achievements because of his acting. In his first year he was nominated for best acting in a supporting role at the Regional Drama festival. The following year he was a narrator in a comedic role. Ryan received the award for the Best Actor in a comedic role. Ryan continues to work hard on his acting abilities on stage.
WAYNE JOHNSTON was born and raised in the St. John's area of Newfoundland. His #1 nationally bestselling novels include The Divine Ryans, A World Elsewhere, The Custodian of Paradise, The Navigator of New York and The Colony of Unrequited Dreams, which has been made into a stage play and is being developed as a TV series. Johnston is also the author of the Charles Taylor Prize-winning and bestselling memoir, Baltimore's Mansion. He lives in Toronto.
David Ferry (Ned)
David has worked extensively on stage and in film and TV. He played a recurring role in the 2017 hit Marvel/FX Network series Legion; as well as a recurring role in the new CTV series The Detail. He has been nominated for Genie and Gemini awards.
Recent Theatre Credits include: James Tyrone in Long Day’s Journey Into Night (Victoria Critics Award);
George in Of Mice And Men; Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman (Victoria Critics Choice Best Performance Award.) He played Captain Ahab in Moby Dick for the Stratford Festival. In Toronto David twice won the Toronto Critics Best Actor award for his performances in Blasted and in Blackbird. He won a DORA best actor awards, winning for his work as Edward in Someone To Watch Over Me.
David starred in the CBC Radio series Midnight Cab and won the Best Actor Nellie award for his work in JOHN. Recently David also directed the audio book adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s graphic novel series Angel Catbird for Audible.
Mary Lewis (Sheilagh)
Mary Lewis is a writer, film and television director and actress. She is the recipient of multiple national and international awards for excellence in Directing, Writing, and Animating, including a Gemini and a Genie for her film and television directing work, Best Film Awards at AIFF, TIFF, VIFF, best Screenplay at Flicks, and more. Training and education include: Acting at the National Theatre School of Canada, Directing at the Canadian Film Centre, MFA Screenwriting at York University, BA English and French Literature at Memorial University of Newfoundland, and Humanities at Le Petit Seminaire de Quebec. Mary is screenwriter of feature films (February and Butterfly Jump), currently in development. Born in Kampala, Uganda, she was raised in Newfoundland and divides her time between St. John’s and Toronto.
Gordon Pinsent (Reg)
Gordon Pinsent was born in Newfoundland. He began his career at the Manitoba Theatre Centre, which led to roles at the famed Stratford Festival. In 1962, he made his TV debut with a guest appearance on the US series Hallmark Hall of Fame, as well as becoming a regular on the Canadian series Scarlett Hill. The following year, he played a recurring role as Mountie Sergeant Scott on the beloved children's series The Forest Rangers. In 1966, he landed the lead in the Canadian series Quentin Durgens, M.P. Just a short while later, Pinsent played Jamie McDonald in The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), starring Steve McQueen. Guest appearances on popular U.S. series followed. In 2003, Pinsent received the ACTRA Toronto Award of Excellence and in 2004, an Award of Excellence at the Banff Television Festival and was inducted in 2007 into Canada's Walk of Fame. From 2008 - 2011 Pinsent worked on CBC Radio One’s documentary, The Late Show. He attained recent notoriety for reading from Justin Bieber's autobiography on This Hour Has 22 Minutes in 2010. In 2014 he won the Canadian Screen Award for Actor in a Supporting Role for The Grand Seduction. He continues to work steadily both on TV and in film.
Ryan Wells (Brendan)
Ryan Wells is a 13-year-old and lives in the small town of Bay De Verde in Newfoundland. He is a grade 8 student of Baccalieu Collegiate located in Old Perlican. Before Ryan went to Baccalieu Collegiate he knew he wanted to be involved in the school drama program. Ryan has been involved in drama for the last two years and plans on continuing to participate in the drama program. Although only being in drama two years, Ryan has had many complements and achievements because of his acting. In his first year he was nominated for best acting in a supporting role at the Regional Drama festival. The following year he was a narrator in a comedic role. Ryan received the award for the Best Actor in a comedic role. Ryan continues to work hard on his acting abilities on stage.
WAYNE JOHNSTON was born and raised in the St. John's area of Newfoundland. His #1 nationally bestselling novels include The Divine Ryans, A World Elsewhere, The Custodian of Paradise, The Navigator of New York and The Colony of Unrequited Dreams, which has been made into a stage play and is being developed as a TV series. Johnston is also the author of the Charles Taylor Prize-winning and bestselling memoir, Baltimore's Mansion. He lives in Toronto.
David Ferry (Ned)
David has worked extensively on stage and in film and TV. He played a recurring role in the 2017 hit Marvel/FX Network series Legion; as well as a recurring role in the new CTV series The Detail. He has been nominated for Genie and Gemini awards.
Recent Theatre Credits include: James Tyrone in Long Day’s Journey Into Night (Victoria Critics Award);
George in Of Mice And Men; Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman (Victoria Critics Choice Best Performance Award.) He played Captain Ahab in Moby Dick for the Stratford Festival. In Toronto David twice won the Toronto Critics Best Actor award for his performances in Blasted and in Blackbird. He won a DORA best actor awards, winning for his work as Edward in Someone To Watch Over Me.
David starred in the CBC Radio series Midnight Cab and won the Best Actor Nellie award for his work in JOHN. Recently David also directed the audio book adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s graphic novel series Angel Catbird for Audible.
Mary Lewis (Sheilagh)
Mary Lewis is a writer, film and television director and actress. She is the recipient of multiple national and international awards for excellence in Directing, Writing, and Animating, including a Gemini and a Genie for her film and television directing work, Best Film Awards at AIFF, TIFF, VIFF, best Screenplay at Flicks, and more. Training and education include: Acting at the National Theatre School of Canada, Directing at the Canadian Film Centre, MFA Screenwriting at York University, BA English and French Literature at Memorial University of Newfoundland, and Humanities at Le Petit Seminaire de Quebec. Mary is screenwriter of feature films (February and Butterfly Jump), currently in development. Born in Kampala, Uganda, she was raised in Newfoundland and divides her time between St. John’s and Toronto.
Gordon Pinsent (Reg)
Gordon Pinsent was born in Newfoundland. He began his career at the Manitoba Theatre Centre, which led to roles at the famed Stratford Festival. In 1962, he made his TV debut with a guest appearance on the US series Hallmark Hall of Fame, as well as becoming a regular on the Canadian series Scarlett Hill. The following year, he played a recurring role as Mountie Sergeant Scott on the beloved children's series The Forest Rangers. In 1966, he landed the lead in the Canadian series Quentin Durgens, M.P. Just a short while later, Pinsent played Jamie McDonald in The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), starring Steve McQueen. Guest appearances on popular U.S. series followed. In 2003, Pinsent received the ACTRA Toronto Award of Excellence and in 2004, an Award of Excellence at the Banff Television Festival and was inducted in 2007 into Canada's Walk of Fame. From 2008 - 2011 Pinsent worked on CBC Radio One’s documentary, The Late Show. He attained recent notoriety for reading from Justin Bieber's autobiography on This Hour Has 22 Minutes in 2010. In 2014 he won the Canadian Screen Award for Actor in a Supporting Role for The Grand Seduction. He continues to work steadily both on TV and in film.
Ryan Wells (Brendan)
Ryan Wells is a 13-year-old and lives in the small town of Bay De Verde in Newfoundland. He is a grade 8 student of Baccalieu Collegiate located in Old Perlican. Before Ryan went to Baccalieu Collegiate he knew he wanted to be involved in the school drama program. Ryan has been involved in drama for the last two years and plans on continuing to participate in the drama program. Although only being in drama two years, Ryan has had many complements and achievements because of his acting. In his first year he was nominated for best acting in a supporting role at the Regional Drama festival. The following year he was a narrator in a comedic role. Ryan received the award for the Best Actor in a comedic role. Ryan continues to work hard on his acting abilities on stage.
Reviews
NATIONAL BESTSELLER“Few writers today rival Newfoundland’s Wayne Johnston’s sheer power to astonish. . . . [First Snow, Last Light] recalls, perhaps, a nostalgia that many still harbour of an independent Newfoundland, but at the heart of it is a love-hate relationship with The Rock. This is a wondrous book.” —Toronto Star
“[A] clear examination of the heart and its deepest wants. . . . [First Snow, Last Light] is a leisurely account of the warping of personality by loss, and a cracking mystery at the same time. . . . The novel’s strength is in its wrenching honesty; love here is persistent and uncertain, never knowing quite where to land, but always trying. Johnston has Newfoundland itself mirror this idea when it joins Confederation in 1949 after trying to go it alone, which led to ‘self-caused destruction.’ His historical touch is light, and he’s especially good on early twentieth-century social mores, particularly the enormous pressure to conform. . . . It’s also a compelling whodunit, with tension spun out across much of its length.” —Alix Hawley, author of All True Not a Lie in It, The Globe and Mail
“[Johnston’s trilogy of Newfoundland novels] are rich in geographical and historical detail, to the point where Newfoundland itself is as important a character as the protagonists.” —Atlantic Books
“[Johnston’s] Sheilagh Fielding is one of the great characters of all time.” —Linden MacIntyre, author of The Only Café, Winnipeg Free Press
“Newfoundland is a brand on the soul of the people in this novel. Wayne Johnston weaves a compelling mystery into a sweeping saga of the heart. And amid a cast of terrific characters, Fielding is a signal achievement.” —Ann-Marie MacDonald, author of Adult Onset and Fall On Your Knees Expand reviews