About the Book Heather Kirk offers new sources for the fictional Whiteoak family in the world-famous Jalna novels by Canadian author Mazo de la Roche. The Whitesoaks were modelled on an ingenious combination of close relatives of de la Roche and her cousin and life-long companion Caroline Clement. What´s more, the Whiteoak´s estate, Jalna, was based on a combination of several large properties owned by these relatives in York and Simcoe counties.
For the sources of the Whiteoaks and Jalna, biographers would have looked beyond Halton County where de la Roche and Clement lived for a few years when they were in their thirties. They also should have looked beyond Peel County where de la Roche and Clement stayed for a few seasons when they were in their forties. De la Roche´s knowledge of rural life came primarily from the people and places of her childhood and youth.

About the Author Heather Kirk is a writer and teacher living in Barrie, Ontario. Her writing has been published in many periodicals, including Books in Canada, Canadian Children´s Literature, Canadian Literature, Canadian Women´s Studies, Contemporary Verse II, Essays on Canadian Writing, Literary Review of Canada, Quill & Quire, and Wascana Review. Her work as also been broadcast on radio.
Heather Kirk has published two teen novels, Warsaw Spring (2001) and A Drop of Rain (2004); a rewrite of the classic Canadian novel Wacousta (2005); and a biography of Mazo de la Roche, Mazo de la Roche: Rich and Famous Writer (2006). She is also the author of several academic papers about de la Roche and the article on de la Roche in the online Literary Encyclopedia.