Award-winning Alberta author Carissa Halton is turning heads with her debut historical novel, Revolution Songs — already an Edmonton bestseller — and she’s bringing the story home to the mountains. On Wednesday, November 12, Halton visits the Fernie Museum for an evening of conversation, history, and storytelling inspired by the Crowsnest Pass of the 1930s.
Set in a fictional Rocky Mountain mining town, Revolution Songs dives deep into a turbulent chapter of Alberta’s past — a time of violent miner strikes, radical politics, and women forced to navigate divided loyalties. Through the eyes of Annie Jalmer, a young woman caught between a Communist union and the Canadian Ku Klux Klan, Halton paints a vivid portrait of courage, community, and the human cost of polarization.
“I wanted to tell the untold stories of women who lived through that era — their resilience, their contradictions, and their hope,” Halton says. “What’s striking is how much it echoes today — the inequality, the heated rhetoric, and the search for belonging.”
The novel, published by NeWest Press, has been hailed as “poignant” (Fran Kimmel), “a terrific read” (Alvin Finkel), and “sharp, compelling prose” (Marina Endicott). Critics and readers alike are praising Halton’s ability to connect Depression-era struggles with the social tensions of our own time.
Halton spent six years researching the novel in Alberta’s archives, weaving real historical events with family memoirs and oral histories. The result is a work that feels both authentic and urgent — a reminder of the power of solidarity in hard times.
At the Fernie event, Halton will be in conversation with local artist and musician Anie Hepher, discussing the novel’s creation, its Crowsnest Pass roots, and what history can teach us about community and division. The evening is free to attend, and guests are invited to dress in 1920s or 30s attire to capture the spirit of the era.
