Imperial interest peaked during Louisbourg’s last decade, one of the greatest dramas in the history of the continent. The final siege on the French capital, in 1758, brought to a close a century-and-a-half of Anglo-French struggle for dominance.

A.J.B. Johnston has published more than a dozen books and hundreds of articles, a thirty-plus years career studying and writing about 18th-century French colonial history in Acadia. In recognition of his prolific career as a historian and writer, John was invested by France with the title Chevalier of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques (Order of Academic Palms). Johnston has now turned his hand to fiction. Long inspired to know more about Thomas Pichon (1700-1781), In his first novel, Thomas, A Secret Life (CBU Press, 2012), Johnston applied his considerable sense of 18th-century French history to imagine young Pichon’s early life in Normandy and Paris. For The Maze, Johnston did extensive research on 18th-century London.

A.J.B. Johnston's profile page

• Short-listed, Robbie Robertson Dartmouth Book Award (Non-fiction)
• Winner, Canadian Historical Association Clio Award