Winner, Best First Book, Saskatchewan Book Awards (1998)

A year in the lives, dreams, and awakenings of the Protheroe family . . .

The much-anticipated arrival of a new baby, affectionally called the Bump, affects them all in both their dreams and waking life, but their expectations are upended when Dion is born brain-damaged. Despite that twist of fate, the new addition soon becomes a powerful influence on his parents, his five sisters, and his grandparents.

As the year unfolds, the reader travels through the minds of three generations: a group of wonderfully individual people who define family in a wholly original way.

Harriet Richards was born in Toronto, Ontario, as the fifth of seven children to a Welsh father and an American mother. Her family relocated to the prairies during her childhood. Initially pursuing a career as a visual artist, her creative focus shifted when an obstinate painting, inspired by a recurring dream, evolved into her first short story.

Richards is the author of three acclaimed works of fiction. The Lavender Child (1998) was a finalist for the Fiction Award and won the First Book Award at the Saskatchewan Book Awards. Waiting for the Piano Tuner to Die (2003) was a finalist for Book of the Year, and The Pious Robber (2013) was also a finalist for Book of the Year and won the Fiction Award. Her short fiction has appeared in literary journals in Canada and Wales, and her paintings have been featured on book covers in both countries.

An experienced mentor, Richards has guided emerging writers through the Saskatchewan Writers' Guild and edited numerous works of fiction and literary essays for authors across Canada. She resides in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Harriet Richards' profile page

• Winner, First Book Award, Saskatchewan Book Awards

“The Lavender Child reminds me of the best of Anne Tyler and Barbara Kingsolver, confident, witty, tender and smart . . . An auspicious debut, sassy, clear-eyed and beautifully told.”—Sandra Birdsell

“Three generations are connected in ways deeper than they understand . . . The Lavender Child has a voice that is vibrant, clever and tender.”—Saskatchewan Book Awards judges

“Saskatchewan writer Harriet Richards sails smoothly along many streams of consciousness, taking you inside her characters’ minds. We decode the intricacies of each personality—their fears, desires, weaknesses, regrets . . . The Lavender Child is tender, confident and clever. As Richards’s first novel, it is a triumph.”—Saskatoon Star Phoenix

“Harriet Richards writes with conviction and wit, and with a pleasingly deft sense of timing.”—Planet - the Welsh Internationalist

“. . . The Lavender Childis written with the carefully measured artistry of Carol Shields.”—Quill and Quire