This book is about four families that lived in England in 1797 that decided to move to the British Colony of Newfoundland to have a better life, plus make their fortune in the fishing trade. Slade and company were already established in Newfoundland as a large fish merchant that agreed to supply the families with supplies to get started once they arrived in Newfoundland. They would pay for their supplies out of their fish catch. This book is dedicated to the thousands of early settlers who came to our beautiful province of Newfoundland and Labrador. They found beauty and hard work here. Mother Nature was not kind to them on times and they had to rely on their own resources for their very survival. This is why we have evolved to be a strong, hard working and kind people. In my opinion you will meet no better. This book is based on oral stories, history and fiction, and seeing as how I can’t prove the stories or history to be true, I have to say it’s historical fiction. Most names, characters and incidents portrayed in this book are fictitious, with the exception of Dr. John Clinch, Dr. Edward Jenner, David Shortal and Aldrich Billard. Mary’s Secret is written with a Newfoundland flavor of vocabulary that most of us still use today. This makes us unique in this great country of Canada. Hope you enjoy reading Mary’s Secret as much as I did writing it.