A LOCAL author has self-published a new novel inspired by her great-great-uncle’s colourful adventures in North America in the 19th century.

Featuring original research, Sue Harrod’s “The Severed Will” tracks George Gustavius Hawkings’ origins in East Devon, his emigration to the USA to seek his fortune mining for silver, his marriage to a native woman in Canada, his travels to Australia and more.

Mrs Harrod, who lives in Woodland Head near Crediton, trawled through the University of Birmingham’s Special Collections, the British Columbia Provincial Archives, and even travelled to Cormorant Island near Vancouver to uncover details about his life.

When visiting Canada, she met an elderly man, aged 93, who remembered meeting her great-great-uncle as a child. She was also able to gather information about Mr Hawkings from the descendants of European settlers and First Nations peoples living there.

“Be transported back into the life of a Devonian miller's son, [who lived from] 1846 to 1927,” reads the book’s blurb.

“A life of serendipitous adventure, hardship and deception. With all his money and property disappearing, finally his death in 1927 surrounded by intrigue on tiny Cormorant Island in British Columbia.”

The Severed Will is Ms Harrod’s second book, completed with the help of her husband Tim due to her impaired vision.

Her debut, “Poetry in Vision”, details eye surgery she underwent and her life coping with blindness.

If you would like to purchase a copy of The Severed Will, telephone Mrs Harrod on 01647 24330. The book is priced at £10.

Mrs Harrod intends to donate proceeds from her book sales to the Macular Disease Society to support blind people and research into blindness.

The book has been printed by Hedgerow Print Ltd, which is based in Crediton. Its ISBN number is 978-1-9998453-3-9.