The Colony of Unrequited Dreams, Wayne Johnston’s breakthrough novel based on the life of Newfoundland’s first premier, Joe Smallwood, was published internationally and earned him nominations for the highest fiction prizes in Canada. One of the most highly praised elements of the novel is the character Sheilagh Fielding, with whom Smallwood shares a lifelong love-hate relationship.

The Custodian of Paradise is a riveting narrative with Fielding at its heart. Fielding—advancing on middle age, hobbled by disfigurement and personal demons—is headed for Loreburn, a deserted island off the south coast of Newfoundland. She has borne a lifetime of estrangement and heartbreak by setting herself apart from the rest of St. John’s society. By cultivating her isolation, she’s been able to write, both in her journals and for the Telegram. By skirting Prohibition laws, she’s also been able to dull the pain of her early years. Alone she remains—except for the mysterious stranger she calls her Provider.

As Fielding revisits her articles, letters and journals, we are swept up in her tumultuous life’s journey and the mystery of this Provider’s identity. From the downtrodden streets of New York’s immigrant neighbourhoods to the sanatorium where she fights TB, from the remote workers’ shacks of the Bonavista rail line to the underbelly of wartime St. John’s, the Provider seems to have devoted himself to charting Fielding’s every move and to sending her maddeningly cryptic letters about his role in her life. Yet he has also protected her at times. While she fears that he may have followed her to Loreburn, she fears even more that he may not be able to find her there.

With The Custodian of Paradise, Wayne Johnston continues his masterful exploration of life in pre-Confederation Newfoundland, and of the powerful forces that give rise to great character—individualism, circumstance, and secrecy; memory, loss, and regret.

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NOMINEE 2006 - Scotiabank Giller Prize
FINALIST 2006 - Trillium Book Award

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“Epic artistry, an opportunity to witness a writer’s development and a second chance for readers to get what they wanted from The Colony of Unrequited Dreams.”
–The Vancouver Sun

“Fielding is a truly unforgettable character.”
–Edmonton Journal

“[Johnston is] a literary giant who has god-given talent.”
–Will Ferguson, The Globe and Mail

“Why I love reading Wayne Johnston: The reader goes skittering through Wayne Johnston’s novels, driven inexorably forward on the force of his characters, on the power of his wit.”
–Mary Walsh

“The book moves because of Sheilagh’s passion and brilliance, and that is why Johnston has, against all probability, written a follow-up book that manages to outshine the original.”
–National Post

Praise for Wayne Johnston:

“Wayne Johnston is prodigiously talented.”
–The Globe and Mail

“Wayne Johnston is a brilliant and accomplished writer and his Newfoundland – boots and boats, rough politics and rough country, history and journalism – is vivid and sharp.”
–Annie Proulx

“Unlike most recent bestselling novels that are remembered for the plane flight and then promptly forgotten, Wayne’s stories have characters who move in and take up permanent residence.”
–Mary Walsh

“[Johnston is] a literary giant who has god-given talent.”
–Will Ferguson, The Globe and Mail

“His books are beautifully written, among the funniest I’ve ever read, yet somehow at the same time among the most poignant and moving.”
–Annie Dillard


From the Trade Paperback edition.

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WAYNE JOHNSTON was born and raised in the St. John's area of Newfoundland. His nationally bestselling novels include The Custodian of Paradise, The Navigator of New York and The Colony of Unrequited Dreams, which was an international bestseller and will be made into a film. Johnston is also the author of an award-winning and bestselling memoir, Baltimore's Mansion. He lives in Toronto.


From the Hardcover edition.

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