Back To ListMatrons and MadamsBySharon JohnstonPublished April 2015Paperback$ 24.99Paperback$ 24.99PDF$ 24.99ePub$ 9.99 Add to CartShop LocalDescriptionA Globe and Mail Bestseller!Clara Durling, a British widow of the First World War, arrives in Canada as the new superintendent of the Lethbridge Hospital just as wounded soldiers stream home. Lily Parsons is a young, widowed schoolteacher from Nova Scotia who ends up in the same city, managing a brothel called The Last Post.Set against the backdrop of love, union organizers, amorous bachelors, gamblers, drinkers, and prostitutes, the lives of these two women unexpectedly intertwine when Clara, in the heat of local politics and responding to the highest incidence of venereal disease in the province, establishes the first venereal disease clinic in the province, with Lily’s help. In this sprawling saga, Lily and Clara must confront the city’s conservative thinkers to bring help and compassion to wounded veterans.Of Related InterestLocal CustomsAudrey ThomasBird's Eye ViewElinor FlorenceFive RosesAlice ZornPatchwork SocietySharon JohnstonReviews Unlike many novels that place women in wartime as an afterthought - bit players in the lives of men - Johnston makes their fate the focus of her first novel. Toronto StarPreviousNextContributorsSharon JohnstonSharon Johnston has received five honorary degrees for her work in mental health awareness and has served for five years as an Honorary Captain (Navy) for the Military Personnel Command. She lives on a farm near Ottawa.View Author Page Book DetailsPaperbackApril 20155.5x8.5 in328 pp9781459728967PDFApril 2015-328 pp9781459728974ePubApril 2015-328 pp9781459728981