Book Characters
An Introduction To Main Of The Characters in the Frontier Series Of Books
Alberta Bertie Jepsen
Book: Jaded HeartsFull name: Albera Jepsen, nickname Bertie
Eye colour: the colour of nickel
Hair colour: black opal
Heritage: Swedish
Father: Mr Jepsen
Mother: Mrs Jepsen
Brothers: Oskar, Viggo
Occupation: Smoked beef manufacturer, jam maker, midwife
Previous occupation: Rancher
Spouse-to-be: Vernon Marshall
How did she meet Vernon? On the street, standing in front of Berg’s rugs. She was defending Oskar from insults by Kalevi Pentti. Vern’s a handsome man with an easy smile and a confidence reserved for young men.
Where did they meet for the first time? Bertie met Vernon on Anderson Street.
Hobbies: She knits, keeps up the date with the news, spends time with Oskar, and pays visits to new mothers
About: Bertie doesn’t shy away from hard work. She’s the only woman beef jerky producer in all the North-West territories, and has delivered dozens of babies, including Ruthanna’s baby, Rose Aponi. She has spent her life defending Oskar from insults, and her first marriage ended in scandal.
She will call people out on the street for inappropriate behaviour, ensure new mothers have an abundance of food, and has a dogged determination to find the truth. In fact, finding the murderer of her first husband has turned into an obsession, and she spends time and money tracking down clues.
She can’t love again until she knows who did it.
Favourite meal: Blueberry jerky with mulberry compote for taking on walks, and pork stew for a family meal.
Bertram Milligan
Book: Jaded HeartsFull name: Bertram Milligan
Eye colour: Onyx
Hair colour: black
Father: Seamus Milligan.
A man who always found a way to con or steal a coin from a miner or settle. Seamus preferred peddling and stealing from outpost to mining camp to hamlet rather than settling down. It kept him two steps ahead of the North-West Mounted Police.
Mother: deceased and missed dearly
Brother: Mack Milligan.
Heritage: Half-Irish, half-Kainai First Nation, also known as the Blood Tribe (part of the Blackfoot Confederacy)
Occupation: Owner of a mercantile
Previous occupation: Transporter of stolen goods
Spouse-to-be: Ruthanna Helms
How did he meet Ruthanna? Mail-order bride agency
Where did they meet for the first time? He had a heated conversation with an outlaw who wanted to rope Bertram back into a life of crime.
Bertram would have none of it, and he left the dining room of the Prosper Hotel.
He met Ruthanna for the first time in the lobby of the Prosper Hotel. He still remembers the startled look in her eye and how robust and beautiful she was. Ruthanna was made for the mountains, strong, dependable, and independent. He knew then the agency had made a good match for him.
Hobbies: Ensuring Mack doesn’t get into trouble, reading, and whittling
About: Bertram is a soft-spoken man. He prefers sitting at the kitchen table and speaking with Ruthanna over a strong cup of coffee and cinnamon buns, then going to town socials and church dances. However, once convinced to go to dances, he’s excellent at the waltz and has been known to do an Irish jig. He’ll work himself to death to shed himself of his dark past and build a respectable life for himself and his family. However, the shadows of his past always seem to darken him wherever he goes.
Favourite meal: Roast beef with sweet potatoes.
He and Ruthanna invented it out of necessity because he had burnt the roast.
Howard Alfred Theodore Francis Padded, III
Book: Copper HeartsPrefers to go by: Hank
Eye colour: brown
Hair: brown
Heritage: English
Occupation: Engineer
Previous occupation: Engineer
Spouse-to-be: Muriel Calhoun
How did she meet Howard? She fell into his arms
Where did they meet for the first time?
The main staircase of Anderson Boarding
Hobbies: jigsaw puzzles, reading scientific journals, sketching
About: Heir to a vast fortune, Hank grew up in a serious household. He was raised to be serious and guarded, to put his family’s interests above his own, and always to remember he was the Third.
The wealth behind his family’s name was known in Toronto, Halifax, and London, England. By the time there would be a Howard Alfred Theodore Francis Padden, the Fourth, the family wanted to be known in New York and Nippon.
However, the wealth behind his family’s name came at a high price. When a preventable fire destroys a factory, Hank walks away from his vast inheritance to start again in the District of Alberta.
Favourite meal: Grouse with glazed figs and carrots with porter sauce
Lars Edlund
Book: Silver HeartsEye colour: winter grey
Hair: Silvering hair
Heritage: Swedish
Children: Greta, Helena, Nils, Edvin
Grandchildren: eight
Occupation: Boarding house owner
Previous occupation: Former silversmith, former rancher
Spouse: Pernilla Edlund
How did he meet Pernilla? He took a break from jewellery making and crossed the street to buy lunch at the restaurant.
Where did they meet for the first time? He spotted Pernilla standing near a mercantile. Her hair was hidden under a neat bonnet, and she stood with a basket hanging from her forearm.
She had a presence —serene and collected, with a confident smile. He had crossed an ocean to live in Niagara, and soon he would cross a continent to follow Pernilla and her family out west.
Hobbies: He resumed his former profession of silversmithing as a hobby
About: Lars grew up in Gamla Stan, Stockholm, Sweden. His father worked as a machinist in a factory, designing and installing speciality machines.
Lars always preferred art and beauty to grease and gears. Lars is stoic and will do anything to provide for his family. He gave up his profession and moved across a continent to work in the fields.
He prefers reading the newspaper early in the morning, when the boarding house is quiet. He longs for the days when he had private time with Pernilla because she doesn’t seem to have much time for him now.
Favourite meal: cheese with bread and cranberry jam with strong coffee
Muriel Calhoun
Book: Copper HeartsEye colour: blue
Hair: copper Heritage: Irish
Children: Nora and William
Occupation: cook
Previous occupation: cook
Spouse-to-be: Howard Alfred Theodore Francis Padden, the third
How did she meet Howard? Tripped on the stairs and fell backwards on him
Where did they meet for the first time? The main staircase of Anderson Boarding
Hobbies: Knitting, starting a business
About: Muriel has endured hardship her entire life. She grew up very poor in Ireland. Her parents survived the Great Famine (1845-1852), also known as the Potato Famine, and were too poor to emigrate.
She lost her brothers to fever and one sister in childbirth. Muriel decided to make the journey across the Atlantic, gave her doll, Ita, to her niece, and tried to start a new life in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Although she secured work as a cook in Halifax, the promise of better work at higher pay drew her and her first husband, Liam, to Prosper, District of Alberta.
Favourite meal to eat: Irish cream cake
Favourite meal to cook: Rutabaga beef pie
Pernilla Edlund
Book: Silver HeartsEye colour: clear blue
Hair colour: blond that is turning silver
Heritage: Swedish Children: Greta, Helena, Nils, Edvin
Grandchildren: eight
Occupation: Boarding house owner
Previous occupation: Ranch hand
Spouse: Lars Edlund
How did she meet Lars? Her family dug the Welland Canal in Niagara, Upper Canada, and Lars was a recent immigrant to Upper Canada
Where did they meet for the first time? Pernilla went to Niagara Falls to pick up supplies for her family and spotted Lars across the street. Built taller and wider than a mountain with near-white, blond hair, he had a gentle smile and a gentler voice that made her giddy.
Hobbies: painting landscapes, doing charitable work in the community
About: Pernilla is a fierce defender of her family and has a generous soul. Her boarding house welcomes all guests, and she enjoys spending time with her children and grandchildren. She stopped painting when her family moved from the Niagara Peninsula to Prosper, District of Alberta.
She works hard to employ widows, especially those with young children. She fears the rift between her and Lars will grow wider.
Favourite meal: pickled herring with ginger snaps for dessert
Ruthanna Milligan
Book: Jaded HeartsEye colour: Blue-grey eyes
Hair colour: Light-brown eyes
Heritage: English
Father: deceased
Mother: Mildred Helms
Sister: Dora Helms
Occupation: Prospector
Previous occupation: Land surveyorSpouse-to-be: Bertram Milligan
How did she meet Bertram? Mail-order-bride agency
Where did they meet for the first time? She was at the front desk of the Prosper Hotel, and a man in the dining room had his back to her. He had a long, black queue hanging down to his mid-back.
He rose and turned to her, and her jaw dropped to the floor. Before her, a masterpiece of angles and length and crisp suit with pressed creases. Hobbies: Making maps, reading maps, taking walks
About: Ruthanna is the oldest of two daughters. As a child, she helped her father prospect across the North-West Territories, and he taught her map-making. She grew up on windswept, snow-covered mountains and learned to survive in harsh conditions.
She’s protective of her mother and younger sister, Dora, who are made for evenings at the theatre and opera, not harsh and inhospitable conditions. Not one to complain, Ruthanna is focused on developing the jade mine and settling into Prosper, District of Alberta.
Favourite meal: Roasted grouse with roasted swedes
Vernon Marshall
Book: Golden HeartsEye colour: dark brown eyes
Hair colour: dark brown
Heritage: English
Father: Reginal Marshall
Mother: Mrs Marshall
Brother: Clement
Occupation: Goldsmith Spouse-to-be: Bertie Jepsen
How did he meet Bertie? Vern had finished his tour of his new smith shop. The building owner, Mr Berg, introduced Vern to Oskar, who could help him move his equipment to his shop.
Across the street, the furniture maker insulted Oskar, and a woman with a sultry voice approached and defended Oskar. Oh, that voice, alluring and strong. Where did they meet for the first time? On Prosper Street
Hobbies: Going to theatres and restaurants, fishing with Oskar, and engaging in creative pursuits
About: Vern comes from a family of lawyers but isn’t inclined to argue for a living. Charming, always one to tell a joke and a story, Vernon isn’t bothered by other people’s opinions.
He’s friendly, outgoing and creative and isn’t ashamed of his father’s choices but is concerned about how his father’s past might be viewed in a small, frontier town. On the way to Prosper, he was in a horrible train accident that injured his brain.
Favourite meal: Grilled trout