Taylor, Ryan

Frances Hoffman was born and raised in the north of England. Some of her female relatives, particularly a great-aunt whose home was a 350-year-old farmhouse nestled in the Derbyshire Pennines, encouraged and set the scene for developing her interest in social history.

Having come to Canada in 1966, Frances lives in a log house on the banks of the Grand River in the heart of Mennonite country near Waterloo, Ontario. It was while entertaining Old Order Mennonite neighbors, and in coming to appreciate the "old world" quality that pervades much of their lives, that the idea of writing "Much To B...