My First Book

In My First Book, many classic authors regale readers with the tales behind their first stories. Ballantyne and his contemporaries give readers a glimpse into their lives before they were published writers and had careers in writing. Ballantyne provides readers with an even more intimate look at his work as a clerk with the Hudson Bay Company, which eventually served as the basis for his first book and critical success, Hudson's Bay. His writing career, in fact, began as he wrote letters to his family while without other forms of entertainment in the Canadian wilds. Even after Hudson's Bay was published, Ballantyne still did not immediately pursue a career as an author and waited several years before publishing Snowflakes and Sunbeams; or, The Young Fur-traders. Ballantyne continues, expounding on his inspirations behind The Coral Island and other famous stories.