A religious, well-educated Victorian, Curwen takes us into the heart of the colonial society he encountered. He reveals the pervasive sectarianism, the tawdry political world of St John's, the rudimentary conditions aboard the fishing schooners, and the poverty of the Labrador "livyers," the permanent white settlers who had intermarried with the Inuit. He provides fresh details of the lives of the Moravian Brethren, the first missionaries to the Native population, and comments on the wildlife, the natural environment, and the general disposition of the countryside. Curwen's candid remarks about Grenfell reveal facets of the young missionary and social reformer not found elsewhere.