In Revolution Songs, Annie Jalmer stands uneasily between opposing Communists and Fascist forces in her 1930s Rocky Mountain town. As the radical politics of her family inflame tensions, Annie becomes an unwilling double agent until a violent strike forces her to take a stand. Revolution Songs is the electrifying debut novel by award-winning writer Carissa Halton, inspired by the little-known story of a Communist union, the rise of the Canadian Ku Klux Klan, and the women who fought on both sides. Set against the charged backdrop of Depression-era politics, Halton weaves a thrilling and timely story that echoes the rising polarization of our own era.
In stores October 2025.
Published by NeWest Press.
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With wisdom as well as political passion, Carissa Halton examines the problem of responsibility—to ourselves, our families, society—through rock-solid research and deft, enjoyable prose.
Revolution Songs illuminates a struggle for justice and fair treatment that we’ve too easily forgotten.
Marina Endicott, award-winning author of The Observer
Revolution Songs brings alive the tensions and resolve in an exploited mining community grappling with Depression poverty. The Jalmer family and their interactions with the broader Crowsnest Pass community make the historical events that produced both bitter strikes and a Communist town council in Blairmore, Alberta come vividly to life.
Alvin Finkel, President of the Alberta Labour History Institute, and author of Humans: The 300,000 Year Struggle for Equality.