The Last Best West

A captivating glimpse of how the Canadian West was settled. Historical facts are woven seamlessly into a story of love, loss, and perseverance set in Mitford, Alberta, an ill-fated mill town near Cochrane. Fans of historical fiction will love The Last Best West: Never Look Back!

It was the 1880s, a time of great excitement, for Canada had opened the west. 

The Last Best West transports us to the private world of real-life aristocrat Lady Adela Cochrane, daughter of the 2nd Earl of Stradbroke, and her husband, Thomas Cochrane.

The pair was completely unprepared to build the town of Mitford, west of Cochrane, and create businesses from the opportunities awaiting them.

Lady Adela couldn’t be more different than Alice Bradley, a working-class British immigrant who, with her husband Billie, suffered the extreme capriciousness of the harsh life offered to them as pioneers.

Connect with the resiliency, courage and excitement lived by these two couples as they find out what life is like in The Last Best West.

Author Shannon Bradley Green is a former teacher with a deep interest in local history. Shannon lives in rural Alberta, outside the town of Cochrane.