Sheila Watson was born in New Westminster, B.C., in 1909. She received her B.A. and M.A. from the University of British Columbia, and was later a member of the Department of English at the University of Alberta. The Double Hook, originally published in 1959 by McClelland & Stewart, is considered Canada's first modernist novel.

In spare, allusive prose, Sheila Watson charts the destiny of a small, tightly knit community nestled in the BC Interior. Here, among the hills of Cariboo country, men and women are caught upon the double hook of existence, unaware that the flight from danger and the search for glory are both part of the same journey. In Watson's compelling novel, cruelty and kindness, betrayal and faith shape a pattern of enduring significance.