In the heart of cottage country in Ontario, bordering on a native reservation, Ann and Richard are confronted with the abrupt reappearance after ten years of a local man, Billy. His presence once again in their lives brings back powerful memories and rekindles old conflicts, love, and a betrayal, as each of their past and present stories gradually unfolds during one 1980s summer. Containing all of the elements for which The Island Walkers was celebrated, The Last Woman envelops us in Bemrose’s flawlessly crafted and complete world, where each character is unforgettably alive and real, and the land itself breathes its own story into our hearts.

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“Bemrose offers us nothing less than a template for embracing the core of life’s meaning….”
— Globe and Mail

“John Bemrose’s characters […] live as real people live: contradictory, capable of kindness and disdain, of near-simultaneous love and hate, of gross betrayal….”
— Times Literary Supplement

"The Last Woman's greatest success is its near-Tolstoian unfolding of the psychology of love triangles." 
— The Walrus

"Once again, [Bemrose] is writing with poise and authority...." 
— Globe and Mail

"Lush and poetic, polished and crisp."
— Quill & Quire

"Toronto journalist and playwright John Bemrose's second novel, a solemn sketch of rural Ontario race relations, seems tailored for entry into the CanLit canon."
— Toronto Life

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"I really liked the book due to its setting, the characters and the native issues that were brought out. As a result it was an interesting read on many levels. I read it quickly and with great interest."
—Tina W, Ontario

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John Bemrose’s first novel, The Island Walkers, was a national bestseller, a finalist for The Giller Prize, and a long-list nominee for the Man Booker Prize. He lives in Toronto.

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