A Most Unusual Colony:
Vancouver Island 1849-1860
Author: Maureen Duffus
Published 1996, Victoria, BC
ISBN 1-895332-11-7
Soft cover, 163 pages
Historical fiction,
with photos, maps
$18.95 CDN
Reviews
- A Most Unusual Colony Reviews
various sources, 1996-1997 - Reader Comments
Excerpts
- Letters of Mary Yates includes:
Forest Fire Near Fort Victoria,
Excursion to the Mill Site &
Birthday Party at Beacon Hill - Memories of the Fort School includes:
Student Picnic & Excursion on the Beaver
Vancouver Island's Colonial History
To travel back in time to the Colony of Vancouver Island, read the story of the Hudson's Bay years as told through recollections of a colonial childhood by the fictional Kate Murray and the letters of the real Mary Yates. The letters are inventions, but the real Mary lived through the events of the early years. Their stories combine to give an authentic glimpse of the extraordinary life inside the palisades of Fort Victoria, the world of children at Chaplain Staines's school, the settlers who rebelled against the HBC's autocratic rule, and the growing sophistication of colonial social life before and after BC's gold rush of 1858.
The historical events and the social climate recreated as fiction are based on letters, diaries and reminiscences of the period, as well as Hudson's Bay Company records, B.C. Archives and the Scottish Records Office.
Visit the City of Victoria Archives.
Visit the District of Saanich Archives.