Articles liés à My Dearest Mother - 1901: Letters from Canada 1901
Synopsis
Canada in the summer of 1901. Ella Brewin’s letters are a fascinating insight into the life in Canada at the start of the 20th century. My grandmother was born on March 24, 1871, in Isleworth, Middlesex. Before she married she travelled twice to Canada (1901 and 1902) and to Jamaica (1903 & 1905). Her brother Francis (Frank) married Amea, the daughter of Andrew George Blair (Canadian Minister of Railroads & Canals). Most of Ella's letters to her mother during her journeys have survived and I have transcribed them, keeping her spelling, punctuation and formatting. She was very privileged in staying with the family of A. G. Blair and meeting the Governor General, Lord Minto, and the Prime Minister, Wilfrid Laurier. She displays the prejudices of that time of a typical upper-class young English woman abroad. Her brother Julius wrote at the time: Ella Brewin writes at great length about her trip to Canada, she crossed on the Corinthian arriving in Quebec 5 May 1901. Continuing on to Montreal she was met by her future sister-in-law Amea Blair where they took a train to Ottawa, "I had my first experience of a Canadian train, which is most luxurious after our English carriages. In the Parlour Car you have a comfortable armchair, a pillow, and footstool; also you could buy papers, books, fruit, sweets, and even chewing gum, to while away the time". She was met by her hosts, the Hon A G and Mrs Blair with a hearty welcome "which is ever accorded to, and so much appreciated by all English people visiting Canadians, whose kindness and hospitality are proverbial". With her hosts she travelled extensively in eastern Canada and the USA, sometimes in Mr Blair's private car, "The Ottawa" which was attached to the end of an ordinary train. She commented on the USA, "From a tourists point of view, I cannot say I liked Boston at all, or ever wish to go to an American town again. The paths are very crowded with a pushing, rushing, twangy set of people, who all seem to be shopping in their enormous stores, which have all the things piled on the counters like an inferior Whiteleys at sale times. Servers who do not trouble to do anything, or care whether you buy or not, and awful lifts, which dropped from one story to another at a rate which makes you feel as if you had been for a week at sea in a fearful storm!" . . . . . Ella enjoyed a stay at and the grandeur of the Niagara Falls "We dined at a charming hotel (though the waiters were all nigger's), and had frogs saddles for one of our many courses." She travelled with Amea to St John New Brunswick, which delighted her, staying at Fredericton on the banks of the St John River. She mentions the enormous 25ft. tides of the Bay of Fundy, and the picturesque scenery. Then up to Quebec, finding French cooking "too greasy" to her taste, a trip on the Saguenay River. Other highlights included "a grand display of the Northern Lights, one evening", and being driven from the garden by a skunk. Finally "I stayed with Mr and Mrs Thompson, in their country house, just on the banks of the Kennebeccasis, with a most lovely view down this beautiful river. There, I spent a most delightful 10 days in perfect weather, yachting, sailing, canoeing, bathing, picnicking, and driving, and I must frankly own that I was very sorry when at Rimouski, on July 28th, I went on board the "Tunisian" with the mail's for England. I had a fair passage home, fog for 48 hours, but no icebergs, to my sorrow and the Captain's joy" A second volume will cover her 1902 visit, when her brother arrives for his marriage. She sailed down the East coast to Rhode Island and Maine before setting off with a group accompanying Mr Blair, in his private Pullman car, to the west coast and as far as San Francisco – her description of the Chinese quarter a visit to an opium den is fascinating.
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My Dearest Mother - 1901: Letters from Canada 1901
Vendeur : Revaluation Books, Exeter, Royaume-Uni
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Paperback. Etat : Brand New. 72 pages. 11.00x8.50x0.18 inches. In Stock. N° de réf. du vendeur zk1976831644
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