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History without the stiffness and polish time creates.
Canada’s journey to Confederation kicked off with a bang — or rather, a circus, a civil war (the American one), a small fortune’s worth of champagne, and a lot of making love — in the old-fashioned sense. Miss Confederation offers a rare look back, through a woman’s eyes, at the men and events at the centre of this pivotal time in Canada’s history.
Mercy Anne Coles, the daughter of PEI delegate George Coles, kept a diary of the social happenings and political manoeuvrings as they affected her and her desires. A unique historical document, her diary is now being published for the first time, offering a window into the events that led to Canada’s creation, from a point of view that has long been neglected.
Canada’s journey to Confederation kicked off with a bang — or rather, a circus, a civil war (the American one), a small fortune’s worth of champagne, and a lot of making love — in the old-fashioned sense. Miss Confederation offers a rare look back, through a woman’s eyes, at the men and events at the centre of this pivotal time in Canada’s history.
Mercy Anne Coles, the daughter of PEI delegate George Coles, kept a diary of the social happenings and political manoeuvrings as they affected her and her desires. A unique historical document, her diary is now being published for the first time, offering a window into the events that led to Canada’s creation, from a point of view that has long been neglected.
Price: $22.99
Pages: 192
Publisher: Dundurn Press
Imprint: Dundurn Press
Publication Date:
18 July 2017
Trim Size: 9.00 X 6.00 in
ISBN: 9781459739673
Format: Paperback
BISACs:
HISTORY / Canada / Pre-Confederation (to 1867), History of the Americas, HISTORY / Women, LITERARY COLLECTIONS / Diaries & Journals, Gender studies: women & girls, Diaries, letters & journals, Central / national / federal government
McDonald’s finely crafted and nuanced history book rises above the crescendo of flag-waving nationalism. It adds a completely new dimension to our nation-making experience — a unique woman’s perspective which will stand the test of time.
Anne McDonald's Miss Confederation, which includes Mercy Coles' diary, an intimate and timely account of her view of the Fathers of Confederation on their road to uniting the provinces, provides colour to what has previously been a dry subject. It is a lively history and well worth reading.
Mercy Coles’ diary of the social side of Canada’s Confederation conferences, as analyzed by Anne McDonald, reveals a story of beaus and belles, of champagne and dancing, of politicians lobbying each other through the medium of their unmarried daughters — all as seen from the young lady’s side of the quadrille. An enlightening, entertaining read.
Anne McDonald’s enthusiasm for her subject is infectious. The pleasure of reading Miss Confederation is not just in the rich historical detail it captures, but also in following McDonald’s delight in discovering Mercy Coles’ diary. McDonald is not just a transcriber, she acts as an attentive and affectionate listener, recognizing the value of a young woman’s lively perspective on an unfolding history.
Unlike the more stagnant, textbook version of events, Miss Confederation is a refreshing and honest view of these meetings and the Canada of that time.
McDonald and Coles take readers along on the “Confederation ride” — a fascinating and revealing tour of eastern Canada in 1864.
Anne McDonald's Miss Confederation, which includes Mercy Coles' diary, an intimate and timely account of her view of the Fathers of Confederation on their road to uniting the provinces, provides colour to what has previously been a dry subject. It is a lively history and well worth reading.
Mercy Coles’ diary of the social side of Canada’s Confederation conferences, as analyzed by Anne McDonald, reveals a story of beaus and belles, of champagne and dancing, of politicians lobbying each other through the medium of their unmarried daughters — all as seen from the young lady’s side of the quadrille. An enlightening, entertaining read.
Anne McDonald’s enthusiasm for her subject is infectious. The pleasure of reading Miss Confederation is not just in the rich historical detail it captures, but also in following McDonald’s delight in discovering Mercy Coles’ diary. McDonald is not just a transcriber, she acts as an attentive and affectionate listener, recognizing the value of a young woman’s lively perspective on an unfolding history.
Unlike the more stagnant, textbook version of events, Miss Confederation is a refreshing and honest view of these meetings and the Canada of that time.
McDonald and Coles take readers along on the “Confederation ride” — a fascinating and revealing tour of eastern Canada in 1864.
Anne McDonald is an award-winning author. Her novel To the Edge of the Sea won the Saskatchewan First Book Award. Her play Lullabies and Cautions was recently showcased at the 2016 Spring Festival of New Plays. Her work has appeared in literary journals, Canada’s History, and on CBC Radio. Anne teaches theatre and creative writing. She lives in Regina, Saskatchewan.
- Foreword by Christopher Moore
- Preface
- One Miss Confederation, Mercy Anne Coles
- Two Charlottetown: The Circus, Champagne, and Union
- Three The Journey Begins: The Lure of Travel, the New — and Leonard Tilley
- Four From the Sublime to the Ridiculous: the “Failed,” the Grand Success, or the Drunken Fiasco of the Government Ball
- Five Diphtheria
- Six The Temptation of John A. Macdonald
- Seven What She Said –— A Woman’s Point of View
- Eight Montreal Sightseeing and the “Eighth Wonder of the World”
- Nine Ottawa the Unseemly
- Ten Sightseeing in Toronto, 1864 Style
- Eleven Niagara Falls
- Twelve Family and Travel
- Thirteen Going Home
- Fourteen Confederation Suitors
- Fifteen Daughters and Fathers
- Conclusion
- Acknowledgements
- Appendix “Reminiscences of Confederation Days: Extracts from a Diary Kept by Miss Mercy A. Coles When She Accompanied Her Father, the Late Hon. George Coles, to the Confederation Conferences at Quebec, Montreal and Ottawa in 1864.”
- Notes on Sources
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Image Credits
- Index