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Exploring Toronto’s history through the stories of its most fascinating and shadowy deaths.
If these streets could talk…
With morbid tales of war and plague, duels and executions, suicides and séances, Toronto’s past is filled with stories whose endings were anything but peaceful. The Toronto Book of the Dead delves into these: from ancient First Nations burial mounds to the grisly murder of Toronto’s first lighthouse keeper; from the rise and fall of the city’s greatest Victorian baseball star to the final days of the world’s most notorious anarchist.
Toronto has witnessed countless lives lived and lost as it grew from a muddy little frontier town into a booming metropolis of concrete and glass. The Toronto Book of the Dead tells the tale of the ever-changing city through the lives and deaths of those who made it their final resting place.
If these streets could talk…
With morbid tales of war and plague, duels and executions, suicides and séances, Toronto’s past is filled with stories whose endings were anything but peaceful. The Toronto Book of the Dead delves into these: from ancient First Nations burial mounds to the grisly murder of Toronto’s first lighthouse keeper; from the rise and fall of the city’s greatest Victorian baseball star to the final days of the world’s most notorious anarchist.
Toronto has witnessed countless lives lived and lost as it grew from a muddy little frontier town into a booming metropolis of concrete and glass. The Toronto Book of the Dead tells the tale of the ever-changing city through the lives and deaths of those who made it their final resting place.
Price: $21.99
Pages: 422
Publisher: Dundurn Press
Imprint: Dundurn Press
Publication Date:
10 October 2017
Trim Size: 8.00 X 5.00 in
ISBN: 9781459738065
Format: Paperback
BISACs:
HISTORY / Canada / General, History of the Americas, HISTORY / Social History, TRUE CRIME / General, True stories: general
Adam Bunch has compiled one of the most fascinating Toronto historical books ever — I never knew how much I wanted to know how local residents have met their demise. Let’s update the city’s motto to ‘Dying Morbidly Our Strength.'
Sometimes gross, always engrossing, Bunch weaves well-known Toronto histories with those that should — and thanks to Bunch’s efforts — will be better known. With compelling storytelling and evocative geographies, The Toronto Book of the Dead brings Toronto’s history uncannily to life.
Bunch is a skilled storyteller. In The Toronto Book of the Dead he brings the city’s diverse former inhabitants to life and reanimates the places we know with their stories. The result is an engaging and often suspenseful series of vignettes — a love letter to the city he calls home.
A deeply researched book that documents how much of Toronto has been built on the backs of those who are now long gone — alongside accounts of the strange and sometimes gruesome ways these characters died.
What a great storyteller!
An amazing must-read about Toronto’s history.
Like taking a tour of Toronto, with a very knowledgeable tour guide who knows the more somber parts of the city’s past.
Adam Bunch has hit upon the clever idea of recounting the stories of dead men and women who once lived in Toronto to bring the history of our patch to vivid life.
Sometimes gruesome, sometimes eerie … Highly fascinating and very informative.
With stories that range from gruesome to heartbreaking, The Toronto Book of the Dead is an engaging and fascinating look into some of the darker moments of Toronto's past.
Sometimes gross, always engrossing, Bunch weaves well-known Toronto histories with those that should — and thanks to Bunch’s efforts — will be better known. With compelling storytelling and evocative geographies, The Toronto Book of the Dead brings Toronto’s history uncannily to life.
Bunch is a skilled storyteller. In The Toronto Book of the Dead he brings the city’s diverse former inhabitants to life and reanimates the places we know with their stories. The result is an engaging and often suspenseful series of vignettes — a love letter to the city he calls home.
A deeply researched book that documents how much of Toronto has been built on the backs of those who are now long gone — alongside accounts of the strange and sometimes gruesome ways these characters died.
What a great storyteller!
An amazing must-read about Toronto’s history.
Like taking a tour of Toronto, with a very knowledgeable tour guide who knows the more somber parts of the city’s past.
Adam Bunch has hit upon the clever idea of recounting the stories of dead men and women who once lived in Toronto to bring the history of our patch to vivid life.
Sometimes gruesome, sometimes eerie … Highly fascinating and very informative.
With stories that range from gruesome to heartbreaking, The Toronto Book of the Dead is an engaging and fascinating look into some of the darker moments of Toronto's past.
Adam Bunch is the creator of the Toronto Dreams Project, and has written about the history of the city for Spacing Magazine, Torontoist and the Huffington Post. In 2012, he earned an honourable mention for a Governor General's History Award. Adam lives in Toronto.
Foreword: Toronto’s Dead History Is Quite Alive by Shawn Micallef
Introduction
Founding
1. The Feast of the Dead
2. The Beaver Wars
3. Elizabeth Simcoe’s Nightmare
4. The Murder of Chief Wabakinine
5. The Town’s First Hanging and How It Went Wrong
6. Whatever Happened to Peggy Pompadour?
The War of 1812
7. The Battle of York
8. The Bloody Burlington Races
9. The True Story of Toronto’s Island Ghost
Democracy
10. The Deadly Duel
11. The Blue Death
12. Revolution! Ish!
13. The Grisly Grave of Robert Baldwin
The Booming Metropolis
14. Black ’47 in the Orange City
15. Abraham Lincoln’s Shawl
16. Cannonball
17. A Brief History of the Pigeons of Toronto
18. The Tooth
19. The Crooked Knight of Casa Loma
The Great Wars
20. The Group of Seven on the Western Front
21. The Night of the Drowning Nurses
22. The Great Beyond
23. The Most Dangerous Woman in the World
24. I’ll Never Smile Again
25. Journey’s End
26. How Toppy Topham Died
27. Toronto Hearts Stalingrad
The Modern City
28. Disaster!
29. Neil Young’s Hearse and a Dead Man’s Name
30. Shoeshine Boy
31. No Sad Songs
32. The Falling Lawyer
Conclusion: The Work of Remembering
Acknowledgements
Selected Bibliography and Further Reading
Introduction
Founding
1. The Feast of the Dead
2. The Beaver Wars
3. Elizabeth Simcoe’s Nightmare
4. The Murder of Chief Wabakinine
5. The Town’s First Hanging and How It Went Wrong
6. Whatever Happened to Peggy Pompadour?
The War of 1812
7. The Battle of York
8. The Bloody Burlington Races
9. The True Story of Toronto’s Island Ghost
Democracy
10. The Deadly Duel
11. The Blue Death
12. Revolution! Ish!
13. The Grisly Grave of Robert Baldwin
The Booming Metropolis
14. Black ’47 in the Orange City
15. Abraham Lincoln’s Shawl
16. Cannonball
17. A Brief History of the Pigeons of Toronto
18. The Tooth
19. The Crooked Knight of Casa Loma
The Great Wars
20. The Group of Seven on the Western Front
21. The Night of the Drowning Nurses
22. The Great Beyond
23. The Most Dangerous Woman in the World
24. I’ll Never Smile Again
25. Journey’s End
26. How Toppy Topham Died
27. Toronto Hearts Stalingrad
The Modern City
28. Disaster!
29. Neil Young’s Hearse and a Dead Man’s Name
30. Shoeshine Boy
31. No Sad Songs
32. The Falling Lawyer
Conclusion: The Work of Remembering
Acknowledgements
Selected Bibliography and Further Reading