Today, the streets of Victoria are busy thoroughfares. Yesterday, they were simple trails, used by the Hudson's Bay Company men and the First Nations people who traded with them and helped build their fort. Then came the gold miners, followed by the bankers and businessmen, sailors and saloon-keepers, poets, postmasters, architects and astronomers. They're remembered in Victoria's city's streets . . .and every street name tells a story:  Courtney Street is a misspelled memorial to Captain George W. Courtenay, whose Constance was one of the first of Her Majesty's vessels to sail into Esquimalt Harbour in the 1840s.  Fan Tan Alley provides a tantalizing glimpse into 1800s Chinatown, where Fan Tan gambling dens existed alongside brothels and opium factories that fuelled the gamblers' fortunes.  Rattenbury Place is named for the ill-fated architect who designed the Empress Hotel and the Parliament Buildings.  Danda's knack for colourful, no-nonsense writing makes history come alive. You'll sympathize with the characters she writes about, enjoy them and through their eyes experience 19-century Victoria in a way you've never experienced it before.

On the Street Where You Live: Sailors, Solicitors, and Stargazers of Early Victoria

History

Humphreys, Danda

Americas

Heritage House Pub Co Ltd

Victoria's buildings stand as mute reminders of a bygone era, providing a peek into the past and a glimpse at the lives of those who owned and designed them. Building Victoria looks behind the bricks and mortar to unearth Victoria's history. In her acclaimed On The Street Where You Live trilogy, Danda Humphreys traced the origin of Victoria's street names. Now, with the same curiosity and zest for story, she turns to the city's buildings and the tales they tell—some factual, some fanciful and some the stuff that myths are made of.

Building Victoria: Men, Myths, and Mortar

Victoria has a wealth of fascinating street names. But where did they come from? It's often hard to remember that they were originally attached to people. Danda introduces readers to these people in her On The Street Where You Live trilogy. In her first book readers learn about the Hudson's Bay Company traders and settlers who came here in the 1840s when Fort Victoria was the only vestige of civilisation, to the colonial judges and administrators who came over from England and created a replica of their homeland, and to the merchants and magnates who came to make money off the gold rush and stayed to develop the city and the Island.

On the street where you live

Heritage House Pub

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Humphreys, Danda. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Humphreys, Danda

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Humphreys, Danda. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

On the Street Where You Live: Sailors, Solicitors, and Stargazers of Early Victoria

Building Victoria: Men, Myths, and Mortar

On the street where you live