
The Conventional Man
The Diaries of Ontario Chief Justice Robert a. Harrison, 1856-1878
Peter Oliver(Editor)
University of Toronto Press
Will be published approx. on 1. November 2003
Book
Hardback
680 pages
978-0-8020-8842-0 (ISBN)
Description
Between 1856 and 1878, Robert A. Harrison kept a diary. Harrison, a Toronto lawyer often described as the outstanding common law lawyer of his generation, was Chief Justice of Ontario during that time and his diary is one of the most remarkable documents bequeathed to us by the nineteenth century. In it, Harrison provides detailed and intimate accounts of life and love among Toronto's upper crust, accounts that resound with ambition, passion, jealousy and rage as his life proceeds through courtships, marriages, deaths and all the throes and challenges of routine existence among the privileged classes. Not least important are behind-the-scenes insights into scores of courtroom battles fought before judges sometimes described as ignorant and thick-headed and juries who frequently succumbed to Victorian prejudices of race, gender bias, and religion.
Although unusual in his driving ambitions and his consuming need to accumulate a fortune, Harrison remained in most respects thoroughly conventional and Victorian, and his diary offers unrivalled insights into the voice of the mid-nineteenth century Toronto male: confident, conventional, and smug. Harrison is forthright in his opinions on love, courtship, marriage, sexuality, medical practice, death, drinking habits, class, servants, technology, opera, and theatre in the city. In an extended biographical introduction, Peter Oliver provides an explanation and a critical assessment of Harrison's life and career which further illuminates one man's extraordinary record of an era.
Although unusual in his driving ambitions and his consuming need to accumulate a fortune, Harrison remained in most respects thoroughly conventional and Victorian, and his diary offers unrivalled insights into the voice of the mid-nineteenth century Toronto male: confident, conventional, and smug. Harrison is forthright in his opinions on love, courtship, marriage, sexuality, medical practice, death, drinking habits, class, servants, technology, opera, and theatre in the city. In an extended biographical introduction, Peter Oliver provides an explanation and a critical assessment of Harrison's life and career which further illuminates one man's extraordinary record of an era.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Toronto
Canada
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
With printed dust jacket
Dimensions
Height: 241 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 52 mm
Weight
1107 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8020-8842-0 (9780802088420)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Peter Oliver is a professor in the Department of History at York University and Editor-in-Chief of the Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History.