A Particular Condition in Life: Self-Employment and Social Mobility in Mid-Victorian Brantford, Ontario

Gerald J. Stortz is an assistant professor of history at St. Jerome’s
College, University of Waterloo.

This book deals with the development of the middle class. Using the
prosperous town of Brantford as a model, Burley demonstrates how entry
into the middle class has become progressively more difficult, and how a
society once relatively benign has become increasingly competitive. For
anyone interested in Ontario’s small towns, the book provides a wealth
of anecdotal material. There are also some fascinating sketches
(particularly that of famed biographer Reverend William Cochrane) and
some impressive accounts of politics at the local, provincial, and
federal levels. Although not always an easy read, this book is an
immensely satisfying one.