Upstarts and Outcasts

Ann Turner is the financial and budget manager of the University of
British Columbia Library.

Valerie Green is the author of three previous books on the social and
political history of Victoria. These dealt with the life and times of
Victoria’s socially and politically prominent families, the upper
classes of this very class-conscious new colony. Her investigations also
gave her intriguing glimpses into the lives of four other groups of
Victoria pioneers. These included domestic servants; people of Chinese
origins; the entertainers who worked in the theatres, dance halls, and
houses of prostitution; and tradespeople of all kinds. Although they
were very much a part of Victoria’s social fabric, and even essential
to its survival, they were often ill-treated and regarded with contempt
by the elite group.

In researching and recounting their stories, the author adds a rich new
dimension to the 100 years of Victoria’s history prior to World War
II. Archival photographs and numerous quotations from magazines and
private papers bring the colorful characters and their times vividly to
life.