Expressive Acts

Celebrations and Demonstrations in the Streets of Victorian Toronto

Ian Radforth author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:University of Toronto Press

Published:23rd Mar '23

Should be back in stock very soon

This paperback is available in another edition too:

Expressive Acts cover

In nineteenth-century Toronto, people took to the streets to express their jubilation on special occasions, such as the 1860 visit of the Prince of Wales and the return in 1885 of the local Volunteers who helped to suppress the Riel resistance in the North-West. In a contrasting mood, people also took to the streets in anger to object to government measures, such as the Rebellion Losses bill, to heckle rival candidates in provincial election campaigns, to assert their ethno-religious differences, and to support striking workers.

Expressive Acts examines instances of both celebration and protest when Torontonians publicly displayed their allegiances, politics, and values. The book illustrates not just the Victorian city’s vibrant public life but also the intense social tensions and cultural differences within the city. Drawing from journalists’ accounts in newspapers, Expressive Acts illuminates what drove Torontonians to claim public space, where their passions lay, and how they gave expression to them.

“Historians of 19th-century urban Canada will find themselves hoping, as they make their way through Expressive Acts, that this collection inspires others to take up the task of researching and writing on the popular culture and politics of Toronto during this period.” -- Dan Horner, Toronto Metropolitan University * Urban History Review *

ISBN: 9781487545772

Dimensions: 229mm x 152mm x 14mm

Weight: 410g

250 pages