Celebrating Toronto’s built heritage of row houses, semis, and cottages and the people who lived in them. Despite their value as urban property, Toronto’s workers’ cottages are often characterized as being small, cramped, poorly built, and in need of modernization or even demolition. But for the workers and their families who originally lived in them from the 1820s to the 1920s, these houses were far from modest. Many had been driven off their ancestral farms or had left the crowded conditions of tenements in their home cities abroad. Once in Toronto, many lived in unsanitary conditions in makeshift shantytowns or cramped shared houses in downtown neighbourhoods such as The Ward. To then move to a self-contained cottage or rowhouse was the result of an unimaginably strong hope for the future and a commitment to family life. Through the stories of eight families who lived in these “Modest Hopes,” authors Don Loucks and Leslie Valpy bring an important but forgotten part of the Toronto narrative to life. They illuminate the development of Toronto’s working-class neighbourhoods, such as Leslieville, Corktown, and others, and explain the designs and architectural antecedents of these undervalued heritage properties.
Celebrating Toronto’s built heritage of row houses, semis, and cottages and the people who lived in them. Despite their value as urban property, Toronto’s workers’ cottages are often characterized as being small, cramped, poorly built, and in need of modernization or even demolition. But for the workers and their families who originally lived in them from the 1820s to the 1920s, these houses were far from modest. Many had been driven off their ancestral farms or had left the crowded conditions of tenements in their home cities abroad. Once in Toronto, many lived in unsanitary conditions in makeshift shantytowns or cramped shared houses in downtown neighbourhoods such as The Ward. To then move to a self-contained cottage or rowhouse was the result of an unimaginably strong hope for the future and a commitment to family life. Through the stories of eight families who lived in these “Modest Hopes,” authors Don Loucks and Leslie Valpy bring an important but forgotten part of the Toronto narrative to life. They illuminate the development of Toronto’s working-class neighbourhoods, such as Leslieville, Corktown, and others, and explain the designs and architectural antecedents of these undervalued heritage properties.
Leslie dumps her legal career to write to 10 men of letters, ranging from a war journalist to a nanotechnology guru, legal beagles, sportsmen and a comedian. Their responses to her are a roller-coaster read, followed by Leslie’s Guide for Writing to Men which explains how you can initiate your own letter writing group. Each writer describes how he felt about being approached by a woman to be part of Men of Letters, followed by practical advice and templates for starting your own group with a view to self-publishing.
The magnetic aura surrounding Sudbury, for both the living as well as the once-alive, is the backdrop for tales of mystery, wonder, and outright horror. "I tried to leave" is a common theme for those from the Sudbury region. People often vow to move away, but something about the Nickel City keeps luring them back. Whether it’s the taste of fresh air – or just the sulphur in the air – it’s hard to move beyond the black rocks, endless lakes, and great openness without longing to come home. Some are so attached to the northern community that they choose to stick around, even when their physical life is over. After all, if the living can’t leave the place behind, why should the dead? Spooky Sudbury explores the magnetic aura surrounding the city, for the living as well as the once-alive, in these tales of the supernatural.
Experience a ghostly thrill with Mark Leslie’s five books on strange supernatural happenings. Macabre Montreal Montreal is steeped in history and culture. But there are dark tales, eerie stories, and ghostly spectres that come alive once the sun goes down. Creepy Capital True stories of ghostly encounters and creepy locales lurk throughout the Ottawa region. Come along with Canada’s paranormal raconteur extraordinaire, Mark Leslie, and discover the first-person accounts of ghostly happenings at landmarks throughout the historic city and surrounding towns. Haunted Hamilton From the Hermitage ruins to Dundurn Castle, from the Customs House to Stoney Creek Battlefield Park, the city of Hamilton, Ontario, is steeped in a rich history and culture. But beneath the surface of the Steel City there dwells a darker heart — from the shadows of yesteryear arise the unexplained, the bizarre, and the chilling. Spooky Sudbury From haunted mine shafts to inexplicable lights in the northern sky, there are strange things afoot in the peaceful northern municipality of Sudbury; eerie phenomenon that will amaze, give you pause, make you wonder, and have you looking twice at what might first appear to be innocent shadows. Tomes of Terror It’s been said that books have a life of their own, but there’s more than literature lurking in the cobwebbed recesses of dusty bookstores and libraries across Canada. Read about some of the most celebrated and eerie bookish haunts, and try to brush off that feeling of someone watching from just over your shoulder...
This special three-book bundle collects three haunting books on the supernatural by Mark Leslie. In Spooky Sudbury and Haunted Hamilton he relays creepy tales from two of Canada’s cities. Lock the doors and turn on all the lights before you settle down with these stories, because once you begin to read about the supernatural elements that lurk within these seemingly normal towns in Southern Ontario, strange bumps in the night will take on new, more sinister meanings. In Tomes of Terror Leslie has compiled true stories of the supernatural in literary locales, complete with hair-raising first-person accounts. You may even recognize a spectre of your local library lurking in these true stories and photographs. If you have ever felt an indescribable presence hanging about a quiet bookshop, then you’ll enjoy these fascinating and haunting tales. Haunted Hamilton Spooky Sudbury Tomes of Terror
Experience a ghostly thrill with Mark Leslie’s four books on strange supernatural happenings. Creepy Capital True stories of ghostly encounters and creepy locales lurk throughout the Ottawa region. Come along with Canada’s paranormal raconteur extraordinaire, Mark Leslie, and discover the first-person accounts of ghostly happenings at landmarks throughout the historic city and surrounding towns. Haunted Hamilton From the Hermitage ruins to Dundurn Castle, from the Customs House to Stoney Creek Battlefield Park, the city of Hamilton, Ontario, is steeped in a rich history and culture. But beneath the surface of the Steel City there dwells a darker heart — from the shadows of yesteryear arise the unexplained, the bizarre, and the chilling. Spooky Sudbury From haunted mine shafts to inexplicable lights in the northern sky, there are strange things afoot in the peaceful northern municipality of Sudbury; eerie phenomenon that will amaze, give you pause, make you wonder, and have you looking twice at what might first appear to be innocent shadows. Tomes of Terror It’s been said that books have a life of their own, but there’s more than literature lurking in the cobwebbed recesses of dusty bookstores and libraries across Canada. Read about some of the most celebrated and eerie bookish haunts, and try to brush off that feeling of someone watching from just over your shoulder...
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