In 1836, Anna Jameson sailed from London, England, to join her husband in
Upper Canada, where he was serving as attorney general. Shaking off the mud
of Muddy York with mild disdain, young Mrs. Jameson swiftly sallied forth
to discover the New World for herself. The best known of all nineteenth
century Canadian travel books,Winter Studies and Summer Rambles in Canadais
Jameson’s wonderfully entertaining account of her adventures, ranging from
gleeful observations about the pretensions of high society in the colonies
to a “wild expedition” she took by canoe into Indian country. Jameson’s
keen eye, intrepid spirit, irreverent sense of humour and staunch feminist
perspective make this journal an invaluable record of life in pre-
Confederation Canada.