Henry & Self: An English Gentlewoman at the Edge of Empire

by Kathryn Bridge

An intimate portrait of privilege and struggle, scandal and accolade, from the Old World to the new colonies of Vancouver’s Island and British Columbia.At the age of 33, Sarah Crease left her home in England to travel with her young family to a farflung outpost of the British Empire on the Pacific coast of North America. The detailed journals, letters and artwork she created over the next half century as she and her husband, Henry, established themselves in the New World offer a rich window into the private life and views of an English colonist in British Columbia.This is a woman’s story in her own words. It is also a story of the times she lived in, and of how her class, social standing and role as a settler shaped her relationships with the world around her. Henry & Self is the personal account of a remarkable woman who lived through nearly a century of colonial history, but it is also a unique perspective on the beliefs and motivations that shaped that century.

264 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Vanessa Winn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sarah Crease's watercolours and sketches of early Victoria and New Westminster, British Columbia, make this an intriguing read. (Reproductions of two of her drawings were included in Richard Charles Mayne's book, Four Years in British Columbia and Vancouver Island.) Crease's biography also provides insight into what compels a young middle-class Victorian family to move to a colony in the Far West of the British empire.

[Cheryl]

If you like this book, a lot of the drawings are available at BC Archives. It's been very interesting seeing what Victoria used to look like. I grew up there and there's been so many changes.