Craigdarroch Castle in 21 Treasures

by Moira Dann

Finalist for the Lieutenant Governor's Medal for Historical Writing Told in 21 objects—including furnishings, artwork, and tools—this approachable museum guide takes readers into the family history, local lore, and oddities of one of Victoria's most famous landmarks. Craigdarroch Castle, built by coal baron Robert Dunsmuir for his wife, Joan, and their family, was completed in 1890. Following Joan's death, the castle was put up for sale in 1908, and later housed a military hospital and the nascent University of Victoria. Since 1979 the castle has operated as a museum and is one of the top tourist attractions in the city, a prime example of a “bonanza castle” and a rich repository of Victorian-era furnishings and décor, as well as objects evoking the hospital and college eras. Author Moira Dann offers the reader 21 selections from the castle's collection, using each artifact as a portal into the history of the building and life in Victorian and more recent times. The Black Forest clock, acquired by Joan on a trip to Europe; the telescope used by the eldest Dunsmuir son, James, aboard his yacht the Dolaura; the castle's famous stained-glass windows; a nineteenth-century intercom system known as a speaking tube—these and 17 more are described with detail and enthusiasm, and accompanied by photographs. Dann provides careful research into each object's provenance and manufacture, while inviting readers to join her imaginative journeys into the lives of the castle's occupants through the years.

144 pages, Paperback

Published April 20, 2021

Reviews

[Lynne Melcombe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m pretty obsessive when I go into museums. I like to take my time, consider each object, read every placard, watch every video, listen to every audiotape. I don’t feel most museums are meant to be gone through in a single trip. There’s too much to take in and the brain tends to tire of all that information with no place created to file it yet. So, I’m quite happy to go back to museums time and again to see whatever I didn’t get to the last time. 

I know I’ve been to Craigdarroch Castle in Victoria, BC, which now houses a museum of the way wealthy white settlers lived in Victoria (and elsewhere) in the nineteenth century. I can’t recall exactly when I was there, but there’s no way I could have taken it all in in just one trip. Which is why it’s such a delight reading through Moira Dann’s Craigdarroch Castle in 21 Treasures (Touchwood Editions, 2021). ...

Built by coal baron and shipping entrepreneur Robert Dunsmuir, who’d immigrated from Scotland in 1851 with his wife and newborn daughter, theirs is a genuine rags-to-riches story. Dunsmuir started out as an independent coal miner, found a rich coal seam near Nanaimo, and “turned that into wealth, influence, and power.” So much so that by 1887, less than four decades later, he started construction on the castle he had (according to rumour) promised his wife, Joan, when they left Scotland.

To read more of this review, go to https://lynnemelcombe.com/2025/08/04/... where I review creative nonfiction books by Canadian authors.

[Jenny Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! I remember visiting the Craigdarroch Castle when I was very young and always enjoyed my visits to the castle. The last time I visited was in 2016. Now, after reading this book I can’t wait to plan another trip back to the castle with my copy of this book in my hand and see the castle from a whole new perspective.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting snippets about certain artifacts in Craigdarroch Castle, the life of the Dunsmuir family who lived there, and Victorian society in Victoria, as well as what happened to the Castle after the family sold it. I really enjoyed learning more. Visiting there again is a must, now that I'm more knowledgeable!

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

In need of a good editor... Some stories are repeated, and others are hard to follow with the multiple similar names.

Still, lots of interesting nuggets of history, ties around museum artifacts.