Draws on the intimate diaries and letters of leading social and political figures to look behind the scenes of the pageantry of the 1908 anniversary of the founding of Quebec City, disclosing the politics of memory and the theatrics of history.

H.V. Nelles is the L.R. Wilson Professor of Canadian History at McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada, and a Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus, York University.

'Because of the accessible way in which such insights are presented, this book deserves a popular audience as well. It offers an evocative portrait of Canadian society at the turn of the century and detailed but accessible analysis of the attempts by organizers and participants to overcome, even if only for a fleeting moment, the ethnic and political divisions of the period ... The optimism of Lord Grey and others will undoubtedly prove inspiring to some readers and perhaps juvenile and naªve to others. This book, itself, helps to prove something else - that detailed historical monographs written by university professors can be both educational and entertaining.'