Mary J. Anderson

Two accounts in one: the first is the "tragedy": the sacrifice, as the author calls it, of Ruby B. McQuesten who worked as a teacher to support her family until she was too ill with tuberculosis and eventually succumbed to the disease. The letters to and from Ruby and her family are strung together by the author's narrative which includes conjecture and opinions based on her knowledge of the family and the culture of the day (late 19th, early 20th century).
The second account is the "triumph": the accomplishments of Ruby's brother Thomas who was the Minister of Highways in Ontario, (among other appointments) and was responsible for landmarks such as Royal Botanical Gardens, the QEW, Rainbow Bridge, etc. The author's thesis is that Thomas could not have accomplished these feats if Ruby had not worked herself so hard to support him during his schooling to become a lawyer.

For its Ontario history, the book contributes interesting information. As a book, however, it is lacking cohesion, consistency, and fluidity. There is much repetition, as though the author wrote chapters for separate publications and has now pieced them together. Too much of the letters are reprinted, making that section of the book a bit tedious. The book presents itself as a narrative, but it lacks overall flow. Even through the Thomas McQuesten section, the chapters are divided by monuments more than chronology. A few chapters are biographies on other historical figures who are connected to McQuesten than about him specifically. The author's inconsistency in how she refers to McQuesten (sometimes Tom, sometimes Thomas, sometimes McQuesten) is haphazard and distracting.

Not worth reading unless you need to know the history.… (meer)