Hobnobbing with a countess and other Okanagan adventures

"At the turn of the nineteenth century, the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia's interior was still a relatively new destination for white settlers. The discovery of gold and the promise of a successful farming life led many people to the region in the mid-1800s. By 1891, settlements were becoming towns that attracted migrants from across the country. One such migrant was a young woman by the name of Alice Barrett, who, at the age of twenty-nine, left her native Port Dover, Ontario, to seek a western adventure.". "For nearly a decade, Alice recorded the day-to-day activities and adventures of her new life in both the Spallumcheen Valley and Vernon in thirty-one notebooks. One such adventure saw her hobnob with the Countess of Aberdeen, an imposing socialite whose outspoken feminism frequently challenged those around her. Through her diaries, Alice conducts her own witty and lucid debate about her society's opinions on religion, trade, politics, race, and women's rights. The result is an expansive yet personal narrative of pioneer life in British Columbia." "Jo Fraser Jones has arranged her excerpts from Alice's diaries both chronologically and thematically, and her comprehensive commentary makes Hobnobbing with a Countess a significant contribution to the historical record of British Columbia. This book will be of interest to regional historians, pioneer history buffs, and those with a more general interest in Canadian women's history."--BOOK JACKET.