Negotiating identities in 19th and 20th century Montreal

"This book illuminates the cultural complexity and richness of a modernizing city and its people. The chapters focus on sites where identities were forged and contested over crucial decades in Montreal's history. Readers will discover the links between identity, place, and historical moment as they meet vagrant women, sailors in port, unemployed men of the Great Depression, elite families, shopkeepers, reformers, notaries, and social workers, among others. This is a study that explores the intersections of state, people, and the voluntary sector to elucidate the processes that took people between homes and cemeteries, between families and shops, and onto the streets."--Jacket.