2022-2023 Teaching Schedule

2022-2023 (in person and online courses)

Fall 2022

Tuesdays (in class) Women in Power (University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies)

Wednesdays (online) Marie Antoinette and the French Revolution (University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies)

Fridays (online) Modern Monarchies: Connections and Continuity (Glendon College, Living and Learning in Retirement)

Winter 2023

Tuesdays (in class) Magna Carta and the Making of the Modern World (University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies)

Thursdays (online) Imperial Spain (University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies)

New Canadian Encyclopedia Article: Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee – 2002

One of my new articles in the Canadian Encyclopedia looks back to Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee 20 years ago including the tour of Canada by the Queen and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh in October, 2002.

Click here to read Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee – 2002 in the Canadian Encyclopedia

New Canadian Encyclopedia Article: Grand Duchess Olga

My latest article in the Historica Canada Canadian Encyclopedia is about Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna (1882-1960), watercolour artist, farmer and sister of the last Czar of Russia, Nicholas II. Grand Duchess Olga and her family fled to Denmark following the Russian Revolutions of 1917 and then to Canada after the Second World War. Hundreds of thousands of Russians immigrated to Canada in the first half of the 20th century. They included industrial and agricultural workers and members of the former Russian aristocracy.

Click here to read my article about Grand Duchess Olga in the Canadian Encyclopedia

My Article in Reader’s Digest Canada: Queen Elizabeth’s Incredible Life in 30 Quotes

In honour of the Queen’s 95th birthday, my latest article in Reader’s Digest Canada presents the life and reign of Queen Elizabeth II in 30 quotes from informal conversations to official speeches.

Click here to read Queen Elizabeth’s Incredible Life in 30 Quotes at Reader’s Digest Canada

I also discussed Queen Elizabeth II’s 95th birthday and the history of royal train tours of Canada with Janet Davison at CBC News

Click here to read The Queen turns 95: In mourning but unwavering in her role at CBC News

I discussed the Queen’s 95th birthday and Royal Train Tours of Canada with Breakfast Television Toronto on City TV. Click here to watch the interview!

New BBC History Magazine Article: From balls to Bridgerton: a brief history of debutantes and the social season

My new feature article in History Extra, the online BBC History Magazine is about the history of debutantes and social season from the first Queen Charlotte’s Ball in 1780 to the last presentation of debutantes to the royal family in 1958. In addition to the fashions, parties and traditions of the social season in the United Kingdom, I also discuss debutante traditions in Canada, the United States and Australia.

Click here to read “From balls to Bridgerton: a brief history of debutantes and the social season” at History Extra

New Canadian Encyclopedia Article: Martha Black

My new article in the Historica Canada Canadian Encyclopedia is about Martha Black.

Martha Louise Black, naturalist, politician (born 24 February 1866 in Chicago, Illinois, USA; died 1 November 1957 in Whitehorse, Yukon). Martha Black joined the Klondike Gold Rush in 1898, hiking over the Chilkoot Pass. She became a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society for her research and lectures on Yukon flora. From 1935 to 1940, Black represented the Yukon in Parliament. She was the second woman elected to the Canadian House of Commons.

Click here to read my article about Martha Black in the Canadian Encyclopedia

New Canadian Encyclopedia Article: Sylvia Stark

My new article in the Canadian Encyclopedia is about Sylvia Stark (1839-1944), a notable pioneer in the history of British Columbia. Born into enslavement, Sylvia Stark was one of more than 600 Black Americans who emigrated to British Columbia in 1858 at the invitation of Governor James Douglas. She was one of the original settlers on Salt Spring Island.

Click here to read my article about Sylvia Stark in the Canadian Encyclopedia

New Canadian Encyclopedia Article: Feo Monck

My latest article in the Historica Canada Canadian Encyclopedia is about the author and viceregal hostess Feo Monck.

Feo Monck’s brother-in-law was governor general Viscount Monck, and her husband, Richard Monck, was military secretary to the governor general from 1864 to 1869. When Lady Monck was absent, she acted as the hostess for viceregal social occasions, including the ball held during the Quebec Conference of 1864. She recorded her experiences in the book, My Canadian Leaves: An Account of a Visit to Canada in 1864–1865.

Click here to my read my article about Feo Monck in the Canadian Encyclopedia

New Canadian Encyclopedia Article: Anna Leonowens

My new article in the Historica Canadian Canadian Encyclopedia is about Anna Leonowens, an educator, author and lecturer who became famous as the British governess to the wives and children of King Mongkut (Rama IV) of Siam (now Thailand) in the 1860s. After leaving Siam, she emigrated to Canada, where she advocated for women’s suffrage, taught at McGill University and helped found what is now the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. She was the inspiration for Margaret Landon’s historical novel, Anna and the King of Siam (1944), and the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I (1951).

Click here to read my article about Anna Leonowens in the Canadian Encyclopedia

New Canadian Encyclopedia Article: Catherine Schubert

My latest article in the Historica Canada Canadian Encyclopedia is about Catherine Schubert. One of the Overlanders of 1862, Catherine Schubert was the first European woman to travel overland from Fort Garry (now Winnipeg, Manitoba) to Kamloops, British Columbia.

A memorial unveiled on 1 July 1926 in Armstrong, British Columbia is inscribed with the words, “In honour of Catherine Schubert who in company with her husband and three small children was a member of the hazardous overland expedition of 1862 across the Canadian Rockies from Fort Garry to Kamloops. A Brave and Notable Pioneer.”

Click here to read my article about Catherine Schubert in the Canadian Encyclopedia