Ratz" Francis Mawson Rattenbury was only twenty-five years old when he was commissioned to design the new Parliament Buildings for British Columbia, and soon became the most sought after architect in the province. He designed almost every important building of his time in British Columbia, including the Empress Hotel; British Columbia's Government House; court-houses in Vancouver, Nanaimo and Nelson; and Victoria's Crystal Gardens. Rattenbury courted the press his entire career; he thrived on publicity and notoriety, yet in 1930, he left British Columbia and settled into unhappy obscurity in England after a scandalous affair and subsequent marriage to a much younger woman. In 1935, Rattenbury was murdered by his second wife's lover the chauffeur. Released in time to celebrate the centennial of the British Columbia Parliament Buildings, this revised edition examines previously unknown details about Rattenbury's involvement with the Empress Hotel. Terry Reksten also discloses the aftermath of the infamous Rattenbury murder trial, including what happened to the architect's children and George Stoner, the chauffeur convicted of his murder.

Rattenbury

Terry Reksten

Sono Nis Press

Over twenty-five years ago, when the late Terry Reksten wrote More English than the English, her intent was to write for those who might not usually find pleasure in reading about the past. The result is an entertaining account of British immigrants trying to create a society based on nostalgic notions of their homeland. This completely redesigned, updated, and expanded edition brings this fascinating social history of Victoria's early days back into print. Writer and historian Rosemary Neering has added new photos and updated the list of sixty-one historical sites. As in the original edition, More English than the English includes maps and a comprehensive cross-referenced list of sites for readers strolling the streets and pathways of the city, searching for evidence of the past both at surviving physical locations and in the stories that unfolded there. Terry Reksten, Victoria's favourite historian, chronicles the feats and foibles of the men and women, many of them British immigrants, who created a special kind of society and a new city beside the Pacific. With insight and humour, Reksten opens a window on the way things used to be in a place at the far end of the Empire. Deliberately selective and anecdotal, this is a delightful collection of stories and sagas of the people who fashioned a fort, a town, and finally, a city on the rocks and meadows of southern Vancouver Island. By focusing on the stories behind the acts and dates that are the mainstay of more formal history, Reksten strove to create a social history that portrayed the spirit of the times from the mid-nineteenth century into the 1930s.

More English Than then English

History

Historical Study & Educational Resources

The Dunsmuir Saga brings to life three generations of the legendary Dunsmuir family of Vancouver Island. 
Robert Dunsmuir -- canny, acquisitive and imaginative -- became the richest man in British Columbia; his sons struggled to consolidate the family fortune; his grandchildren spent it. Award-winning author Terry Reksten brings the members of the Dunsmuir family and their colourful saga to life with her lively writing, vivid anecdotes and careful research. A selection of 50 historical photographs depicts the Dunsmuirs and their grand style of life.

The Dunsmuir Saga

Douglas and McIntyre

The illustrated history of British Columbia

Douglas&McIntyre

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Books by Terry Reksten