The Diary of Sophia MacNab Written at Dundurn Castle, Hamilton, 1846, Age 13
by Sophia Mary Macnab | Biographies & Memoirs | This book has not been rated.
ISBN: 0919874002 Global Overview for this book
ISBN: 0919874002 Global Overview for this book
Registered by JessicaEby of Cambridge, Ontario Canada on 2/11/2017
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
1 journaler for this copy...
This morning I went shopping for some Canadian literature at a charity shop here in Cambridge, ON, and this was one of the books I brought home. Its purchase benefitted a local youth residence which focuses on preventing homelessness and teaching employment skills.
I saw this book lying strangely on a shelf (not put back properly) in such a way that what I saw of it first was "Written at Dundurn Castle, Hamilton, 1846, Age 13." Being the wife of a Hamilton boy, the Dundurn Castle thing stood out to me, so I picked the book up to check it out. I tend to like diaries and dairy-style book formats, and I remember visiting Dundurn Castle as a little girl, so this book seems interesting to me. I am looking forward to reading it. Also, I like finding interesting stuff in used books that I buy; they give hints about the book's "life" before it came into my hands. This one had something pretty cool in it-- a ribbon that says "Welcome Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall to Dundurn Castle, Hamilton. November 5th 2009." I did a bit of googling and it seems these ribbons were given to the first 2,000 guests on the day of the Royal visit.
This year, in celebration of Canada's sesquicentennial, I am dedicating my bookcrossing activity to the reading and sharing of Canadian stories. While this diary actually pre-dates Confederation by 21 years, it's about life here as it once was... at least for one girl... so I've decided to include it in my Canada 150 celebration project.
I don't know when/where this book will be released yet... perhaps I will have to take my formerly-Hamiltonian husband on a visit to the castle (he's never been there!), or perhaps we'll find some other cool place for it. We'll see!
Note: This seems to be the first copy of this book registered on Bookcrossing. I always find it kind of cool when that happens!
I saw this book lying strangely on a shelf (not put back properly) in such a way that what I saw of it first was "Written at Dundurn Castle, Hamilton, 1846, Age 13." Being the wife of a Hamilton boy, the Dundurn Castle thing stood out to me, so I picked the book up to check it out. I tend to like diaries and dairy-style book formats, and I remember visiting Dundurn Castle as a little girl, so this book seems interesting to me. I am looking forward to reading it. Also, I like finding interesting stuff in used books that I buy; they give hints about the book's "life" before it came into my hands. This one had something pretty cool in it-- a ribbon that says "Welcome Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall to Dundurn Castle, Hamilton. November 5th 2009." I did a bit of googling and it seems these ribbons were given to the first 2,000 guests on the day of the Royal visit.
This year, in celebration of Canada's sesquicentennial, I am dedicating my bookcrossing activity to the reading and sharing of Canadian stories. While this diary actually pre-dates Confederation by 21 years, it's about life here as it once was... at least for one girl... so I've decided to include it in my Canada 150 celebration project.
I don't know when/where this book will be released yet... perhaps I will have to take my formerly-Hamiltonian husband on a visit to the castle (he's never been there!), or perhaps we'll find some other cool place for it. We'll see!
Note: This seems to be the first copy of this book registered on Bookcrossing. I always find it kind of cool when that happens!
It took me literally years to get around to reading this, but I've done so now!
This is a short diary, spanning only a few months. Because of the writing style (it's left largely as Sophia wrote it) it felt a bit laborious to me sometimes, but it wasn't too bad. It was an interesting snapshot of the life of a political/society family in early Canada.
There are a lot of extras at the end that tell a little more about Sophia's life as a grown up and about the family she built with her husband, which I thought was a nice inclusion.
I'm not sure just what I'm going to do with this book now as my previous suggestion of visiting Dundurn Castle is not something likely to happen soon (I don't think it's even open in the current stage of the pandemic, and even if it is open that's not something Husband or I would be comfortable doing right now). I might hang on to it for a while, give it to someone else, or find a different place to leave it (maybe somewhere outside along the Heights, or at another location that carries the MacNab family name-- I don't think there's a shortage of those in Hamilton!).
Note: After reading this, I think the ribbon I found in it originally is extra cool. I think it's really neat that the Prince of Wales and, especially, the Duchess of Cornwall had the opportunity to visit Dundurn Castle, because turns out that she is a direct descendant of Hamilton's own Sophia MacNab! How neat to think that Sophia's great-great- great-granddaughter will someday be our queen (as she will be presumably be the wife of our King, I mean, whether she is actually titled as a queen or not)!
This is a short diary, spanning only a few months. Because of the writing style (it's left largely as Sophia wrote it) it felt a bit laborious to me sometimes, but it wasn't too bad. It was an interesting snapshot of the life of a political/society family in early Canada.
There are a lot of extras at the end that tell a little more about Sophia's life as a grown up and about the family she built with her husband, which I thought was a nice inclusion.
I'm not sure just what I'm going to do with this book now as my previous suggestion of visiting Dundurn Castle is not something likely to happen soon (I don't think it's even open in the current stage of the pandemic, and even if it is open that's not something Husband or I would be comfortable doing right now). I might hang on to it for a while, give it to someone else, or find a different place to leave it (maybe somewhere outside along the Heights, or at another location that carries the MacNab family name-- I don't think there's a shortage of those in Hamilton!).
Note: After reading this, I think the ribbon I found in it originally is extra cool. I think it's really neat that the Prince of Wales and, especially, the Duchess of Cornwall had the opportunity to visit Dundurn Castle, because turns out that she is a direct descendant of Hamilton's own Sophia MacNab! How neat to think that Sophia's great-great- great-granddaughter will someday be our queen (as she will be presumably be the wife of our King, I mean, whether she is actually titled as a queen or not)!
Since Sophia's great-great-granddaughter was crowned Queen of Canada (and the UK and a bunch of other places!) today, it seemed a fitting day to share this story. I left it in the Little Library at Sophia Park in Kitchener.
If you've found this book, thanks for picking it up and checking out its journal! If you're new to bookcrossing, welcome. We'd love it if you'd stick around with us a while. I really hope that you enjoy both this book and the whole bookcrossing experience!
This book was released as part of the May 2023 Royalty Release Challenge and today's Secret Sunset Mission in honour of Coronation Day.
If you've found this book, thanks for picking it up and checking out its journal! If you're new to bookcrossing, welcome. We'd love it if you'd stick around with us a while. I really hope that you enjoy both this book and the whole bookcrossing experience!
This book was released as part of the May 2023 Royalty Release Challenge and today's Secret Sunset Mission in honour of Coronation Day.
