{"product_id":"9781459702417","title":"Raw Life: Cameos of 1890s Justice from a Magistrate's Bench Book","description":"\u003cp\u003eJustices of the peace, constables, and game wardens from the late 19th century are brought to vivid life interacting with a variety of accused citizens. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRare views of human lives in turmoil are revealed in several hundred trials conducted in 1890s Muskoka by Magistrate James Boyer of Bracebridge. The charges and evidence show how raw life really was in Canada’s frontier towns, with cases ranging from nostalgic and humorous to pitiable and deeply disturbing. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e While dispensing speedy justice, Boyer, who was also town clerk and editor of the \u003ci\u003eNorthern Advocate\u003c\/i\u003e, the first newspaper in Ontario’s northern districts, kept a careful record in his handwritten \"bench book\" of all these cases. That bench book, recently found by his great-grandson, lawyer J. Patrick Boyer, provides the raw material for \u003ci\u003eRaw Life\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e This first-time publication of the these cases demonstrates how, in Canadian society, some things haven’t changed much over the years – from early road rage to the plight of abused women, from environmental contamination to punitive treatment of the poor.\u003c\/p\u003e ","brand":"Dundurn Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47155202031856,"sku":"9781459702417","price":10.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781459702417_p0.jpg?v=1763877694","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781459702417","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}