The Empress of Victoria

Victioria, B.C., Canada: Pacifica Productions Limited, 1968. First Edition . Hard Back. Very Good/Fair. 5 3/4" x 8 3/4. 356 Pages. Tan boards with gold lettering to spine. Very attractive endpapers with forest, village and boat scene. Author's signature only on the title page. No other marks or stamps and interior text pages are near flawless. Dust jacket is complete but has three closed tears ranging from 3/8 inch to ¾ inches and other edge wear. In a very special way The Empress Hotel is Victoria. The reverse, too, is true; Victoria is The Empress Hotel. The big vine-covered pile of brick and its surrounding gardens seem not to .be a commercial enterprise so much as a civic development. In his colorful history of The Empress, Godfrey Holloway reveals that while people poke fun at the famed hostelry, chuckle over the potted palms, shake their heads at the conservatory, they do so with affection. Truth is they love The Empress. They revel in the heavy, quiet atmosphere of that same conservatory. They are enthralled by the lobby and the dining room with its old fashioned portraits of the wives of Canada's governors- general and they are watching with warm delight, plus a little anxiety, the progress of Operation Teacup, the hotel's current (1968) renovation scheme. This book is designed to tell you something about an emerging Dowager, something of what she has been, something of the city she dominates, and some- thing of what she is about to become. This is the story of a celebrated Grande Dame who, despite the dignity of her years, is still very much 'with it' on today's scene. It is an interesting book, alive with humor, soft with memories, warm with nostalgia. It will delight longtime fans of The Empress of Victoria and no doubt win her many new admirers. Contents in 12 Chapters: 721 Government Street, The Grand Vision, There Is No Such Place As Victoria, The Fiddler, A Princely Affair, The Walker, Once Upon A Time, Behind The Desk, Letter From A Guest, From the Four Corners, Operation Teacup, and The Dowager Means Business.