Henry & Self

An intimate portrait of privilege and struggle, scandal and accolade, from the Old World to the new colonies of Vancouver’s Island and British Columbia.At the age of 33, Sarah Crease left her home in England to travel with her young family to a farflung outpost of the British Empire on the Pacific coast of North America. The detailed journals, letters and artwork she created over the next half century as she and her husband, Henry, established themselves in the New World offer a rich window into the private life and views of an English colonist in British Columbia.This is a woman’s story in her own words. It is also a story of the times she lived in, and of how her class, social standing and role as a settler shaped her relationships with the world around her. Henry & Self is the personal account of a remarkable woman who lived through nearly a century of colonial history, but it is also a unique perspective on the beliefs and motivations that shaped that century.

Kathryn Bridge is an archivist and historian who lives in Victoria, BC. She has written several books about pioneers in British Columbia, including By Snowshoe, Buckboard and Steamer (winner of the 1998 Lieutenant-Governor's Medal for Historical Writing)and Phyllis Munday: Mountaineer (a finalist at the Banff Mountain Book Festival and a runner-up for the Van City Book Prize). Over the years she and her family have explored, camped and boated in many of the coastal areas of Vancouver Island.