Toronto Between the Wars: Life in the City 1919-1939 by Charis Cotter

square 8vo. pp. 223. profusely illustrated in black & white. index. wrs. [Richmond Hill, Ont.]: Firefly Books, [2004].

First Edition, first printing.

New.

ISBN-10: 1552978990 / ISBN-13: 9781552978993

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In the two decades between the First and the Second World wars, Toronto was finding its place in the swiftly changing world of the twentieth century. In the 1920s the city was expanding, the automobile replaced the horse, and radio, movies and mass advertising began to have a huge impact on everyday life. Then the Depression hit in 1929, and ordinary people struggled to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table. As the thirties progressed, the threat of another devastating war in Europe grew stronger.

Toronto Between the Wars offers a tantalizing view into life in the city during two decades: women working in the accounting department at Loblaws, a crowd cheering at Woodbine Race Track; swimmers at the new Sunnyside pool; Lady Eaton opening the new College Street Eaton's store; banners welcoming the King and Queen in 1939; and the unemployed sleeping in a bandshell at Queen's Park.