The Massey Murder
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A Globe and Mail Top 100 Book of the Year An Amazon Top 100 Book of the Year Shortlisted for the RBC Taylor Prize Longlisted for the BC National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction A scandalous crime, a sensational trial, a surprise verdict—the true story of Carrie Davies, the maid who shot a Massey In February 1915, a member of one of Canada’s wealthiest families was shot and killed on the front porch of his home in Toronto as he was returning from work. Carrie Davies, an 18-year-old domestic servant, quickly confessed. But who was the victim here? Charles “Bert” Massey, a scion of a famous family, or the frightened, perhaps mentally unstable Carrie, a penniless British immigrant? When the brilliant lawyer Hartley Dewart, QC, took on her case, his grudge against the powerful Masseys would fuel a dramatic trial that pitted the old order against the new, wealth and privilege against virtue and honest hard work. Set against a backdrop of the Great War in Europe and the changing face of a nation, this sensational crime is brought to vivid life for the first time. As in her previous bestselling book, Gold Diggers—which was made into a Discovery Channel miniseries entitled “Klondike”—multi-award-winning historian and biographer Charlotte Gray has created a captivating narrative rich in detail and brimming with larger-than-life personalities, as she shines a light on a central moment in our past.
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Ostensibly it's the story of an 18 year old maid who, at point blank range, fired 2 shots and killed her employer Bert Massey - he of the Masseys (think Massey-Ferguson and Massey Hall) A guilty verdict brings with it a death sentence and for a few short weeks it held the city of Toronto's rapt attention.
But that's just the thread that moves the story forward. It's also the story of Toronto at the turn of the century. We see rival newspapers vying for readers with partisan politics and brash editorial personalities. It's the story of Canada a mere generation after Confederation, looking to shrug off the yoke of British colonialism. It is the start of WWI and Canadian soldier showing their nation's resolve at Pachendale, Vimy and Ypres. With the men off to war women are entering the workforce and we see the beginnings of social reform and the seeds of the suffragette movement. Narrative historical non-fiction generally falls outside my wheelhouse but this proved an engrossing read and a vibrant snapshot of Toronto for a few weeks in the winter of 1915.
