8 h 53 minAudiobook13 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 8 h 53 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What happens when a remote fur trade post becomes the doorway to a gold rush?
In Some Reminiscences of Old Victoria, Edgar Fawcett returns to the town he knows from personal memory. On the southern tip of Vancouver Island, a Hudson's Bay Company post grows into a settlement shaped by trade. Its harbour, farmland and dealings with First Nations peoples form the starting point for a place in rapid change.
Then the Fraser River gold rush brings thousands of miners and merchants. Victoria becomes their stopping place for supplies and plans before the mainland. Alongside this bustle, Fawcett recalls government and daily life, with James Douglas serving as governor. His purpose is personal: to preserve what he remembers before it slips from living memory.
What you’ll discover
- A town taking shape Follow Victoria from a small trading post toward its role as a province's capital.
- The gold rush arrives Meet a town transformed as miners and merchants gather for the journey to the mainland.
- Government beside daily life Explore a colony where questions of government unfold alongside the business of everyday living.
- Memory rather than theory Find the look and feel of early Victoria through a long-time resident's recollections.
- History beyond official papers Discover how personal memories help fill gaps left by newspapers, maps and official records.
Who will love it
You will love this book if you enjoy local history, pioneer memoirs, gold rush tales, old street maps, naval life, or the warm voice of a man who remembers his town.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Adventure brings a boy toward danger
- A fort shapes the new home
- A reckless act leaves lasting damage
- Street corners keep people's stories alive
- Public records reveal unequal treatment
- Neighbors come running when fire strikes
- Shared performances bring the town together
- Remembering becomes a duty of care
- Many voices preserve a town's texture
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 13 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook and the audiobook open when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
Some Reminiscences of Old Victoria
by Edgar Fawcett · 1912
A boy watches a San Francisco hanging from an awning post, then grows up to chronicle early Victoria.
Medium level5–10 hours to readEnglish
Learn a language with medium classicsSpanishFrenchGermanItalianJapanesePortugueseEnglishHow we measure levels
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then USD 0.14 a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
- Read or listen
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
In short
What would you do if a pistol shot rang out near your errand, and ten thousand people surged toward the jail shouting for justice? Edgar Fawcett, a schoolboy in San Francisco, ran straight toward it.
Some Reminiscences of Old Victoria at a glance
- Reading time
- About 5 h 5 min4 h fast, 6 h 5 min slow
- Length
- 72,600 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1912by Edgar Fawcett
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A boy watches San Francisco take justice into its own hands
Fawcett begins in San Francisco, where his family lands in 1850 after leaving Australia. In Honolulu a planter's wife falls for two-year-old Edgar and asks his mother to give him up. His mother says no, and he jokes that he might have become king of the Hawaiian Islands.
He remembers the city as muddy, courteous and wild. Sent to buy a newspaper for his father, he hears a pistol shot near Washington and Montgomery Streets. The editor James King of William lies wounded, shot by the politician James Casey. Fawcett is swept along in a crowd of ten thousand. The Vigilance Committee soon takes over the city. His mother forbids him to watch the execution. He skips school, climbs an awning post opposite the gallows, and pays with the worst whipping of his life. That night his little sister Amy sneaks in with part of her own supper and her tears.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 13 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1912
- Language
- English
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Fawcett, Edgar. Some Reminiscences of Old Victoria. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/some-reminiscences-of-old-victoria.
Fawcett, E. (2026). Some reminiscences of old Victoria. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/some-reminiscences-of-old-victoria (Original work published 1912)
Fawcett, Edgar. Some Reminiscences of Old Victoria. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/some-reminiscences-of-old-victoria.
@book{fawcett2026some,
author = {Fawcett, Edgar},
title = {Some Reminiscences of Old Victoria},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/some-reminiscences-of-old-victoria},
note = {First published 1912}
}
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about Some Reminiscences of Old Victoria
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is Some Reminiscences of Old Victoria about?
It is a collection of Edgar Fawcett's memories and articles about growing up in San Francisco and Victoria, British Columbia, in the 1850s and 1860s, covering streets, shops, schools, churches, fires, the navy and the pioneers he knew.
Who was Edgar Fawcett?
Fawcett was a pioneer of Victoria who arrived in 1859 as a boy, worked as an upholsterer and then in the customs service, and wrote newspaper reminiscences. He was secretary of the first meeting of the Pioneer Society in 1871.
Is Some Reminiscences of Old Victoria a true story?
Yes, it is a factual memoir. Fawcett wrote from memory and from old newspapers, directories and letters from friends, and he says when he is unsure of a date or detail. He published the book in 1912.
More like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
