The first issue of this year's Canadian Historical Review opens with an intriguing essay by Keith Walden of Trent University, ostensibly viewing turn-of-the-century tea parties in Toronto through the lens of Ian McKay's popular liberal order framework. Tea parties, Walden argues, were among the many sites at which the liberal individual was produced, urban spaces were reconfigured in the service of that individual. I liked the article and I liked the premise -- which is partially why I was ultimately left a little unsatisfied.
Perhaps the greatest strength of this article is its careful exploration of the English-Canadian urban tea party. These events were no mere leisurely activities, Walden shows: they were extremely stressful labours, for the guests but especially for the hosts. Who to invite -- and in what order? What musicians should come -- and where should they be positioned? What sort of food and drink should be prepared, and how should it be served? Who should be greeted, and who ignored? What time should the party be held at? Who should receive invitations -- and what stock of paper should be used? Should men be invited? Society columns proliferated in the newspapers, offering answers to all of these questions and more.
