This previously unknown collection of letters lets us experiencecolonial British Columbia through the eyes of a young British navalofficer who spent three years on Vancouver Island commanding a RoyalNavy gunboat during the Cariboo gold rush.

A keen observer of life in the new world, Edmund Hope Verneycorresponded on a regular basis with his father, a prominent BritishMP. In his letters, which are filled with lively narration anddescription, candid commentary, and fascinating personal detail, hetalks about having ‘the opportunity to observe a colony in [itsfirst] stage of existence’ and to ‘watch the development of acommunity.