Canadian History

Season 2, Episode 1 – Oscar Wilde

/ E.C. Marcon / Leave a comment

Hey, team. In the words of Alyssa Edwards, I’m backbackbackbackback again and Season Two of Church & Carlton is finally happening.

We’re kicking things off with a little known facet of Oscar Wilde’s famous visit to Toronto in the spring of 1882. Wilde was quite taken with the city, but his favourite part of the visit might surprise you.

He also developed a bit of a crush on this guy, who all of my research suggests was tragically heterosexual:

100% Victorian Beefcake

Ross McKenzie as he looked in 1894, 12 years after he set hearts aflutter with his heroics on the lacrosse field.

Special thanks to The ArQuives on Isabella Street for letting me poke around in their Oscar Wilde collection.

If you’d like to donate to Church & Carlton, you can become a Patreon subscriber or make a one-time donation here.

Church & Carlton – S1, E1 – Christie Pits

/ E.C. Marcon / Leave a comment

fonds 1266, Globe and Mail fonds

Well, folks, I did it. It’s not exactly Serial but I have here for your enjoyment the very first episode of the Church & Carlton podcast. In light of recent events, I think it’s especially prescient.

If people want to hear more, I’m aiming to release new episodes every other Tuesday. After I put a few of these out there, I’ll put up a Patreon to tide me over until I can get that sweet, sweet Squarespace money. In the meantime, you can get updates on Facebook here.

Tonight’s episode features an infamous baseball game that would change Toronto forever and calls into question some of the stories we like to tell ourselves about our city.

Enjoy.

– E.C.