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    The Massey Murder: A Maid, Her Master and the Trial that Shocked a Country
    Unavailable
    The Massey Murder: A Maid, Her Master and the Trial that Shocked a Country
    Unavailable
    The Massey Murder: A Maid, Her Master and the Trial that Shocked a Country
    Ebook322 pages4 hours

    The Massey Murder: A Maid, Her Master and the Trial that Shocked a Country

    By Charlotte Gray

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    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.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateSep 17, 2013
    ISBN9781443409254
    Unavailable
    The Massey Murder: A Maid, Her Master and the Trial that Shocked a Country
    Author

    Charlotte Gray

    CHARLOTTE GRAY is one of Canada’s best-known writers and the author of ten acclaimed books of literary non-fiction. Her most recent bestseller is The Promise of Canada—150 Years: People and Ideas That Have Shaped Our Country. Her bestseller The Massey Murder: A Maid, Her Master, and the Trial That Shocked a Country won the Toronto Book Award, the Heritage Toronto Book Award, the Canadian Authors Association Lela Common Award for Canadian History and the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Nonfiction Crime Book. It was shortlisted for the RBC Taylor Prize, the Ottawa Book Award for Non-Fiction and the Evergreen Award, and longlisted for the BC National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction. An adaptation of her bestseller Gold Diggers: Striking It Rich in the Klondike was broadcast as a television miniseries. An adjunct research professor in the department of history at Carleton University, Charlotte Gray is the recipient of the Pierre Berton Award for distinguished achievement in popularizing Canadian history. She is a Member of the Order of Canada and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

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    Reviews for The Massey Murder

    4/5

    54 ratings9 reviews

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    • 4/5
      This is the story of Carrie Davies, a housemaid in the Massey household, who shoots her employer to death in February 1915. She is an 18 year recent immigrant from England who send money home to her mother to support her family. We discover the details of the motive during the trial and it is quite fascinating to understand why Carrie felt she had to protect her virtue from Mr. Bert Massey, who made improper advances. Ms Gray provides really interesting background information about the social and economic conditions of Toronto at the time , including the illustrious Massey family. The newspaper wars of the time are highlighted as are the lives and performances of the various members of the legal,profession. Intertwined with the Toronto story are the battles young Canadian men are undertaking on the battlefields of Europe. Well done and very good read.
    • 3/5
      A well padded murder trial story. Full of contextual social history but less thorough on the actual "Massey Murder".
    • 5/5
      I expected to enjoy this book because I truly admire Charlotte Gray's writings and I was not disappointed. This is the true story of the murder of a prominent Torontonian (Bert Massey) by his 18 year old servant , Carrie Davies. Ms. Gray has told the story of the murder in the context of its time, with World War One underway, women fighting for the vote and the social mores of the time. Entirely engrossing, I was fascinated at how the legal system worked at the time. It seems Carrie had little (i.e., none) input into her defense, journalists and lawyers worked together and the jury was able to vote with their emotions and not just with regard to the actual law. Well worth reading for a sense of Canadian history, women's issues and a true-crime page-turner.
    • 4/5
      In February of 1915 Charles (Bert) Massey was returning home after work only to be surprised by Carrie Davies standing in his doorway. Carrie was the Massey’s 18-year-old housemaid and she was holding a gun. She fired the gun into Bert Massey three times and succeeding in killing the son of one of Toronto’s richest ruling elite. She confessed to police, was removed from the residence and spent time in the “Don Jail” awaiting her trial.

      Seems rather cut and dried? Add to that the fact that not much is left in the way of records or transcripts other than newspaper articles and the occasional diary entry and it seems that Ms. Gray may have chosen a difficult murder trial to write about. I grant you this book may be a bit misrepresented by the title. Yes, it is about the Massey murder but that story is only the stepping-stone into this book and the thread the ties together the important people in the book; the Toronto elite; the movers and shakers; the disturbers of the calm and of course, the immigrants and the poor. When WWI is factored in as well as the perspective from the several newspapers operating at the time Ms. Gray gives us an accurate representation of Canada’s largest city in the early 1900’s.

      This book was chosen as Waterloo Region’s “One Book – One Community” book for 2014. A committee made up of the booksellers, librarians, booklovers and the public, chooses one book each year from a long list of 75 entries. The book must be written by a living Canadian author with a known body of work, it must appeal to the broadest possible audience and needs to encourage the exchange of ideas, including community building and program potential. Ideally it must have some element of the “WOW” factor and must be in print and available in paperback to make it affordable and accessible for all. The aim of the program is to have as many people as possible discussing the same book … to build a community of readers.

      I try to read the “One Book – One Community” selection every year and I enjoyed this year’s book very much. There have been quite a few negative reviews written, based on the title, but I felt the book delivered so much more than just a retelling of a long ago murder. I lived in Toronto for several years and have walked on the streets mentioned in the book, have visited some of the locations and have even dined in what was once the Massey Mansion (now know as The Keg Mansion, Restaurant and Steak Houseä). I concede that this may have made it a little more interesting for me personally, yet I would still recommend it as an excellent read and I applaud the committee on their choice.
    • 5/5
      good story of ww1 Canada.
    • 4/5
      The Good Stuff The amount of research put into this is truly mind boggling My father used to talk about this case to me when I was growing up. For such a kind hearted, giving man, he had a true fascination with true crime stories which always made me laugh. I know murder isn't funny, but it always seemed funny that he loved hearing about these cases. Miss you Dad Enjoyed reading about places I knew and had been too. Guess I should put this in the not so good, because it kinda made me home sick Made history come alive - this is the kinda book that will make kids interested in history. Canadian history isn't boring guys, just most history teachers make it feel that way (Except for you Mr Shore -- you taught it the way it should be taught) Didn't feel like Non-fiction - felt at times like I was reading a fast paced thriller Thoroughly disgusted on how women were treated during this era - hard for someone like me to understand how lucky we have it today - not perfect I know, but still so much better Did I mention how truly fascinating this piece of non fiction is. Couldn't put the damn thing down and that is truly unusual, as I am more a fiction girl. Mentions my home town of Richmond Hill - I know that is a terribly geeky observation - but hey, did I mention I am homesick Blown away about how little input Carrie had in her own defense Truly disgusted about the atrocious treatment Carrie received in order to prove that she was a virgin In depth sources section at the end of the book A must read for those interested in Toronto historyThe Not So Good Stuff Felt a little drawn out at times, but I guess with only so much background about the actual murder, it had to be doneFavorite Quotes"But the city's social elite was an exclusive club. Toronto's Fine Old Ontario Families ("FOOFs" as they had come to be called) resented the mercantile class. "I do not care for Toronto as I used to," Colonel George Denison, who typified the old guard, told a friend in 1911. "Parvenus are as plentiful as blackberries, and the vulgar ostentation of the common rich is not a pleasant sight.""Gossip was easier to absorb than the welter of confusing stories out of distant countries on the far side of the Atlantic. The only sources of information about the war, not in its seventh month, were newspaper reports and the rumours they triggered: there was no radio, let alone any of the information technology we take granted for today.""When Martin first applied to Osgoode, an outraged and deeply conservative bencher harrumphed that her admission would prove "disastrous to the best interests of women," and that anyway, no self-respecting woman of fashion would want to wear the official robes of a litigator."4 Dewey'sI received a copy from HarperCollins at the Indigo Insider event, I am not required in any way to write a review for it - I just like to tell people what I think
    • 4/5
      This is a story about a murder and trial that occurred here in Toronto in 1915. An 18-year-old British maid shot and killed her employer, because he had been sexually harassing her (though that language wasn't yet coined back then). Bert Massey was from a famous and wealthy Canadian family, and this should have and could have been an easy open-and-shut case. But it wasn't. It was a highly sensational trial and there were many sub-plots behind it. But almost as soon as it was over, Carrie Davies was quickly forgotten and faded into obscurity as the war took over the headlines. I thought it was very poignant that when a Toronto Star journalist, Frank Jones (I recognized his name!) went looking to speak to Carrie's daughter, in the 1980s, decades after Carrie's death, he was astounded to discover that she knew nothing of her mother's past. Carrie had never told her family about it. In the preface, author Charlotte Gray wrote, referencing her previous books:"I was able to understand my subjects from the inside, because he or she had left personal papers in which I could read what they thought and hear their voice. Yet after finishing each one of these books, I found myself wondering about forgotten lives, the long-dead individuals who left no record behind them. What happens to anonymous, powerless individuals who are swept up by events and currents completely beyond their control?"Gray also listed the sources she used to reconstruct this story since Carrie herself left nothing, no letters, journals or diaries.
    • 4/5
      On February 8, 1915 the maid Carrie Davies shot Charles "Bert" Massey as he returned from work in view of at least one witness. By February 27, 1915 her trial was complete. This book gives the known details of events, the statements of Carrie and other witnesses, but is at least as much about Canada and Toronto and the changes society was experiencing. And early Canadian involvement in The Great War. For a U.S. citizen it is interesting to be forced to filter a different sort of continental nationalism, and view the lives of individuals who mattered to their community in 1915 and beyond.There seemed to be a lot of questions that could have been asked of which there is no record. That's not strange when the case was over 100 years ago and there seemed to be no doubt about what happened, just why. Most of Toronto seemed satisfied with the why presented at the trial and almost no one saw any real advantage in making a bigger scandal out of what happened.
    • 4/5
      This book is part true crime and part Canadian history. The author reports a famous murder case in Toronto in 1915, of socialite Charles Massey by his maid Carrie Davies, and inserts it into a snapshot of what was happening in Canada and especially in Toronto at that time. The eventual outcome of Carrie Davies trial was very interesting but I found the historical aspect of the book fascinating. It broadly covers Canada's contribution to the war but really focuses on the growth of Toronto as a powerful, economic force in the country. It talks about the development of architecture, the socio-economic situation in the city, business, immigration and women's rights of the time. It was a really interesting history lesson woven into the story of a murder trial.