The Notorious Georges: Crime and Community in British Columbia’s Northern Interior, 1909-25

Witness to Yesterday (The Champlain Society Podcast on Canadian History)

In this podcast episode, Nicole O’Byrne talks to Jonathan Swainger about his book “The Notorious Georges: Crime and Community in British Columbia’s Northern Interior, 1909-25”, published by UBC Press in 2023. In The Notorious Georges, Jonathan Swainger explores how the local pursuit of respectability collided with caricatures of a riotously ill-mannered settlement frontier of Prince George, British Columbia, in its early years. Anxious that the Georges were being overlooked by the provincial government and venture capitalists, municipal leaders blamed Indigenous and mixed-heritage people, non-preferred immigrants, and transient laborers for local crime. Swainger combs through police and legal records, government publications, and media commentary to demonstrate that the reputation was not only exaggerated, but also unfair as “respectable” white residents were responsible for the lion’s share of the disorder. This lively account ultimately tells us about more than a particular community’s identity. It also sheds light on small-town disaffection and unease with a diminished place in modern Canada. Readers interested in the history of the Canadian West, and in particular crime, social reform, and community history, will find this a fascinating and accessible exploration of the northern BC interior. Jonathan Swainger has been a professor of history at the University of Northern British Columbia since 1992. After eight years teaching in the Peace River region, he relocated to the main campus in Prince George where he has worked since 2001. His research interests are Canadian legal and crime history, and he is particularly interested in crime in the Peace River region from that took place between 1910 to 1960. Image Credit: UBC Press If you like our work, please consider supporting it: bit.ly/support_WTY. Your support contributes to the Champlain Society’s mission of opening new windows to directly explore and experience Canada’s past.