As She Began, an illustrated introduction to Loyalist Ontario, provides a general guide to the most crucial period in Ontario’s history, 1775 to 1800, when thousands of refugees from the American Revolution streamed into the land between the lakes, giving Ontario its geographic shape and political destiny.
Concentrating on the personal and social aspect of the loyalist migration, Bruce Wilson looks at the origins, the background, the motives, and the later successes of the men and women who were on the losing side of a civil war and were forced to start life over again in a wilderness.
As She Began is lavishly illustrated with maps and over 50 contemporary sketches and paintings from many different collections.

Well qualified to write on this period, Bruce Wilson received his MA in Canadian History from Carleton Univeresity and his Ph.D. from the University of Toronto.

Since 1974, he has been with the Public Archives of Canada, first in the picture division, and latterly in the manuscript division. He is at present on a three-year posting in London, England, where he is acquiring material for the Public Archives.

Bruce Wilson's profile page

"Bruce Wilson's short and womanlike text is long overdue, and fills a neglected gap in Loyalist history. It is the best summary of the experiences of the Ontario Loyalists ever published."

The Loyalist Gazette