In 1899, at age 27, Emily Carr travelled to London to attend art school. She spent almost five years in England, and in this time her life completely changed. She returned to Canada in 1904 a mature woman, eyes widened from living abroad, chastened because of ill health and technically proficient as an artist.

Historian Kathryn Bridge takes a fresh look at Emily Carr's time in England. She reveals new evidence that fills in many of the gaps in our knowledge of this important phase of Carr's life, and she documents important connections with people that the artist maintained throughout her life. She illustrates her findings with historical photographs and Carr's own sketches, paintings and "funny books," some never published before. Altogether, this book gives readers an entertaining second look into a pivotal time in the life of one of Canada's most famous artists.

Three of Emily Carr's funny books are included in this volume:

A London Student Sojourn, in which Carr makes fun of life in Mrs Dodd's Guest House, where she stayed while attending the Westminster School of Art.

Kendal & I, recalling the day she and her friend Hannah Kendall attempted in vain to watch the funeral procession of Queen Victoria.

The Olsson Student, a comical look at a painting excursion into the woods during her art-school days in St Ives, Cornwall.

Kathryn Bridge, PhD, is an archivist and historian who has curated exhibitions and written about Emily Carr for several decades. Her research is focused on the body of Carr's art and writings held in the BC Archives collections. Exhibitions include Emily Carr: Artist, Author, Eccentric Genius (2001) and The Other Emily (2010) at the Royal BC Museum, Victoria; and Intimate Glimpses: The Early Life of Emily Carr (2011) at the Wing Sang Gallery, Vancouver. Writings include the introduction to Carr's Klee Wyck (2004) and the forewords to Wildflowers by Emily Carr (2003) and Sister and I: From Victoria to London, an illustrated manuscript journal by Carr published in 2011. Bridge's Emily Carr in England is to be published by the Royal BC Museum in 2014.

Kathryn Bridge's profile page

"Fills in the gaps in Carr's beloved stories and provides complete facsimile versions of Carr's “funny books.". . . Bridge sets the stories in a richly detailed context." — Robert Amos, Times Colonist