Justices of the peace, constables, and game wardens from the late 19th century are brought to vivid life interacting with a variety of accused citizens.

Rare views of human lives in turmoil are revealed in several hundred trials conducted in 1890s Muskoka by Magistrate James Boyer of Bracebridge. The charges and evidence show how raw life really was in Canada’s frontier towns, with cases ranging from nostalgic and humorous to pitiable and deeply disturbing.
While dispensing speedy justice, Boyer, who was also town clerk and editor of the Northern Advocate, the first newspaper in Ontario’s northern districts, kept a careful record in his handwritten "bench book" of all these cases. That bench book, recently found by his great-grandson, lawyer J. Patrick Boyer, provides the raw material for Raw Life.
This first-time publication of the these cases demonstrates how, in Canadian society, some things haven’t changed much over the years – from early road rage to the plight of abused women, from environmental contamination to punitive treatment of the poor.

PATRICK BOYER grew up using the Bracebridge Carnegie Library. His mother had once been the librarian and his grandfather chairman of the library board. Patrick has an MA in history from the University of Toronto and is author of some 18 books. Patrick Boyer, lawyer, author, teacher and former parliamentarian, is himself author of many books, including Just Trust Us (2003), Leading in an Upside-Down World (2003), Direct Democracy in Canada (1992), and The People's Mandate (1992).

J. Patrick Boyer's profile page

One of Canada’s top criminal defence lawyers, Edward L. Greenspan has been practicing law in Toronto since 1970. He received his Queen’s Counsel in 1982.

Edward L. Greenspan's profile page

The Honourable Roy McMurtry, O.C., O.Ont., Q.C., practiced as a litigator in both the civil and criminal courts before being elected to the Ontario legislature in 1975. He served as the province’s Attorney General for a decade before becoming the Canadian High Commissioner in the United Kingdom. He later served as the chief justice of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and then as chief justice of Ontario from 1996 to 2007.

Roy McMurtry's profile page

... troubling but sometimes heartwarming.

R. Roy Murtry, Q.C., Former Chief Justice of Ontario

Boyer's skills as a writer and careful historian are on full display here.

Edward L. Greenspan, Q.C., Author, Television Host, and Leading Barrister