Presentations for Groups -

The Gaol Carpenter’s Diary: Fact and Fiction

A 60-minute walk through real crimes, forgotten neighbourhoods, and the fictional voices that bring them to life

Description:

Based on the historical novel The Gaol Carpenter’s Diary, this immersive presentation takes audiences through the streets, courtrooms, and gaols of 19th-century Toronto. Author Chris Higgins reveals how the city’s real murderers, gaol governors, and execution rituals were transformed into a literary narrative — and how fiction helps us see history with fresh eyes.

The talk moves between fact and invention. Some characters — including the condemned men and those who sentenced them — are drawn directly from archival records. Others — like the narrator and his family — are fictional, designed to guide us through the emotional and moral complexities of a rapidly changing city.

A Neighbourhood-Focused Experience:

Each chapter of the novel is rooted in a specific Toronto neighbourhood — from downtown to Weston, Lambton Mills, Swansea/High Park, Parkdale, Liberty Village, Fort York, Cabbagetown, Riverdale and back. The talk includes historical maps, photos, and newspaper clippings to help audiences trace the crimes, trials, and lives of those who lived (and died) where we now walk. It’s a layered portrait of a city growing up — street by street, case by case. Besides the famous Don Jail, the novel is also partially set at the lesser-known Home District Gaol in Corktown.

Adaptable Focus:

Depending on your group’s interests:

Historical societies may dive deeper into archival material, newspaper sources, and city-specific history.
Fiction lovers and writing groups may explore narrative voice, historical imagination, and how to build story from fact.

Included:

Readings from the novel
Historical notes and context for each case
Visual aids (maps, archival imagery, news reports)
Discussion of Toronto’s evolving neighbourhoods and institutions
Q&A with the author
Optional handouts featuring chapter-by-chapter historical notes

Ideal For:

Historical societies, libraries, museums, book clubs, writing festivals, senior centres, and anyone interested in Toronto’s past.

Why This History Still Matters Today

Set in 19th-century Toronto, The Gaol Carpenter’s Diary explores issues that still haunt us- poverty, mental illness, homelessness, substance abuse, intimate partner violence, racism, and class inequality – to name a few. The James Browne chapter, for instance, mirrors today’s struggles with marginalization and mental health crises, in an era when the only safety nets were churches and charities. The Don Jail itself was founded on reformist ideals – humane corrections and rehabilitation – but those goals were quickly lost in daily practice. What makes these stories even more striking is where they happened: in the same streets, parks, and backyards we walk today. In the 1850s and 60s, for example, present-day Riverdale was home to Brooke’s Bush – a dense forest and refuge for a gang of disenfranchised people. These histories are not distant. They unfolded on familiar ground, and the only real difference between then and now is that the gallows was the “ultimate penalty.”

Length:

~60 minutes including Q&A.

Equipment needed:

Microphone (for larger venues)
Table
Internet connection
Screen and projector
Optional: table for handouts or book display

Presentations for Groups