A VICTORIAN AUTHORITY: THE DAILY PRESS IN LATE NINETEENTH-CENTURY CANADA Paul Rutherford. Toronto, University of Toronto Press, c1982. 292pp, paper, (cloth) $35.00, (paper) $12.50. ISBN 0-8020-5588-5 (cloth), 0-8020-6459-0 (paper). Grades 12 and up. Reviewed by Jerry McDonnell. Volume 11 Number 1. 1983 January. If the daily or weekly newspaper is really a product of and a holdover from the Victorian era, then this book is both appropriate and important in that it examines in considerable detail the origins of the press in Canada and records its early growth. The newspaper arose in Canada after the middle of the nineteenth 'century because certain prerequisites were filled. Large cities came into being, a sense of community and class developed, and a greater proportion of the population had acquired the ability to read. The Canadian press in this era had several common characteristics. The finances were precarious, there was usually an alliance with one of the political parties, and most newspapers were aimed at a particular class. A Victorian Authority is a thorough and well-researched study, although some chapters are a little dry and contain many statistics. Sections dealing with political alliances, the daily fare, and mythmaking are very interesting. The information and opinions given here could be of particular importance in the study of Canadian history in the senior grades. Jerry McDonnell, South Huron D. H. S., Exeter, ON.