In 1896, Smith became Canada's High Commissioner in London and was soon elevated to the peerage. He became a generous benefactor to Canadian institutions. This eminently readable biography brings to light new information, including details about Strathcona's personal life and his scandalous marriage.
Donna McDonald is a writer and arts administrator who lives in London but works throughout Britain. She is the author of Illustrated News: The Canadian Pictures of Juliana Horatia Ewing (Dundurn 1985) and The Odyssey of the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble (Editions Bim, 1986). She is married to a fellow Canadian, writer Robert McDonald.