In the early 1850s, the oil industry had a major impact on the resource town of Petrolia, Ontario. Christina Burr explores the ways in which the industry provided a common cultural identification that helped Petrolia change from a rough shanty-town of disreputable land speculators and "wildcatters" into an orderly, "civilized" Victorian community. Departing from traditional historiography focused on the economic role of resource development, Canada's Victorian Oil Town incorporates an understanding of the connections between science and technology, nation and imperialism, and cultural nuances...