{"product_id":"the-empress-hotel-in-the-grand-style-9781550546040","title":"The Empress Hotel: In the grand style","description":"\u003cp\u003eVictorias Empress Hotel  a hotel in the grand tradition  was built in 1908 by the Canadian Pacific Railway to attract and accommodate wealthy world travellers. Sited in a majestic harbour  surrounded by acres of gardens and offering every modern convenience of the day  the Empress quickly won international renown. It also became the centre of social life in Victoria  hosting everything from sedate meetings of the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire to lively Policemens Balls. Based on memoirs  interviews and archival records  this is the first full account of the glorious  occasionally scandalous  life and times of one of the worlds legendary hotels. The colourful story is told with panache by social historian Terry Reksten  who has a gift for anecdote and a talent for bringing the past to life. Lavishly illustrated with over 100 black-and-white and 30 colour photographs  as well as some drawings  gathered from both public and private collections.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45648134012981,"sku":"ByrdShop_155054604X","price":118.1,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9781550546040.jpg?v=1781710591","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-empress-hotel-in-the-grand-style-9781550546040","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}