MacRae, Marion, Anthony Adamson, and Page Toles. The Ancestral Roof; Domestic Architecture of Upper Canada,. Toronto: Clarke, Irwin, 1964. Print.
This is another in a great string of books I’ve found dealing with Canadian architecture. This is a comprehensive look at why old Ontario houses look the way they do; so comprehensive, in fact, that by page 6 she has taken us back to 1453 and the Eastern Roman empire. Coming up through Georgian and Loyalist periods and leaving us roughly at 1900, MacRae covers both interior and exterior of houses, both by named architects and vernacular houses. MacRae’s writing style delighted me, although it’s a bit convoluted, and I’m not sure it would appeal to a modern audience.
The extra chapter at the end with the layouts of various Ontario houses is a useful addition.