This work investigates the 1885 smallpox epidemic in Montreal, questioning how a modernizing city failed to contain a preventable disease due to deep-seated cultural and religious divisions. Michael Bliss, a prominent Canadian historian, utilizes archival records, contemporary newspaper accounts, and medical reports to reconstruct the social and political climate of the era. He argues that the crisis was not merely a medical failure, but a manifestation of the friction between French-Canadian traditionalism and the encroaching influence of Anglo-Protestant public health initiatives.

This text is regarded as a definitive historical account of the Montreal epidemic, praised for its meticulous research and objective analysis of the intersection between public health and social tension. The work serves as a critical resource for scholars interested in the history of medicine and the socio-political dynamics of 19th-century urban environments.