John Goddard is an author, magazine writer, and former Toronto Star reporter. His books include Inside the Museums: Toronto's Heritage Sites and Their Most Prized Objects and Rock and Roll Toronto, with pop critic Richard Crouse. John lives in Toronto.

Inside the Museums views Toronto's heritage museums for the first time as a single community - linked by events, personalities, and function. In this special excerpt we visit Mackenzie House, the grey-brick townhouse, steps from modern Yonge-Dundas Square and the Toronto Eaton Centre, where the firebrand rebel publisher lived from 1859 till his death in 1861; his family moved out in 1871. John Goddard takes us on a detailed tour of the house, providing fascinating historical background and insight.