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Victorian Crochet for Christmas
Christmas is not too far away! Are you crafty and wondering what to make for that beloved Auntie or other relation? Fear not! There’s still time to crochet a Victorian-style gift for a family member who appreciates handmade things. During the Victorian era, a dutiful upper-middle-class woman’s leisure time would have been occupied in making decorative items to wear and to decorate their homes. Working for financial gain was out of the question for a well-off married Victorian woman – it would have reflected poorly on her husband. Furthermore, the woman of the house would have servants to clean and cook for the family, so she would have turned her…
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Fall Back in Time with a Great Historical Romance Novel!
Early in the morning today, November 1, 2015, is when we in the USA turned our clocks back, marking the end of Daylight Savings Time. An extra hour of sleep is always welcome! Today is also the Historical Romance Network‘s #fallbackintime event! We have all been posting selfies of ourselves reading historical romance novels. Here is Yours Truly, reading my first Regency romance novel: There are other great historical romance novels out there that you might like. What’s your favorite? Maybe you’d like to try one or more of the following books. Check them out at the Great Escapes Books website.
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21 Good Books on Art, Crime, Women, and Life in Victorian London
Here are a few favorites from my personal list of reference books. Have I missed any books that you particularly enjoy? Let me know! 1. The Aesthetic Movement, by Lionel Lambourne (2011) In the second half of the Victorian era, artists of all varieties became inspired by the writings of Baudelaire and Walter Pater to focus more on ornamentation and aesthetic concerns. The pre-Raphaelite artists, Queen Anne architectural styles, blue-and-white china and Japanese influences all were part of the Aesthetic Movement in both fine and decorative arts. The text of this book provides fascinating insights into the historical personages – such as Oscar Wilde, James McNeill Whistler, Dante Gabriel Rosetti…
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15 Victorian-set Movies and TV shows to Watch
If you’re looking for visual and aural inspiration about the clothing, manners and day-to-day activities of Victorian people, the following movies and TV miniseries will help you! Here are fifteen of my favorite choices. The painting at left is so typical of the Aesthetic period, with the blue and white china, the color scheme, and the young woman’s distinctively pre-Raphaelite eyebrows, that I thought I’d just add it here. 1. North & South (2004 TV mini-series) BBC production starring Richard Armitage and Daniela Denby-Ashe. Based on the novel by Elizabet Gaskell, this is the story of Margaret Hale, a gently-bred parson’s daughter from the pastoral South of England who is…
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At Home for a Victorian Breakfast
During the Victorian era, many English people shared the belief that one ought to “breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dine like a pauper.” In those days, most of London had breakfasted by 9:00 am, with the poorest tucking into their bread-and-butter and tea at daybreak, while the middle and working classes enjoyed more substantial fare (whether at home or in a chop-house) in time to be at their jobs by 10:00 am. However, the “upper ten thousand,” also known as the leisure class – made up of members of the aristocracy, the gentry, officers in the British Army and Navy, members of Parliament, Colonial administrators, and…
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Five Great Victorian Studies Reference Sites, plus blogs
If you’re like me, you want to know all the fascinating tidbits and details about life in the Victorian Era. Well, fear not – there are plenty of great reference sites out there on the Internet. I’ve collected five useful general sites here. 1. Victorian Voices – http://www.victorianvoices.net/index.shtml The list of lists. Find articles, websites and blogs on every aspect of Victorian life from America, Gardening, and Country/Village life to Royalty, Women’s Issues, Work, and World Cultures. 2. Victorian Research – http://victorianresearch.org/ Find the libraries and other places where primary sources and archival records are housed. Also, under the heading “Discussion” there are many groups and blogs on Victorian matters.…
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Victorian Slang!
As I was browsing over many an Internet page, I came across a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore – Victorian Slang! Many fans of author Georgette Heyer will recall with fondness her characters’ delightful use of Regency-era slang, but I haven’t found too many resources dedicated to the particular lingo of the mid-to-late Nineteenth Century. So it was with great pleasure that I began to read J. Redding Ware’s “Passing English of the Victorian Era” http://publicdomainreview.org/collections/a-dictionary-of-victorian-slang-1909/ Here are some of the cool slang words that this intrepid lexicographer collected: Adam and Eve’s togs – Naked Adam’s Ale – Water Back-hairing – Female fighting, in which a woman had…
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SHOWCASE: Victorian Movies and TV Shows
This is the first installment of the Showcase of Victorian Movies and TV Shows. Over the years, there has been an abundance of movies, miniseries and TV shows that have been set in England during the Victorian era. Original fiction as well as the works of Charles Dickens, Oscar Wilde, the Bronte sisters, and Elizabeth Gaskell have all been presented on the large and small screen. So what shows can you seek out for your Victorian inspiration? Today, we’ll discuss the BBC’s 2004 miniseries, “North and South,” starring Richard Armitage and Daniela Denby-Ashe. A four-part series, with each episode lasting about 1 hour. Based on the novel by Elizabet Gaskell,…
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Hello and welcome to my blog!
Why have I chosen to start this blog? Because I’d like you to join me on a visit to Kensington, London, during the Victorian era. This is where the sleuth of my new cozy mystery series, eighteen-year-old Lucy Turner, lives with her widowed mother Herbertina (“Hebe”) Compton Turner. As the story starts, Lucy is in love with a newly-minted barrister named William Schwenk Gilbert. He’s tall, blond, handsome, and unfortunately thinks of her only as the young girl who lives down the street from his parents’ house. If his name sounds familiar to you, you’re right – he is William S. Gilbert, who will later achieve fame as half of…
