Victorians then and now
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Book Review: The Art of the English Murder
What is it that makes a murder mystery so satisfying to read about? In her book The Art of the English Murder, Lucy Worsley tracks the history of English literature devoted to murder, mayhem and true crime. I’ve already commented on the book, but now I want to do a complete review (And, since W.S. Gilbert often finds his way into my thoughts, there is a reference to one of his works below). Beginning with Thomas de Quincey’s “Confessions of an Opium Eater” and “On Murder Considered as One of the Fine Arts,” this entertaining book traces the development of popular taste in sensational murders from the 18th-century broadsheets printed…
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A Trip to the Dentist – Victorian Style
So I went to the dentist yesterday, and completely forgot about the blog post I’d planned to write! However, in an effort to assume an attitude of gratitude toward dentistry, I decided to research what it would be like to go to the dentist in Victorian times. Now I am very grateful. The watchword for the Victorian era was “progress.” Modernization through science and automation allowed our Victorian forebears to live longer and better than their parents ever did. From the beginning of the 1800s to the middle of the 19th century, dentistry had progressed from the local blacksmith’s side business in un-anaesthetized tooth extraction using pliers to less painful…
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An Unexpected G&S Performance
I was going to do a serious post today, but then I remembered this little gem and had to share it. When I was a mere child of ten, I discovered the very first “Doctor Who” — featuring the first Doctor, portrayed by William Hartnell. Even though I missed some of the finer details of the plot during that first season because the episodes were broadcast in Spanish on Mexican television (I grew up in Mexico City), the Daleks still were capable of scaring the bejeezus out of me and my nine-year-old brother. And so, without further ado, here’s a performance of Gilbert and Sullivan that’s really out of this world.…
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Victorian Tweets to Tickle Your Fancy
I browsed around Twitter today, and found the following gems! If you’re looking for some interesting, pretty, funny and inspiring tidbits of information, check out these tweets: Victorian Cat Funerals https://twitter.com/Felix_Ineptias/status/690755602310569984 Victorian Samplers embroidered by young girls https://twitter.com/fashionatbowes/status/690848757261451264 Digital Dickens-Finding Boz online https://twitter.com/LoyolaVictorian/status/712367387656454146 A 1898 Critic’s Choice List of Best Novels – Have you read them all? https://twitter.com/michaeljwaldron/status/661616977543364608 Victorian Spinning Tops, now in GIF form https://twitter.com/drreznicek/status/661890422382333952 Ode to Kate Greenaway, Victorian illustrator https://twitter.com/LadyReedmore/status/607056679679737857 Victorian Love Letters from a Valet to a Housekeeper https://twitter.com/rosalindmwhite/status/722462413682044929 Newly discovered Charlotte Bronte poem https://twitter.com/VictStudies/status/666306557995589636 Victorian Halloween Costumes https://twitter.com/VictStudies/status/651085330163101696 Why Victorians thought women taking Tea Breaks was…
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Victorian Crochet for Christmas
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The Legacy of Gilbert and Sullivan – on TV
Over the 150 years that their works have been shared with the world, Gilbert and Sullivan have had an indelible effect on popular culture in the English-speaking world. Last week, I shared a list of movies that have a Gilbert and Sullivan connection – and this week, I’m offering you a short (and by no means exhaustive) list of G&S television references! Let’s start with some lively tunes from The Mikado. In this clip, popular singer and TV talk show hostess Dinah Shore pairs up with jazz great Ella Fitzgerald and opera diva “La Stupenda” Joan Sutherland for a fun rendition of “Three Little Maids From School Are We”: …
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Legacy of Gilbert and Sullivan – in the Movies
Gilbert and Sullivan’s delightful comic operas were first performed in the 1870s, 1880s and 1890s, but their influence is still felt in Western culture. Both American and British musical theater traditions owe a great debt to the duo. Fans of G&S include P.G. Wodehouse, Irving Berlin, Ivor Novello, Oscar Hammerstein II, and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Even today, Gilbert and Sullivan’s works pop up in the most unlikely places. The legacy of Gilbert and Sullivan still endures today. As it turns out, it’s so extensive that I got worn out just chasing down all the references to their works that can be found in books, songs, plays, musical theater, children’s shows,…
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30 Victorian Mystery Novel Series to Read Now!
The following books are some of the best Victorian-set historical mysteries that I know about. The books named are the first in each series – the sleuth named appears in all the books. Most are set in Victorian England, but a few are set in the USA and some others (particularly the Sherlock Holmes-related ones) spill over into the Edwardian period. You can read more about them on Goodreads and Amazon. I’ll include links to Goodreads so you can find out more about the ones that interest you. For even more historical mysteries, you can check out this amazingly comprehensive list (just watch out for the pop-ups): http://brerfox.tripod.com/historicalmystery.html Enjoy…
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Black History Month: Black Victorians
In honor of Black History month, I’d like to share with you a few notes about Black Victorians – people of color who lived and prospered in England (and in America too) during the 19th century. Despite the prejudice and discrimination that people of color endured in Victorian England, there were a number of notable and distinguished black men and women in Britain. Mary Seacole (1805-1881) was born in Kingston, Jamaica, the daughter of a Scottish soldier and a Jamaican mother who taught her nursing. In 1854 she traveled to England and asked the War Office to send her to Crimea to nurse the wounded soldiers during the war. When…
- Victorian art, Victorian love and marriage, Victorian technology, Victoriana, Victorians at home, Victorians then and now
Victorian Valentines
Across the centuries, humans have loved to celebrate love. From the ancient Roman fertility festival of Lupercalia, to the Renaissance vision of courtly love, to Ophelia’s sad mention of Valentine’s Day in Hamlet, February 14 and Valentines have been symbols of romantic love. In Britain around the 1820s, specially-made papers for sending Valentine’s Day greetings began to be marketed. They became so popular that they were soon being made in factories. Often flat paper sheets printed with colored illustrations and embossed borders, they were designed to be folded up and sealed with wax for mailing. A very fancy Valentine could be made with real lace and ribbons, with paper lace…
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Victorian Crochet for Christmas
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Young Arthur Sullivan at the Crystal Palace
In the fall of 1866, young Arthur Sullivan (he was just 24) got one of his first big breaks: The chance to show off his orchestra-conducting skills as the guest conductor in place of Herr August Manns at the Crystal Palace in Sydenham on September 17, 1866. Sullivan excitedly wrote, “I am to conduct the Ballad Concert on behalf of Manns—it may lead to greater things.” The Crystal Palace began its existence as The Great Exhibition of 1851, featuring a wide variety of exhibits of art, crafts, manufacturing, and novelty items from around the globe. Presided over by Prince Albert, the Great Exhibition was originally built in Hyde Park where it…
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Victorian Time Travel: H G Wells vs. Jack the Ripper
So on New Year’s Day, I traveled back in time. To be accurate, I watched the 1979 movie “Time after Time,” starring Malcolm MacDowell, David Warner and Mary Steenburgen. It was mind-blowing, being flung 37 years into the past, all the way back to the late 70s. Well, back to the late 1800s as well. In the movie, the late Victorian era is portrayed as gritty and dangerous, the gaslit alleyways hiding the specter of hideous death in the form of disease, deprivation, and Jack the Ripper. H.G. Wells is portrayed not as a fantastic storyteller bur as an actual Victorian inventor who built a working time machine. When his…
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19th C. Britain’s Changes Under Unchanging Queen Victoria
Queen Victoria was born 24 May 1819, the only daughter of Edward, Duke of Kent. A year later her uncle, the Prince Regent, became George IV. He reigned for 17 years. When George IV died 20 June 1837, Victoria became queen. She was crowned on 28 June 1838, a mere 18 years old. Thus began the second-longest reign of an English monarch – Queen Victoria ruled for 63 years and seven months, a length of time which has only been surpassed by the present Queen, Elizabeth II. During those six decades and more, England underwent great social, political, economic and technological changes. The English Regency, which lasted from 1811 to 1820, marked the…
