Here is a perfectly splendid 19th century bad boy who, perversely, was probably the nicest one you could ever hope to meet. He’s also someone whose image you might well have seen before, without realizing his identity. And so, may … Continue reading
If you were a member of the aristocratic or gentry classes in the 19th century, it was almost a given you’d have two (or more) mothers: the woman who gave birth to you, and the one (or ones) who actually … Continue reading
If anyone in the 19th century was going to celebrate Christmas in a truly outstanding fashion, you know that person had to be Queen Victoria, who helped enormously to popularize the holiday in Great Britain and set its traditions in … Continue reading
Ah, holiday customs. At my house, we’ve developed a new one over the last few years: after exchanging presents and eating Christmas dinner and pulling crackers (we lurrrrve Christmas crackers!) and nibbling at dessert, we usually play a rollicking game … Continue reading
Since everyone seemed to have fun with the last vocabulary quiz I posted, I’ve brought you another. So sharpen your pencils (or your quill pens!) and get ready to tell me which of the following words, expressions, or exclamations were … Continue reading
Via a book on nineteenth century dancing, I ran across a marvelous series of lists on the secret language of silent communication using objects that every proper young lady of the Victorian era usually had with her, at least most … Continue reading
As we have already seen, the nineteenth century had some pretty memorable bad boys. Appropriately enough, the king of them all was, in fact, a king—Albert Edward (called Bertie by his family), who reigned in the United Kingdom from 1901 … Continue reading
I love reading up on odd words and phrases used at different times in the 19th century; my copy of The 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue is battered and dog-eared, as are several other similar reference books in my … Continue reading
If you’ve read much historical fiction set in Great Britain, you may have run across the word Michaelmas—there’s Michaelmas term at Oxford and Cambridge (and Eton, for that matter), and Michaelmas fairs, and Michaelmas geese…so just what is Michaelmas? Michaelmas, … Continue reading
One of the most enduring tropes in romance fiction is the bad boy—a male romantic lead who parties hard, tirelessly carves notches in his bedposts, is devastatingly attractive, yada yada yada… It’s not my particular jam, but to each their … Continue reading
