Sleep is good, books are better
Charles Dickens in 31 quotes Charles Dickens (1812-1870) was a great Victorian novelist and the creator of an extensive range of vivid fictional characters. He was also a journalist, speaker and social critic. In his childhood Dicken's father was imprisoned for debt and the 12 year old Charles was famously sent to work in a... Continue Reading →
6 handy words & phrases every Long Victorian needs this summer No.6 "Bow wow mutton" Definition = 'A naval term referring to meat so bad it might be dog flesh'. McBow-wow-mutton burger, chips and a diet coke, please - can you supersize that? No.5 "Ark ruffians" Definition = ‘Rogues who robbed, and sometimes murdered, on... Continue Reading →
Happy birthday, Thomas Hardy! Today is the birthday of Thomas Hardy (b.2 June 1840 – d.11 January 1928). Hardy was a celebrated and influential English novelist and poet. And is a favourite of mine. Author of such works as Far from the Madding Crowd (1874), The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886), Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1891),... Continue Reading →
Jane Eyre is a book about ugly people - Casting period dramas According to this light-hearted article in The Toast, "Jane Eyre is a book fundamentally about ugly people" and a plea is made to cast "ugly and weird-looking in period dramas": If I accomplish one thing in my life, let it be the increased... Continue Reading →
Happy birthday, G. K. Chesterton! Today is the birthday of G. K. Chesterton (b.29 May 1874 - d.14 June 1936). Chesterton was an English writer, poet, philosopher, dramatist, journalist, speaker, lay theologian (Catholic), biographer and literary/art critic - phew! He is probably best known for his fictional priest/detective series, Father Brown. My own favourites are... Continue Reading →
No.1. Heathcliff and Catherine from Wuthering Heights (Emily Brontë) Heathcliff and Cathy from Wuthering Heights topping our list of the worst couples in literature? "Surely not?!" I hear you say. Isn't Wuthering Heights a famous love story? Let me be clear, I adore the book. It is one of the most passionate and heartfelt novels... Continue Reading →
Jonathan the giant Seychelles tortoise was born c.1832 (perhaps earlier) and, wonderful to say, he's is still going strong. Six years ago Joe Hollins became the first permanent vet on the island of St Helena, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Here he looked after the oldest known land animal in the world, a... Continue Reading →
'The Funeral of Shelley’ by Louis Édouard Fournier (1889). The Walker Gallery, Liverpool, UK. The painting depicts the funeral of the Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley on a beach in Tuscany (18 July, 1822). It is said by some that Edward Trelawny plucked Shelley’s carbonised heart from the ashes, but was eventually persuaded to hand... Continue Reading →
Famous writers on cigarette cards Shown above are some portraits of famous writers on cigarette cards. Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy, G.K. Chesteron, Rudyard Kipling, Michael Arlen, Hilaire Belloc, Phyllis Bentley, Marjorie Bowen, John Buchan and (again) G.K. Chesterton. There was a time when cigarette cards (trade cards) were issued by tobacco manufacturers to stiffen cigarette... Continue Reading →
The Monk is gothic horror fiction that was written in 10 weeks by the 19 year old Matthew Gregory Lewis in 1796. From the Back Cover: Hugely influential on writers as diverse as Victor Hugo and Jane Austen, this is an important keystone of modern popular fiction that lay readers and scholars alike will find... Continue Reading →
The Long Victorian 