Sleep is good, books are better
Emily Dickinson - and the benefits of obscurity to a writer Today is the anniversary of the death of the great American poet, Emily Dickinson (10 Dec 1830 – 15 May 1886). Another author from my 'famous and appreciated … too late' series. All quotes in this post are from Emily's writing, unless mentioned otherwise.... Continue Reading →
Famous and appreciated … too late Yesterday I tweeted a short piece on Anna Sewell (1820-78), author of Black Beauty on the anniversary of her death. She was an English novelist, the author of Black Beauty. Born in Norfolk, England into a devout Quaker family. “It is good people who make good places.” It would be... Continue Reading →
Christina Rossetti (1830 - 1894) On 5 December 1830, the English poet and writer, Christina Rossetti was born. Having a big reputation in a past century doesn't guarentee that anyone reads you today. For proof of this see a previous blog post The 100 Best Novels, a list from 1898, many names on this list are... Continue Reading →
Vocabulary you'll need to survive in Victorian London Perusing the Public Domain Review you may eventually stumble upon The London Guide & Stranger’s Safeguard against the Cheats, Swindlers, and Pickpockets (1819). 'A comprehensive guide to help the unwitting visitor avoid falling victim to the various and nefarious crimes abound in early 19th-century London.' The book... Continue Reading →
What do your favourite books say about you? There is a quiz in The Independent newspaper that attempts to calculate how old you are based on your favourite books. Feel free to give it a try. As I mostly favour Long 19th Century books I was expecting it to estimate my age at about 150... Continue Reading →
Hoydon = A romping girl. Definition taken from The 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, originally by Francis Grose. I only remember coming across the word "Hoydon" once, and that was in an early scene in Tess of the d'Urbervilles (Thomas Hardy): They leant over the gate by the highway, and inquired as to the... 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 →
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 →
Following on from a previous post The UK’s favourite 15 literary heroines, here are some other heroines that might have made it, but didn't. I leave you to identify the books they came from! By the way, what is the collective noun for literary heroines? A quill? A scribble? A canon? Thank you, Bill, for... Continue Reading →
Can you identify the above quotes about reading? Need some clues? Read on. [Warning – clue below] To help you here is a list of the authors responsible for the quotes –the list is presented in chronological order by birth. Napoléon Bonaparte (1769 - 1821) Jane Austen (1775 - 1817) Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804 - 1864)... Continue Reading →
The Long Victorian 