The Victorian sporting calendar in pictures.
An Almanac of twelve Sports (1898), illustrated by William Nicholson
Victorian sport in seven pictures
Arguably the Victorians invented modern sport, or at least codified it. Inevitably that enthusiasm was reflected in their art. Fishing, hunting, racing and shooting even had their own schools of painters. Going North, King's Cross Station (1893) by George Earl (English artist, lived 1824–1908). National Railway Museum. This painting shows King's Cross Station (think Harry... Continue Reading →
Book review: Bodysnatchers by Suzie Lennox
Book review – Bodysnatchers by Suzie Lennox (2016). Digging up the untold stories of Britain's Resurrection Men This was my Christmas read, and one of the most enjoyable non-fiction books I've read for some time. A bit surprising given the subject matter; corpses, the desecration of graves and dissection of cadavers in Georgian era Britain.... Continue Reading →
Book review: Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (1886) O God!' I screamed, and 'O God!' again and again; for there before my eyes--pale and shaken, and half fainting, and groping before him with his hands, like a man restored from death - there stood Henry Jekyll! In an ideal world... Continue Reading →
Book review: The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1974)
Book review – The Gulag Archipelago – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn [pub. 1974] The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn is an account of the Soviet Union's forced labour camp system. Apart from the prominence of ice and snow you probably think that it wouldn't make ideal Christmas reading. But let me give you three reasons why you... Continue Reading →
OTD in 1830 a poem was published, supposedly the first words ever recorded (1878)
On this day in 1830, a poem (later a nursery rhyme) Mary Had a Little Lamb, by Sarah Hale was published. Later in the decade Lowell Mason set the poem to a melody adding repetition in the verses. The poem was the first thing recorded by Thomas Edison on his newly invented phonograph in 1878... Continue Reading →
Old Police Cells Museum & Victorian crime
Crime in a rapidly changing society Reading the novels of Jane Austen one might be forgiven for thinking that hers was a calm and relaxing period in which to live (1775-1817). “Ah! There is nothing like staying at home, for real comfort.” ― Jane Austen Far from it. The economy of the country was going... Continue Reading →
10 patents for mad Victorian inventions
Yes - these are real Victorian design patents. We might laugh at some of them now, but they represent the hopes and dreams of a previous age. A design patent is a form of legal protection granted to the ornamental design of a functional item. But enough of that, here are ten of my favourites:... Continue Reading →
The Long Victorian 