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Lady Meux and Egyptology
Portrait by James Abbott McNeill WhistlerLady Meux typifies the type of 1890s woman I adore most of all. She was eccentric, incredibly wealthy, and had such a shifty past that "respectable" people...
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Cartographic Fictions and the Poverty of Digital Archives
In Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club (1996), the protagonist lives on a paper street, but did you know that paper streets have actually been used as cartographical traps to catch plagiarism? Gizmodo shared...
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Humans of London (in the 1890s)
Who isn't occasionally inspired by Humans of New York? Since I've taken a little break from writing recently and been playing with Photoshop, I thought I would share what I've come up with.These are...
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The Victorian (and pre-Victorian) Pug Cult
"Blonde and Brunette" by Charles Burton BarberIt's popular to trace the rise of the pug cult to when the British found pugs in the Chinese Imperial Palace during their invasion of China in 1860 and...
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Poop in (Victorian) Beards
Nowadays, when you mention the long beard trend, most people immediately think of hipsters; I still think of the Victorians. With the news this week that these hipster beards harbour the kind of...
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Poe is nowhere, but Bram Stoker's mother is everything!
Charlotte Matilda Blake Thornley StokerI was going to write a blog post today about the mothers of writers in London in the 1890s, but I found this passage in Barbara Belford's biography of Bram Stoker...
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Top 10 Wildean Insults
Known for his wit, many of Oscar Wilde's insults are too convoluted to throw out during an argument, but these one-liners have got you covered!Good novelists are much rarer than good sons (On a New...
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The Perfect Woman
"The Crush," by Charles Dana Gibson.Perfection in humans is inarguably subjective, but as I've written a post on the perfect man of the 1890s, it has been pointed out to me that I ought to write one...
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Popular Perceptions of Electricity in the 1890s
If you lived in a major city, like London, electricity had become part of your everyday life by the 1890s. You might not have it in your home, but even if you did, you might not understand what it...
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How Bram Stoker Reanimated Mummies
"...the consciousness of the mummy does not rest but is to be reckoned with." - Bram StokerWhy are mummies so scary? They don't moan and walk around in real life, the way they do in movies, but they...
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The Gentleman's Gentleman
His day commences by seeing that his master’s dressing-room is in order; that the housemaid has swept and dusted it properly; that the fire is lighted and burns cheerfully; and some time before his...
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Victorian Clowns and Clowning
Symptoms of coulrophobia can include sweating, nausea, feelings of dread, fast heartbeat, crying or screaming, and anger at being placed in a situation where a clown is present. - Source1890...
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The Feejee Mermaid and the Fur-bearing Trout
Freak shows and taxidermy: these two trends coincided with horrifying results in the Victorian era.The popularity of freak shows saw its first rise in the Elizabethan era and examples of taxidermy in...
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Three Common Victorian Baby-Killers
I wouldn't have survived infancy in the Victorian Era.There were truly bizarre ways of dying in the 1890s, but you could also die from the very mundane. If you were a woman, you might die from child...
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The Ghost Club
Founded in London in 1862, the Ghost Club is the oldest paranormal investigation and research organization in the world. The organization is still active today and its members have included: Charles...
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10 Steps to Hosting Your Own Victorian Seance
Belief in the evocation of the spirits of the dead is as old as Humanity. At one period of the world's history it was called Thaumaturgy, at another Necromancy and Witchcraft, in these later years,...
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Victorian Teenagers Gone Wild
The girl in the top left corner has a mischievous face.Throughout history, teenagers have rebelled against their parents. Popular psychology maintains that youthful rebellion helps young people build...
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How to Eat Like a Victorian
At the end of one month, I plan out the details of mine and my husband's menu for the next month. Part way through Thanksgiving weekend, as I look toward Christmas, I feel compelled to keep us from...
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Flirtation, Calling, and Escort Cards: the social media of the 1890s
It's Christmas card time and I stumble upon the headline: "The 19th Century 'Escort Cards' with Pick-up Lines You Definitely Haven't Heard Before." The cards are lovely, but the headline is baiting....
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Perchta and the History of Oliebollen
It's the night before New Year's Eve and Willie Wilde's best friend, Alexander Teixeira de Mattos (Tex) comes to call on him at Lady Jane's house. A Dutchman, Tex brings with him a basket full of...
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