ELIJAH'S MERMAID ~ A BOOK TRAILER...
The VV's new novel, Elijah's Mermaid was published in paperback by Orion Books last Thursday. This is the first in what will be a series of short trailers.
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CHARLOTTE CORY'S 'VISITORIANS'...
The VV is an enormous fan of the artist and writer Charlotte Cory - particularly her 'carte de visites' made up of portraits of 'Visitorians' which subvert the original nineteenth photographic form by...
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A HISTORY OF COCA-COLA - PART ONE...
On these hot summer days, should you be sipping at iced Coca-Cola, you might like to reflect that this seemingly modern beverage actually dates back to the Victorian era - to 1886 to be precise.It all...
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HISTORY OF COCA~COLA - PART TWO, OR THE MISSING INGREDIENT...
When Coca-‐Cola was first produced – when it claimed to have many health-enhancing properties – the recipe was rather different to that which is used today. There was one very special ingredient in...
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WILTON'S MUSIC HALL ~ A TALK GIVEN AT THE V&A...
Along with Kate Bailey (seen left in this picture) a curator and producer of exhibitions at the V&A, The VV (otherwise known as Essie Fox) has recently delivered a talk based on Victorian music...
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ELIJAH'S MERMAID IN THE GROTTO...
When the VV was writing her novel, Elijah's Mermaid, she became obsessed with the Margate Shell Grotto - a fabulously mysterious subterranean 'temple', the origins of which no-one is quite sure. For...
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'HARROGATE IS THE QUEEREST PLACE' ...
Harrogate is a beautiful and historic town situated in the West Riding of Yorkshire which owes much of its prosperity to the existence of a drinking well discovered in the 16th century by a certain...
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A VISIT TO MUSEE DES ARTS-FORAINS...
Whilst on her travels this summer, the VV has had the pleasure of visiting the Musee Des Arts-Forains which is situated in the Bercy District of Paris.The museum (which is built on the site of some...
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ALICE GUY-BLACHE: SILENT CINEMA'S FIRST FEMALE DIRECTOR...
Alice Guy-Blache (July 1 1873 - March 24 1968)Today her name is barely known, but Alice Guy-Blache was an astonishingly talented film-maker who influenced the earliest days of the art.Alice Guy began...
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VICTORIANA ~ THE ART OF REVIVAL...
From this Saturday, September 7th until Sunday, December 8th, an exhibition entitled 'Victoriana - the Art of Revival' will be held at the Guildhall Art Gallery in the City of London.Dan Hillier's...
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VICTORIAN FILMS AT BIRBECK CINEMA...
Following last night's viewing of the wonderful Victorian ~The Art of Revival at the Guildhall Art Gallery in London, the VV's sights have now been fixed on a series of 'Victorian' themed films to be...
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WRITING ABOUT VICTORIAN OBJECTS ~ BY EDWARD CAREY, AUTHOR OF HEAP HOUSE, BOOK...
The cover of Heap House, written and illustrated by Edward CareyI’ve always been fascinated by the declarations in Victorian advertisements, from the Carbolic Smoke Ball that cures everything from...
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THE SHELL HOUSE AT ENDSLEIGH ...
The VV has recently visited Endsleigh House Hotel in Devon. The house overlooks the River Tamar and is situated in Milton Abbot, on extensive grounds that once belonged to the nearby Tavistock...
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WALLPAPER AT ENDSLEIGH HOUSE...
In Endsleigh House hotel there are some glorious examples of early nineteenth century wallpaper that date back to the time of the house's construction. Shown above are some views of the birds that...
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THE WINDSOR CORONATION ARCHES...
This week, in celebration of it being sixty years since Queen Elizabeth's Coronation, six arches have been constructed at the top of the Long Walk, just before the iron gates that lead on into Windsor...
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VICTORIAN MOUSTACHE GUARD CUPS...
SIR! YES YOU, SIR! The gentleman with the splendid moustache! Have you considered preserving such a finely modelled work of art from the all pervading perils to be found in an innocent cup of tea?Oh...
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ALFRED LORD TENNYSON: HIS LOST TEN YEARS...
A GUEST POST BY KIMBERLY EVETennyson as a young man - by Samuel LaurenceI have spent the last three years happily researching certain aspects of Alfred Tennyson’s life - his childhood, his familial...
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STORY OF THE YELLOW WALLPAPER ...
GOTHIC HORROR OR VICTORIAN WOMEN'S REALITY?GUEST POST BY STEPHANIE CARROLLThe Woman’s Experience through “The Yellow Wallpaper”"The Yellow Wallpaper” was written from the vantage point of a woman...
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DARK HORRORS BELOW THE SURFACE OF THE VICTORIAN WORLD...
I write gothic historical novels which are set in the Victorian era – and a great inspiration for that theme was a visit to Wilton's music hall - which resulted in my debut novel, The Somnambulist.I...
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THE MERMAID AND THE MARDEN BELL...
In the VV's novel, Elijah's Mermaid, two children in landlocked Herefordshire create a small grotto beside a stream in the hope of luring a mermaid to come along and live there.Such an idea is not...
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