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'DEVOURED' - A VICTORIAN OBSESSION...
Devoured by D E Meredith is a Victorian 'forensic' mystery. The novel alludes to many themes considered as exotica - being those physical objects or ideas that came from other cultures and which soon...
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A GHOULISH STORY FOR HALLOWEEN...
Herne the Hunter, from a print by George CruikshankOnce, quite some years ago, when the VV was wondering about in a Windsor art gallery, she turned and suddenly gasped in shock when she saw a...
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THE ALLURE OF A CURSED DIAMOND...
Today, Wednesday November 13th, the Pink Star diamond is set to be *sold at Sotheby’s in Geneva. The oval‐cut, 5.6 carat jewel was mined be De Beers in Africa in 1999. It is is said to be internally...
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THE MAHARAJAH, DULEEP SINGH ~ THE SOVEREIGN WHO LOST HIS THRONE...
Maharajah Duleep (or Dalip) Singh. Born 6 September 1838 - Died 22 October 1893)Duleep Singh had the most dramatic life. It always amazes the VV that so few people know about the last Maharajah of...
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THE VV'S NEW NOVEL, "THE GODDESS AND THE THIEF" IS PUBLISHED TODAY...
TA DA! The VV is delighted to announce that her third Victorian novel,The Goddess and the Thief, is published by Orion Books today.Here is a brief synopsis:Uprooted from her home in India, Alice...
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BELLMAN & BLACK - BOOK REVIEW BY ADELE GERAS...
This novel, the second from the writer of the thrilling and very popular THE THIRTEENTH TALE (which, incidentally is about to be seeen on television very soon) is shorter, less thrilling but oh, how...
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PRINCE ALBERT'S DEATH AT CHRISTMAS
The royal Christmas tree at Windsor CastleThough Queen Charlotte (the consort of King George III) had practised the tradition before, it was Prince Albert who really encouraged and popularised the...
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SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN...
Winking Santa by Essie FoxThe VV has found her old box of watercolour paints and created this greetings card of Santa Claus to say thank you and to wish a very special Happy Christmas to each and every...
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THE VV WISHES YOU A CHRISTMAS OF THE VERY BRIGHTEST AND BEST...
Star of Bethlehem by Sir Edward Burne-JonesExhibited at The Birmingham Museum and Art GalleryThe Christmas carol, Brightest and Best, has a beautiful new arrangement, composed by Kirsten Morrison, and...
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THE CUTE PHOTOGRAPHS OF HARRY WHITTIER FREES...
Harry Whittier Frees - 1879-1953The VV does not find it attractive but she cannot deny the obsession that our culture seems to have with the posting of pictures of kittens and puppies on many forms of...
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A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL...
And whilst still on the cute kitten theme from the blogpost yesterday, the VV thought this an appropriate way to wish you a Happy and Healthy New Year. May 2014 fulfil your every wish and most...
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CHAMPAGNE CHARLIE SINGS AGAIN...
When the VV wrote The Somnambulist, her very first Victorian novel, she featured Wilton's music hall and one of the great performers who had entertained the audience when striding that historic...
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A WARMING BOWL OF PLEASING PUNCH
It is said that the first punch recipes were concocted for and by English sailers - those who might be travelling far from home but who still desired some convivial and warming drink. One can only...
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CHARLES DICKENS AND HIS WOMEN...
At some point in the coming days, the VV is hoping to go and see the film, The Invisible Woman - which is all about Charles Dickens and his affair with Ellen (Nellie) Ternan. Starring Ralph Fiennes and...
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COPY OF A CURIOUS LOVE LETTER FROM A GENTLEMAN TO A LADY...
This letter is held by the American Library of Congress - from 'An American Time Capsule: Three Centuries of Broadsides and Other Printed Ephemera'.Dating from the 1850's - whether the original was...
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AN EXOTIC AND TRAGIC LOVERS' TALE...
Painting by Albert Goodwin - BenaresWhen writing her latest novel, The Goddess and the Thief, the VV was very much inspired by a story about the Hindu god, Shiva ~ and Shiva's first beloved wife ~ and...
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JINDAN KAUR ~ MAHARANI OF LAHORE...
Recently, the VV appeared as one of the three Memento Moriatas when they produced a 'candle-literary' event in the Dissenters' Chapel of Kensal Green Cemetery. This is the essence of the VV's talk -...
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THE VICTORIAN MAN IN THE MOON...
From the Earth to the Moon is the name of a novel written by Jules Verne in 1865. In that book a rocket is fired from a launch pad in America - Florida to be precise - and after reaching its...
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THE SIGNATURE OF ALL THINGS ~ A NEW NOVEL BY ELIZABETH GILBERT...
The American and English covers for The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth GilbertThere is an ancient concept that God created some plants, or their parts, to resemble certain areas of the human...
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FOR INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY: THE FIRST WOMAN TO STAND FOR THE PRESIDENCY...
Victoria Woodhull 1838-1927On this International Women's Day 2014, the VV has been musing on the life of Victoria Woodhull – who was (although few have heard of her now) the very first woman who made a...
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