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THE TERROR OF SPRING HEELED JACK...
'Did you know there are hogs living wild in the sewers, breeding as fast as rats, and rats that grow to the size of dogs, that would tear out your throat and drain your blood if you so much as dared to...
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HOLY TRINITY CHURCH IN WINDSOR
The church I describe in my novel The Goddess And The Thief is in fact a real one, situated in the centre of Windsor. It was originally founded with a gift of 200 guineas that came from Queen Victoria,...
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GEORGE ALBERT SMITH ~ PIONEER OF EARLY FILM IN BRIGHTON ...
George Albert Smith January 4 1864 ~ May 17 1959Before making his name in the world of film, GA Smith had already been involved in the visual entertainment trade. He performed as a stage hypnotist, a...
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VICTORIA WOODHULL ~ THE FIRST WOMAN TO STAND FOR THE PRESIDENCY...
Victoria Woodhull 1838-1927The 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 bid to stand for the American...
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THE EARLY YEARS OF MOVING FILM ...
The VV can only apologise for not posting as often as she should, but what with the publication of a new book at the end of 2016, and since then the excitement of Christmas ~ and the ensuing festive...
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JAMES BROOKE: OR HOW TO FIND AND RULE YOUR OWN COUNTRY ...
GUEST POST BY THE AUTHOR, TOM WILLIAMSJames Brooke ~ Portrait by Sir Francis Grant, The National Portrait Gallery.James Brooke was a child of British colonialism. Born in Benares, India in 1803, his...
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HOW DO I LOVE THEE? LET ME COUNT THE WAYS...
Portraits of Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning by Thomas ReadThe VV's early childhood was often spent in front of a television set watching old black-and-white classic films. The Barretts...
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RIDDLE OF A CURIOUS LOVE LETTER ...
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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WILL YOU KEEP YOUR KISSES FOR ME?
For many centuries Valentine's Day was celebrated as a time when tokens of love could be exchanged. But, the tradition became truly popular during the Victorian era when, due to improvements in...
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VICTORIAN CHILDREN'S STORY BOOK ~ THE BUTTERFLY'S AT HOME
The VV has recently been helping to sort through the home of an elderly relative who has sadly had to move into a residential nursing home. The house was full of books, some of which are very old...
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HEE SING AT THE GREAT EXHIBITION...
The opening of the Great Exhibition by Henry Courtney Selous 1851-2The Victorians very often commissioned paintings of major historical events, which were then produced as commemorative prints and sold...
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THE RISE AND FALL OF TOY THEATRE...
A WONDERFUL GUEST POST BY GARRETT EPPS which first appeared in CRAFTSMANSHIP MAGAZINE's Winter Issue 2016. A writer discovers the living remains of miniature theatrical productions, which served as...
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MILLAIS' MUSE ~ ESSAY BY KEVIN HILL
The VV first saw this essay published in the Pre-Raphaelite Society membership magazine. Now, she is delighted to publish Kevin Hill's article here as well. I returned on a grey January morning, having...
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THE SILVER SWAN AT BOWES MUSEUM ...
When I was researching and writing my novel, Elijah’s Mermaid, I planned a scene with an automaton, and vaguely recalled having seen one in an article about a clockwork swan on display at the Bowes...
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THE INFLUENCE OF HEREFORDSHIRE IN MY VICTORIAN NOVELS...
I was born and spent my childhood in the English county of Herefordshire, so it's really little wonder that it features so strongly in my books.Having gone to school in Leominster, a medieval market...
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SUTHERLAND MACDONALD, AND THE VICTORIAN ART OF TATTOOING ...
The National Maritime Museum Cornwall has a major new exhibition entitled: Tattoo: British Tattoo Art Revealed. Running from now until January 2018, the exhibition illustrates how tattoos have been...
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EATING WITH VICTORIA ~ A GREEDY QUEEN ...
GUEST POST BY ANNIE GRAYPortrait of Victoria, 1875By Heinrich Von Angeli Copyright HM QEII, 2017/Bridgeman ImagesA Greedy Queen is my first book, but in some ways has been simmering away in my mind for...
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THE FEJEE MERMAID: A HIDEOUS SIGHT...
A Mermaid by J.W.WaterhouseWhen I was a little girl, I was obsessed with mermaids. Hans Christian Anderson had a lot to answer for, as did John William Waterhouse who painted this romantic and sensual...
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THE HALL BY THE SEA ~ 'LORD' GEORGE SANGER'S MARGATE MENAGERIE ...
Recently, while in Margate, the VV visited the Dreamland Funfair resort and learned that in Victorian times the site was called ‘The Hall by the Sea’ - being situated as it was just over the road from...
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THE VICTORIAN GAME OF FOOTBALL ...
Woolwich Arsenal Football Team, 1895The Virtual Victorian loves football, and with the season about to start again it seemed a good enough reason to look back through the mists of history, with many of...
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