#victorianera — Public Fediverse posts

“A taste for the penny dreadful is utterly devoid of excuse,” sniffed one critic of 1847. Yet the serpentine romances held whole slums in thrall. Take G. W. M. Reynolds’s WAGNER THE WEHR-WOLF, sold in penny parts from 1846: a man who sold his soul for a leap into the moonlit woods, and paid nightly in fur. Issued cliff by cliff to readers who could not wait the week. It is not greatness; it is appetite. Examine the hunger, and you hold the age. #PennyDreadful #VictorianEra

“A taste for the penny dreadful is utterly devoid of excuse,” sniffed one critic of 1847. Yet the serpentine romances held whole slums in thrall. Take G. W. M. Reynolds’s WAGNER THE WEHR-WOLF, sold in penny parts from 1846: a man who sold his soul for a leap into the moonlit woods, and paid nightly in fur. Issued cliff by cliff to readers who could not wait the week. It is not greatness; it is appetite. Examine the hunger, and you hold the age. #PennyDreadful #VictorianEra

PARLOUR CIPHERS, no. IV — Playfair's Square. In 1854 Sir Charles Wheatstone built a five-and-twenty square on a single keyword, enciphering letters two at a time so no tail of single-letter frequencies could force it. Lord Playfair pressed it upon the Army. The engraving shows its begetter. Challenge: take a keyword, lay out your square, and render your own name in pairs. #VictorianEra #SherlockHolmes

PARLOUR CIPHERS, no. IV — Playfair's Square. In 1854 Sir Charles Wheatstone built a five-and-twenty square on a single keyword, enciphering letters two at a time so no tail of single-letter frequencies could force it. Lord Playfair pressed it upon the Army. The engraving shows its begetter. Challenge: take a keyword, lay out your square, and render your own name in pairs. #VictorianEra #SherlockHolmes

Of all the night-side trades of old London, none kept queerer hours than the resurrection man. By lantern and crowbar he haunted the burial grounds of the outskirts, digging when the watch judged a new coffin's tenant fresh. He sold the freight to the anatomist at a guinea a body, feet first in a sack he called the jacket. Swore the trade, the safest corpses were the hanged; and mourners were paid to sit over a grave till the earth settled. #VictorianEra #LondonHistory

Of all the night-side trades of old London, none kept queerer hours than the resurrection man. By lantern and crowbar he haunted the burial grounds of the outskirts, digging when the watch judged a new coffin's tenant fresh. He sold the freight to the anatomist at a guinea a body, feet first in a sack he called the jacket. Swore the trade, the safest corpses were the hanged; and mourners were paid to sit over a grave till the earth settled. #VictorianEra #LondonHistory

#BookReview The unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower

The year is 1883 and Emma M. Lion is returning to London with a very specific goal in mind. The book is written in diary form and Emma, not only expect us to read it, but writes freely, not redacting it, nor censoring herself, as she tells us at the beginning.

Her goal is encumbered by some family members and the fact she is still underage, but she also has friends and through the pages of Emma’s journals we get to know the characters, the context, including the historical one.We also get to know Emma, which seems a sharp-witted, intelligent, resilient, and independent young woman, but also sometimes with a propensity to “incidents”, which makes some situations quite funny.

I loved this book. This first volume is quite short, but it gives us the context and opens up a series of possibilities that makes me want to read the next ones. There were two things that stood out for me: the prominence of the house, Lapis Lazuli House, that felt like it was almost a character in its own right and I’m quite curious to see how it evolves (can’t resist to a house as a character); and the fact Emma loves books and wants to create a library. At the end of the journal, she lists the books she managed to acquire during this time, and now I’ll be expecting a book list at the end of each journal.

Beth Brower self-published eight books in this series but now Bloomsbury is publishing the collection (the first two volumes being available from today), which means it will be easier for readers to find them. Brower is also writing another volume and it is truly a delight to find a new series to love.

Thank you to Bloomsbury UK to for approve my request of this ARC at NetGalley

Indian Towns with a European Vibe: Explore Charm, Luxury, and Culture in 2026–2027

https://indiasafaristrends.wordpress.com/2025/08/25/indian-towns-with-a-european-vibe-explore-charm-luxury-and-culture-in-2025-2026/

Hello loves, latest My Love Letter Time Machine podcast episode out now. CW - Victorian alcohol abuse. Janie’s delight at at the family seaside day out is tempered by Emma’s increasingly unkind behaviour. This week Janie takes us to Cleepthorpes, then as now, probably the nearest bit of sandcastle sand to Sheffield. Absolutely love putting this episode together. Link: https://mylovelettertimemachine.buzzsprout.com/ (you should prob unfollow me if you don't want me bleating on about the pod).

#Podcast #HistoryPodcast #PodcastHistory #Handsworth #Cleethorpes #Cleethorpeshistory #Sheffield #SheffieldHistory #Yorkshire #YorkshireHistory #ironworks #loveletters #1870s #1880s #19thcentury #1800s #victorianera #victorianhistory #victorian #letterwriting #history #historica #womenshistory #familyhistory #industrialhistory #industrialheritage #TrueStory #Middlesbrough #teeside #letterwriting