Victorian Halloween!

A bit of a Halloween spirit with this cute Victorian witch!

(Her dress seems inspired on 18th century Rococo dresses and paniers, how intriguing! If anyone wants to analyse that, please feel free!)

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Glass, greenhouses, & Dahlias

This is from a book I read called Tuinieren Door de Jaren Heen (I can’t find the English title for this! ) by A. Huxley and M. Michael.
In England between 1695 and 1699 there was a tax on glass objects. In 1746 it was re-instated, but at that time mostly for glass plates and windows. [...]

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Paying compliments in the Victorian era & Burnett’s Little Lord Fauntleroy

Here’s a fragment from Hodgson Burnett’s Little Lord Fauntleroy, in which you can see a little bit of the customs regarding compliments in the later half of the nineteenth century:

“Come here, Lord Fauntleroy,” she said, smiling; “and tell me why you look at me so.”
“I was thinking how beautiful you are,” his young lordship replied. [...]

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Gardening in the Nineteenth Century

It would go too far to describe the entire history of gardening in the Nineteenth Century, so I’ll just give you some tidbits:
Wardian Case: The Wardian case was invented by Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward, in 1829. By accident he found out that his ferns grew very well in bottles, and he developed this idea to [...]

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Evolution of dinner times.

Recently I stumbled upon this interesting article about the changes in dinner time. Here are some excerpts about dinner times in the eighteenth and nineteenth century:
Capitalism, colonialism, and then the industrial revolution were changing the world’s economy. People had more money, and in the cities at least, more goods were available, including candles and lamps. [...]

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Anthony Trollope: The Way We Live Now

One of my favourite Victorian novels is Anthony Trollope’s The Way We Live Now. Even though it is meant as a satirical novel and most characters and events are probably exaggerated, it seems to give quite a good image of Victorian society.

The book started as a series in the newspaper, which is visible [...]

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Public Parks in the Nineteenth Century

While the making public of gardens in order to create people’s parks was something that first started in the eighteenth century, many public parks were created in the nineteenth century, as well.
When planning new cities or neighborhoods, parks started to be planned in. The most important reason was the increasing urbanisation and industrialism. The public [...]

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Fashioning the Bourgeoisie

A book I’m really fond of right now is Fashioning the Bourgeoisie:A History of Clothing in the Nineteenth Century by Philippe Perrot, translated by Richard Bienvenu.
When department stores like Le Bon Marché first opened their doors in mid-nineteenth-century Paris, shoppers were offered more than racks of ready-made frock coats and crinolines. They were given [...]

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Book review: Michael Cox’ The Glass of Time

I just finished reading The Glass of Time by author Michael Cox. I must say, I was very pleasantly surprised! Usually I’m not a big fan of modern Victorian literature (mostly because it’s done badle quite often) but The Glass of Time makes a very nice read.

The book’s main character is Esperanza Gorst, who is [...]

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Beau Brummell

Beau Brummell, né George Bryan Brummell (7 June 1778, London, England – 30 March 1840 (aged 61), Caen, France), was the arbiter of men’s fashion in Regency England and a friend of the Prince Regent, the future King George IV. He established the mode of men wearing understated, but fitted, beautifully cut clothes, adorned with [...]

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