Sherlock Holmes and the Curious Incident of the Planning Application

December 28, 2009

As Blighty seems to have descended into Sherlockmania, now is a good time to highlight the peril faced by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s former home, Undershaw.  This fine example of late-Victorian architecture is poised to become a development of modern apartments – at least it will if Waverley Council get their way.  Unless they’re going [...]

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A Victorian Round-up

December 28, 2009

The festive season has given me a rare opportunity to poke about on other blogs and see what’s happening:

The Quack Doctor suggests a useful diet aid in Allan’s Anti-Fat fluid.  It was made from bladder wrack, which isn’t quite as disgusting as it sounds.
Acclaimed neo-Victorian novelist Lee Jackson has published his latest book, The Diary [...]

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Recent acquisitions and festive musings

December 27, 2009

Father Christmas seems to have mainly brought me chocolate this year, which means I shall be the size of a small Victorian terrace by January.  However, he did pop a few books in my stocking, too, and also a contribution towards the Florence Marryat Fund.  I have already spent an enjoyable red wine-fuelled evening with [...]

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Annual reading meme

December 14, 2009

Firstly, apologies for the blog silence over the last month or so.  I was recently astonished to meet two people who actually read my posts, so I am now feeling sense of obligation.  My PhD has been keeping me very busy, as have various clients.  Straddling the nineteenth and twentieth centuries is deceptively fatiguing, you [...]

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Recent acquisitions

November 9, 2009

Quite apart from the recent Birthday Bonanza, I’ve also acquired a few other Victorian treasures by various means.  After a 3 month battle, I have finally managed to spend a Waterstone’s gift card on David Waller’s The Magnificent Mrs. Tennant: The Adventurous Life of Gertrude Tennant, Victorian Grande Dame.  Waller is an alumnus of Birkbeck [...]

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Birthday Bonanza

November 9, 2009

Yes, the Papal birthday came around again last week, and I was blessed with a lovely selection of books.  I felt rather sorry for my benefactors, as normally half the fun of Wish Lists is choosing the book you fancy yourself and then borrowing it afterwards.  I can’t imagine many folk share my eclectic tastes, [...]

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Book memories meme

November 9, 2009

This post is a slightly delayed reaction to the lovely Kirsty’s meme from a few weeks ago.  Although short, it’s deceptively time-consuming, as it takes the unsuspecting blogger on a trip down memory lane.  When you get to my advanced age, that’s quite a long trip.
Anyway, here goes….
The book that’s been on your shelves the [...]

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The Page 56 Meme

October 13, 2009

I’ve just purloined this meme from Kirsty at Other Stories:

Grab the nearest book.
Open it to page 56.
Find the fifth sentence.
Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.

Don’t dig for your favourite book, the coolest book, or the most intellectual one: pick the CLOSEST.
I happen to be tinkering with an edition [...]

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Victorian news round-up

October 12, 2009

A quick scoot around the blogs has unearthed some more treats:

Vulpes Libris has reviewed a new book on the Great Exhibition (for a less exhaustive account, I would recommend The World for a Shilling)
The Guardian’s view of Michael Slater’s new biography of Charles Dickens.  As much as I enjoyed Peter Ackroyd’s behemoth, I can’t wait [...]

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Recent acquisitions

October 12, 2009

I was very pleased that Monday started with a delivery of three books.  Unsurprisingly, there were a couple of Marryats among them.  Gup, Sketches of Anglo-Indian Life and Character is a reprint of Florence Marryat’s recollections of her time spent in India when her husband was stationed there during the Raj.  I recently read an [...]

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