What I read
Finished The Fall of Koli, which I felt slightly fell off from the previous volumes - a bit kitchen-sinky with all that was being thrown in.
Sherry Thomas, Claiming the Duchess (Fitzhugh Trilogy #0.5)(2014). This was very slight, especially when it turned out that about half the pages were a trailer for Vol 1 of the actual trilogy. ( Read more... )

We are delighted to see that a Real Victorian Historian has been invited to undertake the unsavoury task of reviewing The Victorians by Jacob Rees-Mogg, and that she wields a mighty codfish upon him: In parliament, Rees-Mogg is often referred to as “the honourable member for the 18th century”, a nod to those funny clothes he wears, along with ( Read more... )

Discussion over on Facebook over bloopers in historical romances/histfic more generally over the state of the law/medical knowledge/etc in such a way as to undermine one's enjoyment -
Well, pedantic ol' mine, anyway. (Dr Rdrz may recall diatribes apropos over 'they did not know that about syphilis then', 'penicillin had not yet been invented', ' ( Read more... )

It is many a year, nay, 'tis many a decade, my dearios, since I did Religious Knowledge O-level: but, and here I call upon those whose Biblical scholarship is fresher and more up to date than mine, am I not correct in disinterring from the vaults of memory the fact that the gospels were not, in fact, first-hand accounts? The book I wish I’d written
( Read more... )

Am in Ghent (if they had had to take the tram into town with the good news, the burghers would still be waiting, just saying.)
According to the guidebook, the Central Post Office, erected 1913, includes sculpted heads of important attendees at the Ghent International Exhibition held that year.
Including the Lady with the Lamp -
Even if she hadn't ( Read more... )

I occasionally frequent a building which has, within the past year, refurbished its ground-floor ladies' loo in what I can only describe as virtue-signalling eco-conscious style, with numerous statements to that effect.
(I am really not entirely persuaded that hot - and sometimes the air is not even that hot - air hand-dryers are really so very ( Read more... )

What I read
Finished Mrs Robinson's Disgrace, about which I was somewhat meh: possibly I do not not think 'apparently respectable Victorian lady had sexy thoughts, and possibly consummated desires' is so very remarkable a story. Also, I am already well-acquainted with some of the information about Victorian marriage and divorce which may be new to ( Read more... )

Went to see The Limehouse Golem last night.
Okay, I can see why the British Museum Reading Room, approached via the well-known Great Russell Street facade, looked nothing whatsoever like the famed Round Room, no longer in existence in its former glory. But I am still a bit 'huh?' about the layout and the rare volumes available on open shelves. (Not ( Read more... )

The Lost City That’s Not Lost, Not a City, and Doesn’t Need to Be Discovered.
Though - and this may be due to where one does one's archaeology and such-like factors - if you're going to talk about the idee fixe of 'discovering' something, isn't the classic account Schliemann digging down like a terrier after a badger until he came to what he ( Read more... )

As regular readers will know, I have more than once complained about that thing - it's usually amazon recommends but I think these actually came up via Kobo - where because you once ordered A Thing, you get a whole lot of recommendations of Other Stuff that you might like, based presumably on 'other people who bought first thing, also bought these ( Read more... )