We can be relatively sure that Catherine, the heroine of Northanger Abbey, would not have approved of the name of Hugh Walpole’s estate. Strawberry Hill? Are you kidding me? Could not the owner have devised a more amazingly horrible name for a Gothic castle? But what do you think that Catherine would have thought of […]
Focusing on the exhibits that provide detail about London in the 19th century, find one particular object that vividly captures an aspect of life in this place and time. Be sure to fully explain and describe the artifact and offer analytical comments that help the rest of us understand its significance. Unfortunately, the comment box does not […]
Check out the interesting similarity between the image at left, capturing, we assume, an iconic moment, with the classic still from the 1931 film version of Dracula. What is it about the heroine’s body language in these images? In the title song, which accompanies the first appearance of the Phantom on stage, he emphasizes his […]
What is it like to be a mudlark for an hour? What did you find? How do you think the experience would have been different in 1850? The brief Wikipedia article on mudlarks is worth checking out.
Through a carefully detailed description of just one 19th-century picture at the Tate, discuss how British culture at this time represents female sexuality and/or feminine gender roles. It is often said that women at the time are represented either as virginal angels or devilish whores, and that perhaps offers a good place to start (but […]
Freud’s House is full of objects that he has collected. What kind of images does he seem to prefer? Which one catches your eye in relation to “The Uncanny”? More images of his Study . . .
The Royal Botanic Garden at Kew was founded at the beginning of the Victorian period in 1840. What can we say about 19th century British society based on what we see here? What social priorities or values directed its development? To what lengths (literally, in a geographic sense) did the society go to bring together […]
In Dracula, Stoker does not mention the particular graveyard where Lucy is entombed. Highgate seems a likely candidate because of its proximity to Hampstead Heath. But I am interested to hear what you think about 19th-century middle-class life — and death — in relation to this site. Find and analyze a text or image that […]
This play is based on a novel written by Susan Hill (1983). It was first produced in 1987, and is now one of the longest running plays on the London stage. It is one of many “neo-Victorian” works of literature, contemporary fiction and film set in the Victorian past. What was it about that period […]