Turning tragedy into timeless romance.
In July 1806, when Humphrey Hogarth was accused of cheating Henry Barry, the 8th Earl of Barrymore, at cards, he accepted the earl's challenge at a duel to defend his honor. When he showed up, cocked and loaded, he gave the gathering crowd quite an eyeful. Read on for more!
Coined by Richard Lassels (1603-1668), a Catholic priest and travel writer, the term “Grand Tour” was applied to sons from wealthy English families that embarked on travels abroad to Europe. The height of the Grand Tour’s popularity was in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Beau Brummell was the leading fashion icon of his day. So much so, his influence on men’s fashion has trickled down into the modern day suit and tie. Despite being at the forefront of English dandies, Brummell also possessed a witty mind. Ranging from witticisms, advice, and biting sarcasm, for your reading pleasure, here are 9 quotes from Beau Brummell.
While women weren't officially allowed to fully serve in England’s Royal Navy until 1993, there are reports of women dressing as men long before. These women worked alongside male sailors for months, years, and sometimes lifetimes without revealing their gender to their shipmates. Some recognizable women who worked as sailors under these conditions were Anne Jane Thornton (1817-1877) and Mary Lacy (1740-1795). While it’s unclear exactly how many women dressed as men to go venturing on the high seas, some sources say that the first woman of African descent to serve for the Royal Navy was Miss William Brown, birth name unknown.
Mary Prince was born into slavery in Bermuda. After passing through several slaveowners in the Caribbean, she was taken to England, where she shortly after left her master. She became an abolitionist and autobiographer, her written account being one of the few from women of African descent in the British colonies when slavery was legal.
Ignatius Sancho was an abolitionist, author, composer, and the first Black Breton to cast his vote. Read on for more of his interesting history.
Thomas Griffiths Wainewright (1794-1847) was a man of many professions. In his day, he was a renown artist, known author, and suspected poisoner.
Lord Byron is considered one of the greatest English poets. He established his popularity and legacy with long narrative works like Don Juan and Childe Harold's Pilgrimage. Several of his shorter more melodic poems also remain loved, such as “She Walks in Beauty,” “My Soul is Dark,” and “The Eve of Waterloo.” Considering his genius and wildly interesting life, it’s no wonder he’s left behind so many witticisms and profound quotes. Here is a selected forty for your pleasure. Read on for 40 quotes from Lord Byron.
Many of our treasured traditions, Christmas cards, Christmas trees, hanging stockings, and caroling, didn’t appear until the 1840s. This makes much of Christmas a Victorian invention., and like anything from the Victorian era, many of these beloved traditions have weird, wacky, and even sinister roots. Here's 7 weird Victorian Christmas traditions.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning were the literary power couple of the Victorian era, and their love story was just as entertaining as their poetry.
Kat Devitt 