W. B. Yeats’ Live-in “Spirit Medium”
In the Victorian era, a different kind of ghostwriting became popular—largely because it allowed men to take all the credit.
The Forgotten Master of the Ghost Story
Vernon Lee was a widely-read writer of 19th-century ghost stories, called the "cleverest woman in Europe." Her life story was pretty fascinating, too.
What, Prithee, Is a Poetess?
The loss and recovery of a poetic genre shows how the canon of literary history treats women writers the moment they start to gain attention and approval.
How the Thames Tunnel Revealed London’s Class Divide
The Thames Tunnel, the world's first underwater tunnel, is still in use 175 years after its long-delayed opening, but you can't shop there anymore.
The Extremely Un-British Origins of Tea
Tea is bound up in the nation's history of colonial expansion. British tea drinkers preferred Chinese tea at first, and had to be convinced on patriotic grounds to drink tea from India.
How Victorians’ Fear of Starvation Created Our Christmas Lore
One scholar sees more in the Christmas food of authors like Charles Dickens—English national identity and class.
Why Was Turkish Delight C.S. Lewis’s Guilty Pleasure?
Austerity during WWII was hardly the time for pounds of exotic candy. Yet The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe prominently features Turkish delight.
“The Culture of the Copy”: Victorians’ Obsession With Wax Flowers
Wax flowers were a major obsession of Victorian women, allowing them to combine art and industry.