Gentle Reader, I present to you, this week’s weird Victorian term explained: herbaceous border This style of gardening, begun well before the Victorian Era, remains a hallmark of the English landscape to this day: shorter plants to the font, and taller ones to the back, arranged closely together. Despite its name, herbs do not necessarily […]
Oct242012
My What a Lovely Herbaceous Border: Victorian Term Explained
Oct222012
Victorian Travel Times
So you are writing something set in the Victorian era? How long will it take your characters to get from one place to another? Below I calculate travel times by horse, train, dirigible, and werewolf. Gentle Reader, occasionally the curious ask me how I calculate travel times, sooo… I wrote this blog post! Before writing […]
Oct172012
Going Regimental: The Military In Victorian Times Just Add Werewolves
So, Gentle Reader, I tried to watch Four Feathers recently. Before you accuse me of slacking off the writing, this was part of my on going attempt to understand the Victorian army system and breakdown of regiments and ranks and so forth. Four Feathers featured Rupert & Heath, a few nice costumes, a number of […]
Sep182012
Stocking Your Victorian Kitchen, 1888
A list of necessities for the kitchen of a Middle Class Victorian family of four in India, 1888. 6 Stewpans of saucepans, of sizes, with covers 2 Frying-pans 1 Omelet-pan, enameled 1 Large kettle with cock 1 Colander 1 Wire fryign basket 1 Egg poacher 1 Large boiler 2 Small tin saucepan 1 Mortor and […]
Aug282012
Prudence: A Peek At Gail Carriger’s Research
I’m writing the first Custard Protcol book right now, Gentle Reader, set in 1895. There are the usual pauses for research and as I thought you might enjoy a look at the rabbit holes I have been chasing over the past month in pursuit of fodder for Prudence. Mainly so Rue can blow it up […]
Aug232012
Medical Common Sense and Plain Home Talk, Gail Carriger’s Parasolverse Research
Rummaging about in my research books for inspiration and getting sucked yet again into Medical Common Sense and Plain Home Talk by Edward B. Foote, M.D., 1871. This book contains such delicious chapter titles as: The Causes of Nervous and Blood Derangements (Violating the Moral Nature, Bad Habits of Manhood and Womanhood) Common Sense Remedies […]
Aug152012
Victorian Household Medicine
A Household Medicine Cabinet 1870s 1. Powdered ipecacuanah [induce vomiting] 2. Purgative powder 3. Sulphate of quinine [malaria treatment] 4. Chlorodyne [chloroform and morphine tincture] 5. Carbolic acid [antiseptic] 6. Castor Oil 7. Eno’s fruit salts 8. One bottle each of M’Kesson and Robbin’s compound podophyllin and aloes and myrrh pills [for warts and verrucas, […]
May142012
In Which Editing is Compared to Flower Arranging
Every year my Mum throws a lady’s hat tea party. The requirements are simple: cook something fabulous, wear a silly hat, and come lounge about in her garden swilling tea and gossiping for an afternoon. It was pure propinquity that it happened to fall on mother’s day weekend. I showed up Friday for a mini […]
May22012
Everything Stops for Tea
I admit it, I was raised with tea. I was raised with the symbolism and the ritual, with that sense of peace and calm coziness. Everyday, rain or shine, home from work at around 4 PM the Mum would sit herself down (one of the only times she actually stopped moving) and we would have […]
Apr192012
Gail Carriger Swans Around Nottingham
I was at school at Nottingham Uni over a decade ago. I lived in the international dorm on the MBA campus for a little under two years working on my MSc (an MS for us USA folk) in Archaeological Materials. Returning gave me an inexplicable feeling of warmth. I’d missed the old city. This was […]
Apr122012
Gail Carriger Swans Round the British Museum
Tuesday morning, Gentle Reader, I sneaked away from my authorial duties to reconnect with my archaeological roots. AKA I went to the British Museum. The BM is, all issues aside (and there are A LOT of them), one of the world’s greatest repositories of archaeological artifacts and human knowledge. But what has that to do […]
Mar262012
7 Great Books for Researching the Victorians in Egypt
Today I present to you, part of our occasional series of DVD extras . . . some of the books I used to research Timeless. Ancient Egypt Lithographs by David Roberts, R.A. Roberts visited Egypt for the first time in 1838 and sketched much of the area, including archaeological sites, while he was there. He […]