Georgian/Victorian Britain
Feature Writer Articles in Georgian/Victorian Britain
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The Last Expedition
Daniel Liebotwitz & Charlie Pearson's book about the last and most controversial African expedition led by Henry Morton Stanley.
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Richard William Howard Vyse
Soon after its discovery in 1837, the Sarcophagus of Menkaura was lost when the ship carrying it, the Beatrice, disappeared in or near the Mediterranean.
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How to Collect British Napoleonic Figures
Collecting Napoleonic wargaming figures is a relaxing hobby and a great way to learn about the history of the Napoleonic Wars. The first step is deciding on figure size.
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Thomas Crapper
For most of British history, people used privies or holes to relieve themselves, but the Victorian era saw a host of new inventions to address the growing problem.
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Henry & John Fielding
Together the brothers Henry and John Fielding created London's first police force.
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Royal Marines
Essentially soldiers at sea, the Royal Marines of the British Navy achieved their lasting fame serving under the great commanders Nelson and Cochrane.
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Writing Boxes
Called Jefferson Boxes in America, the writing box was a staple piece of furniture of the wealthy in Georgian and Victorian Britain.
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1812 at Sea
In 1812, the small American navy, led by the ships USS Constitution and USS United States would shock the Royal Navy.
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Scottish Highlander
The weapons and uniforms of the highlanders who served in North America during the French and Indian War
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Fusilier Cooper
Part of the Leonaur Eyewitness to War Series, Fusilier Cooper is an account of John S. Cooper as he marches through the Peninsular Campaign and the Battle of New Orleans.
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Claude Duval (1643-70)
After Dick Turpin, the foreign born Claude Duval was probably England's most famous Highwayman.
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The First Boer War
The First Boer War consisted of just three major battles: Laing's Nek, Schuinshoogte, and Majuba. All three proved to be humiliating defeats for the overconfident British
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The Victorian Funeral
The Victorian view of death was quite different than our modern perception and this was reflected in their funeral practices.
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Zulu
One of the best British action movies ever made, Zulu launched the career of Michael Caine and insured that the Battle of Rorke's Drift was not forgotten.
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The Battle of Khambula
After the Lord Chelmsford's disaster at Isandlawana, Colonel Henry Evelyn Wood restored British military supremacy in Zululand.
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Fuzzy-Wuzzy
Made famous by Rudyard Kipling's poem, fuzzy-wuzzy, the Beja Warriors came from an ancient people and were one of Britain's most fearsome colonial enemies.
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Queen Victoria’s Christening
On June 21, 1819 the heir to the throne of England was christened, Alexandrina Victoria. To her father, the name was an insult.
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The Death of General Gordon
Thanks to a painting by George William Joy, The Death of General Gordon, is one of the iconic images of Victorian Imperialism, but did it really happen that way?
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The Gordon Relief Expedition
In 1885, General Lord Wolseley led a desperate race across the Sudan, in order to try and save General Gordon and the city of Khartoum.
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General Charles Gordon
One of the best known figures in the Victorian military during life, he would become even more famous after his death at the fall of Khartoum during the first Sudan War.
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Birth of Queen Victoria.
The Death of Princess Charlotte put a great question mark on the succession of the English throne.
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Birth of the Victoria Cross
The history and mystery of the world's most famous military medal
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The Battle of Vinya-Njara
Best known for his expedition to find Dr. David Livingstone, Stanley tore a bloody path across Africa and nearly lost his life at the remote village of Vinya-Njara.
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Isandlwana
In 1879 Lord Chelmsford opened the Zulu War with a complicated five-pronged attack. It would lead to one of the great disasters in British colonial history.
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The London Necropolis Railway
In 1854 a new railway service opened in London. It ran only one train a day and its only stop was a cemetery.
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Contributing Articles in Georgian/Victorian Britain
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Whistlejacket - Great Horse, Strange Name
18th century racehorse owners gave their animals strange names - Waxy, Squirt, Pot8os, all famous in the annals of racing - but who was Whistlejacket and what did he do?
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Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen
Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen proved a good influence on her husband William IV. The Australian capital Adelaide was founded in 1836 and named in her honour.
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Cora Pearl, English Courtesan
Among the historical parade of feted ladies of pleasure, Cora Pearl stands out as one of the most famous and desired of all.
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Irish Famine Refugees and British Port Towns
The Irish Famine stimulated the migration of up to a million people. This essay discusses the impact that refugees had upon the infrastructure of British port towns.
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A Short History of Victorian Valentines
If a frilly Valentine arrived in 1865, the anonymous missive might contain a proposal of marriage or an insult. The clue often lay hidden in the imagery and word choice.
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Foxie, the Dog Who Stayed With Her Dead Master
Charles Gough was an aspiring artist. In April 1805 he set out with his dog Foxie to cross Hellvellyn intent on sketching. It was three months before his body was found.
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Osborne House the Blachfords and the Slave Trade
A hundred years before Queen Victoria acquired her holiday home at Osborne on the Isle of Wight, an elegant mansion, home of the Blachfords, gazed across Osborne Bay.
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A Life of Toil in Rural Britain
Nineteenth century townsfolk unacquainted with the countryside often imagined that rural life was an idyll. This was a myth, for agricultural work was drudgery.
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Civil Uprisings in Victorian England
The legacy of Murphy's rabble rousing lectures was to further segregate Catholics and Protestants, Irish and English and to highlight the problems of free speech.
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The Murphy Riots
There were many cases of riotous behaviour during the industrial revolution. A notorious bout of uprisings were due to the agitations of one man, William Murphy.
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The Winter Queen
Beloved daughter of James I, Elizabeth became Queen of Bohemia for one year in 1619-20 before being driven into exile.
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The 18th Century English Aristocracy
In the 18th century, the aristocracy in England was in a supremely powerful position. They controlled the government, owned most of the land and enjoyed colossal wealth.
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Was King George III Mad?
In 1788, King George III began to act strangely. Among his symptoms were incessant talking and foaming at the mouth. His ministers concluded he was mad. But was he?
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The 1861 Census, An Isle of Wight Village.
The 1861 census records 191 souls living in the unexceptional village of Chillerton on the Isle of Wight. It represents a microcosm of much of 19th Century rural England.
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Centuries of Rivalry – Britain versus France
During and after the 16th century, when European countries began to spread their settlements overseas, they became hot rivals for power, influence and wealth.
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Thomas Telford, Scotland's Master Engineer
Even those who know little of Thomas Telford's life story will probably be familiar with some of the projects with which he was involved in a long and productive career.
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Britain Abolishes the Slave Trade
The struggle in Britain to achieve abolition, first of the slave trade and next of slavery itself, was long, hard and frustrating.
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Philanthropists of 19th Century Britain
In 1840, the British Parliament was presented with a shocking document that revealed the appalling conditions endured by women and children working in the coal mines.
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The English Aristocracy in the 18th Century
In the 18th century, the aristocracy in England was in a supremely powerful position. They controlled the government, owned most of the land and enjoyed colossal wealth.
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The Murder of Captain James Cook, 1779
Although it may sound a contradiction in terms, killing a god for the benefit of a community was not uncommon in the Pacific Islands during the 18th century.
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Charles Dickens and the Metropolitan Police
When the Metropolitan Police Force, founded by Sir Robert Peel, started work in London, England, in 1829, there was plenty of crime to investigate and criminals to catch.
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Mental Illness in the Victorian Era
The Victorian Era (1837-1901) was a time of change. One important change was in the treatment of mental illness.
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Victorian Child Labour
In Victorian England many children as young as five began working in the most appalling conditions imaginable.
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The Bloody Code and The English Legal System
The French Revolution of 1789 cast a long shadow over the English legal system, raising fears that its influence might give the populace subversive ideas.
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Bowes Museum The Silver Swan
Visit a quite unique community museum in Teesdale, Northern England. View the priceless relic that is the Silver Swan. Watch this fantastic machine as it fishes daily.
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