The View from a Drawbridge

Tag: Victorian

  • Toxic Books!

    Toxic Books!

    A must-read for anyone who has a Victorian era book on their shelf.

  • Stink Pipes! Who Knew?

    We overlook them, but we’d sure miss them if they were gone.

  • Thomas Stevens and His Penny-Farthing

    A unique man who explored a world that we’ll never get to know firsthand.

  • Penny-Farthings: Transportational Death Traps

    Some had no brakes at all. (What could possibly go wrong?)

  • A Heartwarming Holiday Play

    Mr. Dickens and His Carol

  • Digestive Biscuits in Their Proper Context

    We begin our search in the fetid mire of Victorian England.

  • Sheele’s Green: The Color of Death

    The denial of science can be toxic.

  • The Rational Dress Society

    Women should not have to harm themselves for fashion.

  • The Gaches Mansion

    I love Victorian houses, with their elegant porches, dormers, scrollwork, and spindles. I particularly love the Queen Anne style, because towers and turrets make my imagination run wild. I can see myself living in one of these magical manses, wearing high-collared, full-length dresses. I just can’t picture me paying the heating bill. One of my…

  • Greetings from a Former Brothel

    During my recent visit to Port Townsend, Washington, I explored a gorgeously restored Victorian edifice called the Palace Hotel. This brick building was built in 1889, and has housed many things throughout its history, including a billiard room, a saloon, a newspaper, a theater, a grocery store and several restaurants. But, most famously, for 8…