Solvang - a Danish town in… Southern California?! Founded in 1911 in the Santa Ynez Valley, Solvang was founded by a group of Danish-Americans who travelled from Iowa out west, attempting to get away from the harsh Midwestern winters. They bought 9,000 acres worth of land, formerly of Rancho San Carlos de Jonata, and began…
Happy 176th birthday Mary Cassatt, a fascinating female artist! I'm celebrating her life and work in today's post.
To mark VE Day 75, here are four country houses with fascinating stories about how they contributed to the war effort on the World War Two home front.
Welcome to Charleston, South Carolina, and the Aiken-Rhett House. I’ve been so excited to get exploring the US and their house museums, and the Aiken-Rhett House certainly did not disappoint. What was so interesting about the Aiken-Rhett House was the focus of the visitor interpretation: so much research has been done into the enslaved members…
Continue reading ➞ Visiting the Aiken-Rhett House, Charleston
Happy New Year! And as well, happy new decade! I’m excited to get researching and blogging for the year and have lots of ideas – but I wanted to start off the year by looking back at some of my favourite historical sites I’ve visited in 2019… Jane Austen House Museum, Chawton I’ve loved Jane…
So two weeks ago, we swapped Sheffield and the UK for Savannah, Georgia, and the US. We’ve moved for my fiancé’s job and I’m going to spend the first couple of months finishing off my PhD. This move has been a long time in the making and with that, packing up our flat and trying…
London Stereoscopic and Photographic Company, Portrait of Lola Montez, unknown date. Scottish National Portrait Gallery, PGP 837.28. Today I wanted to write about a female figure in history who completely fascinates me: Lola Montez. I first heard about Lola Montez in a song (a fantastic song you can find here) by Volbeat, and after listening…
Continue reading ➞ Lola Montez: The Fascinating Life of a Queen of Reinvention (1821-1861)
I’ve been lucky enough to start working with the lovely people at Pen and Sword books in reviewing history books – and could my first choice be anything but Jane Austen themed? Judith Stove’s “Jane Austen’s Inspiration: Beloved Friend Anne Lefroy” looks to Jane’s close friend (and aunt to the famous love interest of Jane’s,…
Continue reading ➞ Review: “Jane Austen’s Inspiration: Beloved Friend Anne Lefroy”, by Judith Stove
Look 24 Dress, Christian Dior by John Galliano, Autumn/Winter 2004. If there is anything I learned last Saturday morning in the beautiful Christian Dior exhibition at the V&A, is that Dior really is the Designer of my Dreams. Firstly, it was a dream to get a ticket to the extended run of the sold out…
Continue reading ➞ A Tour of Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams
Even though I wax lyrical on every single platform about how much I love Jane Austen, I’ve never visited her house at Chawton or her grave in Winchester Cathedral – until this week. We went on a lovely trip to Hampshire and had a beautiful day (helped by the British sunshine) exploring Jane Austen’s House…
Continue reading ➞ Walking in the footsteps of Jane Austen in Hampshire
