The historical setting for my work in progress, The Brass Queen, is the industrial city of Sheffield, England in 1897. The novel details the adventures of various characters as they prepare for the impending visit of Queen Victoria. Our heroine, Constance, is head of the decorating committee for the royal visit. Her obsession with hanging flower…
During the Victorian age there was a surge of interest in the Celtic queen Boudicca. Boudicca led a British uprising against the occupying forces of the Roman Empire in A.D. 60 or 61. Boudicca’s name means “victorious,” or Victoria, and Queen Victoria was keen to associate herself with her heroic namesake. Queen Victoria’s Poet Laureate,…
The Victorian preoccupation with scientific progress underlies the enormous catalog of animal paintings produced in the nineteenth century. A new understanding of the science of biology led to the development of specialized animal breeds both domestic and agricultural. Immortalizing the new breeds in oil paintings and engravings reflected the physical changes of the breeds….