It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a woman in possession of a love of history, must be in want of a blog.
In my last post, on English and North American death records from 1647 to the present, I briefly mentioned how the development of the industrial city in 19th century Europe and North America changed patterns of disease and mortality. The dreadful overcrowding in the slums, together with a lack of adequate water supply, particularly encouraged contagious …
Continue reading Filth, disease and Dickens: Jacob’s Island, a London slum
In 1842, William Thackeray published the fourth of his satirical pieces titled Miss Tickletoby's Lectures on English History, in Punch magazine, for which he was a regular contributor. They are a hilarious send-up of 19th-century English education, as captured through the lectures of the imaginary schoolmistress/historian, Miss Tickletoby. Readers who can remember Our Island Story may see some similarities …
Continue reading Miss Tickletoby’s Lectures on English History: the Battle of Hastings
The Namib desert is a barren wasteland. The coastal edge of the desert in which the ruined town of Kolmanskop is located is particularly dry, receiving less than 50mm of rain a year. It seems an unlikely area for permanent settlement, yet a century ago Kolmanskop was a flourishing mining town. The town came into …