It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a woman in possession of a love of history, must be in want of a blog.
Castle Ward, in Northern Ireland, is a remarkable building, though it is not known for architectural brilliance, opulent interiors, great artworks, or beautiful gardens. Instead, what strikes you when you visit Castle Ward is the overwhelming sense that the architect must have been deranged. This is because one half of the stone mansion is done up entirely in Georgian classical …
Many of us in England like to think of ourselves as a fairly tolerant people, accepting of many traditions and ethnic groups (whether that is always true is another question). At any rate, when we hear the term 'anti-Semitism' we are most likely to think of Nazi Germany, or the Russian pogroms of the 19th …
The vicissitudes of pre-modern life invariably took their toll on the health and appearance of 18th-century Europeans; their faces were often riddled with smallpox scars, their teeth decaying, their gums caved in from lost teeth, their gait uneven from childhood rickets. One way both men and women could hide these defects was to wear a thick face of makeup. A very …
Continue reading Painted faces: cosmetics in the 18th century