Happy Coronation Day!

“Queen Victoria was crowned at Westminster Abbey about a year after her accession, — June the 28th, 1838. It would be easy to fill many of these pages with accounts of a ceremonial which has increased in splendor as it has diminished in significance. The whole ceremony was founded upon the belief that the Sovereign [...]

Tuesday 10: Qing China

10 Events (of dozens) in Qing China that led to the 1911 Revolution:
1. First Opium War 1839: For decades the Chinese desperately tried to stop the illegal opium smuggling conducted by foreign (mainly British) ships at Canton. Millions were addicted and corruption was rife among customs officials. Smuggling also drained the cash silver from the [...]

Public reading

Tonight I’ll be giving another public reading at my library. Let’s recap prior experiences, shall we?
Reading number one: Although practice had me a minute under time, apparently I went over during the actual reading. The moderator of the evening, while without a giant hook, did cover the microphone just as I finished. [...]

Viewing the Civil War, Under Water

Welcome to the Victorian era, my Muse whispers, while I draft scenes about a 19th Century submarine for my anthology story with other co-bloggers. So I let my Muse teleport me back to when an enthusiastic child-cousin raced up to me at a café near dawn one day — because of a Civil War submarine [...]

Tuesday Ten, Famous Victorian Women

Today I thought I’d talk about famous women in the 19th century. Many of the names on the list you’ll know; I hope to add some information you may not know about them, as they are only names of women you (and I) remember from our early education. Some you many not know at all. [...]

Tuesday Ten: Unsung Heroes of Gettysburg

With the anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg just a couple of weeks away, as I’m working on polishing up the final draft of Northern Temptress, the Civil War historical (set in and around the Battle of Gettysburg) I have under contract with The Wild Rose Press, it’s not surprising that my thoughts these days [...]

10 Communication Discoveries 1839-1901

I could do my Tuesday 10 from now through next year on scientific discoveries, but these are all on communication.
1. Fax Machine 1843 (Fig. 1) The first fax machine was invented by Alexander Bain. In 1843, Bain received a British patent for “improvements in producing and regulating electric currents and improvements in timepieces and in [...]