Julia Herdman's Blog: Julia Herdman Books, page 17
April 4, 2017
The Poet Apothecary
The poet John Keats trained as an apothecary and a surgeon before deciding to dedicate himself to poetry. When Keats was 14 years old he was apprenticed to the family’s doctor, Thomas Hammond. In the summer of 1810 Keats moved in above Hammond’s surgery in Edmonton, North London. While an apprentice, Keats would have performed […]
April 3, 2017
London’s Mad House
‘Bedlam’, London’s first public mental hospital, is typically understood as a byword for chaos, mania and disorder. The world’s first hospital for the sick of mind is more properly known as St Mary Bethlehem, or Bethlehem Hospital and it was founded in 1247 as the Priory of the New Order of St Mary of Bethlem […]
April 2, 2017
The Look of Love
Eye miniatures or Lovers’ eyes were Georgian miniatures, normally watercolour on ivory, depicting the eye or eyes of a spouse, loved one or child. These ‘jewels’ were usually commissioned for sentimental reasons and were often worn as bracelets, brooches, pendants or rings with richly decorated frames, serving the same emotional need as lockets hiding portraits […]
April 1, 2017
From Mistress to Mrs Man
Rarely do we see the word ‘mistress’ in its full length today, and when we do it usually refers to a woman in an illicit relationship with a married man.‘Mistress’ in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries normally designated a woman of higher social standing. It was the female form of ‘master’, and it was […]
March 31, 2017
The Invention of the National Hero
During the eighteenth century a number of men achieved the status of national hero, the most famous of them being the legendary Captain James Cook (1728-1779), the man who spent his life exploring and mapping; Newfoundland, Australia, the Hawaiian Islands and New Zealand for the British Crown. The eighteenth century was a time when the […]
March 29, 2017
Suffer Little Children to Come Unto Me
Thomas Coram, the Anglo-American Founder of the World’s First Incorporated Charity. The Foundling Hospital in London was founded in 1739 by the philanthropic sea captain Thomas Coram. Located in Lamb’s Conduit Fields, Bloomsbury, the hospital was established to look after abandoned children and is reputedly the world’s first incorporated charity. Born in Lyme Regis, in […]
February 6, 2017
February’s Writer of Influence Philippa Gregory
Philippa Gregory is an English historical novelist who has been writing since 1987. I have always enjoyed her books and have been inspired by her approach. The best known of her works is The Other Boleyn Girl (2001), which in 2002 won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award from the Romantic Novelists’ Association and […]
January 10, 2017
Writers of Influence – Daniel Defoe
My first writer of influence is Daniel Defoe. Defoe is known today for his contribution to English literature with works such as Robinson Crusoe, Moll Flanders and Roxanne but there was far more to him than a mere penner of novels. Defoe was a talented and versatile writer who used his writing skills to influence […]
Writers of Influence
The theme of my blog this month is writers of influence in the 18th century. My first writer of influence is Daniel Defoe. Defoe is known today for his contribution to English literature with works such as Robinson Crusoe, Moll Flanders and Roxanne but there was far more to him than a mere penner of […]
