Rose Lerner's Blog, page 30
August 20, 2012
FLESH-BAG: a shirt
New History Hoydens post up! Part 1 of 2, excerpts from James Hardy Vaux’s 1819 Dictionary of the Flash Language (i.e. criminal slang). BEST: to get your money at the best, signifies to live by dishonest or fraudulent practices, without labour or industry, according to the general acceptation of the latter word; but, certainly, no [...]
July 30, 2012
Without the Mace, the House is totally powerless
New History Hoydens post up on some interesting UK Parliamentary traditions, including: the mace, the House of Commons snuff-box, and my personal favorite, the House of Commons opera hat! Yes, I know they don’t use the opera hat anymore, but they DID until 1998. (Longtime readers may recognize the post as a revised and illustrated [...]
July 9, 2012
The actual loss to government by the sudden destruction of the Custom House cannot be calculated
History Hoydens post up on the London Customs House fire of 1814! The fire destroyed not only the Customs House and all the records of the Revenue Service (including the irreplaceable notebooks kept by revenue officers stationed all over England), but also many of the surrounding buildings—partly because a rumor started that there were barrels [...]
June 18, 2012
The throat was too narrow to admit the hand
New History Hoydens post up! The 1808 Stronsay sea monster, which washed up on the beach in Orkney. Eyewitness testimony, snobbery, cryptozoology, and Lord Byron!
June 4, 2012
When public terror was calmed, and calm had led to reflection
New History Hoydens post up! I bought an engraving of the burning of the Barrière de la Conférence at a flea market yesterday, and I talk about the history of the engraving and the burning of the Paris Customs Houses on the first day of the French Revolution!
May 7, 2012
Never shake thy gory locks at me!
New History Hoydens post up, about the history of sightings of murder victims. Cool stuff! Apparently the idea was taken so seriously through the first part of the eighteenth century that a ghost sighting of someone could be enough to open a murder investigation without any other reason for suspicion!
May 2, 2012
New contest: “Wild Ride” by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer
I’m giving away a copy of Wild Ride by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer, signed by Jenny Crusie. She is one of my absolute idols and I’m so excited to have met her and be able to do this! This one isn’t a romance, although both main characters do have romance subplots–it’s a found family [...]
April 30, 2012
Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Rose
SPOILER ALERT So…it’s being confirmed all over the internet that Benedict Cumberbatch’s role in the new Star Trek movie is… Khan. There are no words for how angry I am. Why would you give one of the most iconic roles in Star Trek, a major role for an actor of color, to a white person? [...]
April 16, 2012
Someone’s buried alive, you know you want to read about it
New History Hoydens post up! The Very Bloody History of the Hawkhurst Gang of smugglers (no relation to Adrian!), including a pitched battle with a village, a raid on a Customs House, and some good old-fashioned torture and murders.
March 26, 2012
Meet a Person from the 19th Century!
History Hoydens post up about my trip to Mystic CT (a historic shipbuilding and whaling town). I discuss (inter alia) precision craftsmanship, eccentric billionaires, and my addiction to research books…
