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Table-rappers
Dealing with all aspects of the Victorian fascination for the occult, this title identifies issues such as the credulity of the believers, unexplained phenomena such as levitation and manifestations and the intense rivalry between professional mediums, who were not above sabotaging each other's seances.
The Worm in the Bud
This classic book on Victorian hypocrisy reveals the other side of Victoria's Britain, and what really went on behind the lace curtains and aspidistras. Ronald Pearsall exposes, with thorough documentation, the bald facts of sex-life (approved and illicit) among the aristocracy, the middle class and poor in the nineteenth century. His curious record is honest, entertaining, and very humorous. It also reflects the conflicting values of the Victorian double standard - one is the very image of respectability, the other is an underground world in which repressions sought their outlet in depravity and licentiousness. In this book Ronald Pearsall introduces the reader to Ruskin and his unconsummated marriage, Swinburne and his predilection for flagellation, the cult of the corset, the flourishing trade in pornography and obscene photographs and orgies that took place under cover at sedate country houses.
The Romance of Travel
Over 100 illustrations. The grandeur of the age of glamourous travel is brought to life in this lavishly illustrated volume. This fascinating book celebrates a time when one could cross the Atlantic on the "Queen Mary" or speed across Europe on the "Orient Express," being pampered all the while. At journey's end there was the Ritz Hotel in Paris or the Excelsior in Venice to offer luxurious accomodations and the finest foods. A lively text, accompanied by period illustrations, make this book ideal reading for those who yearn for a gentler, less hurried age when how you reached your destination was considered as important as actually arriving.
Practical Painting
"Practical Painting provides a step-by-step explanation of painting methods both for the beginner and the more experienced artist. The range of art materials available today is vast. Oilpaints, watercolors, pastels, pen-and-ink and the multi-purpose medium, acrylic, are all discussed in detail. There are also hints on how to get started, what equipment is needed and different working procedures. It also provides information on color schemes, how the Old Masters painted, how to frame your work and sell it."--BOOK JACKET.
Tell Me, Pretty Maiden
"Why did the Victorians allow nude bathing at the seaside when a nude illustrations in a magazine could bring the full fury of the law down on the printers and publishers? Why was the Royal Academy filled with paintings of nude women when ballet dancers were considered immoral because they showed their legs? 'Tell me, pretty maiden' explores these fascinating and, to us, often ridiculous complexities. Ronald Pearsall, who has long been intrigued by this period, discusses the artists of the time and their work, and the public's reactions to them, with the help of some selections from contemporary criticism. His collection of postcards, photographs and paintings illustrates this area where prudery failed and middle-class morality stumbled, from artists as disparate as Burne-Jones and Leighton, and ranging from the nostalgic to the coy, the subtly erotic to the clinically accurate, the saucy to the decadent. This well-written and aptly illustrated book gives an intimate glimpse into the prejudices and morals of our immediate ancestors." -- dust jacket.
Kings & Queens
Over 100 illustrations. The story of the kings and queens of England is long and fascinating. It begins with the early monarchs who were little more than tribal warlords, and moves down through the centuries to the present day and the court of Queen Elizabeth II. It is a story of treachery, lust, persecution, and faltering but unremitting progress, sometimes despite the monarchs themselves rather than because of them. This beautifully illustrated and informative volume contains over 100 full-color historical reproductions.
A Connoisseur's Guide to Antique Clocks and Watches
These beautifully illustrated surveys of the most coveted antiques and collectibles introduce the beginner to the lavish world of antique treasures and are comprehensive enough to afford valuable information to the experienced connoisseur as well.
Histories of Sexuality
This book presents the first assessment of one of the most rapidly expanding fields of research: the history of sexuality. From the early efforts of historians to work out a model for sexual history, to the extraordinary impact of French philosopher Michel Foucault, to the vigorous debates about essentialism and social constructionism, to the emergence of contemporary debates about historicism, queer theory, embodiment, gender and cultural history - we now have vast and diverse historical scholarship on sex and sexuality. 'Histories of Sexuality' highlights the key historical moments and issues: pederasty and cultures of male passivity in ancient Greece and Rome; the impact of early Christianity and ideals of renunciation on the sexual cultures of late antiquity; the sustained existence of homosexual cultures in medieval and renaissance Europe; the "invention" of homosexuality and heterosexuality in eighteenth century Europe and America; the truth behind Victorian sexual repression; the work of reformers and scientists such as Havelock Ellis, Marie Stopes, Stella Browne, Margaret Sanger, Alfred Kinsey, William Masters and Virginia Johnson.
