Yew trees and graveyards
There are numerous reasons given as to why yew trees have become ubiquitous in our graveyards. Some trace it back to ancient times when druids […]
Fantastic Miscellany Special Offer!
For a short time only you can buy all three of my miscellanies — The Book Lovers’ Miscellany, A Library Miscellany and A Museum Miscellany […]
The ‘Invention’ of Folklore in the Nineteenth Century
The word ‘folklore’, was coined in 1846 by the British writer and editor of Notes and Queries, W. J. Thoms. Prior to this local traditions […]
My Next Book: A Museum Miscellany
It is with great excitement that I introduce my next book A Museum Miscellany — the final instalment of my miscellany trilogy (see here for […]
The ‘Woman Question’ Solved? Female Middle Class Emigration in the Nineteenth Century
In 1851 the census exposed the bald truth that there was an excess of 500,000 women in Britain. Not only this, but the statistics also […]
Traditional Methods of Divination
Humans have always looked for certainty in life, after all it’s reassuring to know what the future might bring. As a result throughout history people […]
6 Writers and Artists who Quit
The creative urge is seen as something that can’t be ignored, and yet over the years a number of hugely talented writers and artists have […]
On Definitions of Short Stories
I just finished reading Henry James’ Daisy Miller (1878) and once I’d finished the story itself I flicked on to read the appended essay that […]
Nonfictioness in top blogs list
I was delighted and pleasantly surprised to find that my nonfictioness blog had been included in Feedspot’s Top 25 Nonfiction Blogs. There are some excellent […]
Traditional European Folklore on Death and Dying
Having recently been studying Victorians and the culture of death, I have been reflecting on how many of the traditions and superstitions around death and […]