More Databases

MORE DATABASES

Two useful sites recently mentioned on the Victoria list.

First, is the Victorian Plays Project
http://victorian.worc.ac.uk
"A digital archive of selected plays from T.H. Lacy's Acting Edition of Victorian Plays (1848-1873)" which allows you to read lots of fascinating stuff and a get a real feel for the sort of thing popular on the Victorian stage. A full text search isn't available but you can browse by keywords and, for instance, place names.

Second is The Nineteenth Century Serials Edition (beta),
http://www.ncse.ac.uk
which contains the full text of six journals, adding to the ever-burgeoning amount of Victorian periodicals available (in the UK, at least) to search online. They want feedback on the site, which I haven't yet had a chance to use ... so get stuck in!

The Craig Telescope

THE CRAIG TELESCOPE

A favourite activity of mine is discovering - by chance - long-lost Victorian buildings, that have long since disappeared. One such, mentioned to me in passing by an email correspondent, is the Craig telescope, a gigantic device that was constructed on Wandsworth Common in the 1850s. Reminiscent of something from 'War of the Worlds', it should delight anyone fascinated by Victorian engineering or the 'steampunk' aesthetic. There's a great little site on it here and I've added most of a Times article here.