As I write this, the floor is reverberating to the delicate strains of a jackhammer that is digging up my basement. My plumbing is undergoing a major repair; we've just discovered that the drain pipe leading to the sewer line is basically a corroded arc of metal. However...
We have plumbing. Whenever it's tempting to think, "Gee, wouldn't it have been nice to live in Victorian days," that's something to remember. Indoor plumbing. Toilets. A kitchen sink with running water that doesn't have to be pumped. Water that comes hot out of the pipes (right into your bathtub even!), instead of having to be heated in a huge kettle on the stove, or in a built-in stove cistern. And did I mention toilets?
One of the things an American is bound to notice on visiting England is the complications involved in trying to retrofit a Victorian building for plumbing. It can be disconcerting to take a bath in a room that was obviously, once, a bedroom - we're not used to bathrooms being large, echoing rooms with windows and wood floors! More often, of course, a bathroom is squeezed into the smallest bedroom or pantry that can be spared for the purpose, with interesting results. Americans also find boilers a bit hard to get used to, and I'll not forget the time I looked out the window to see that the water I'd just run through the kitchen sink was running out into an open drain!
There's much to be said in favor of the Victorian era, and I hope to go on saying it for quite a bit longer, but... I'll be glad to get my drains back!
And now, here's what we have for March:
Visit http://www.victorianvoices.net/VT/issues/VT-1703.shtml to download this issue!
Or download it directly from DropBox: https://www.dropbox.com/s/jkqtb8e6jlkbjnv/VT-1703.pdf?dl=0
I am thrilled to announce -- woo-hoo and fanfare! -- my very own coloring book from Dover's Creative Haven collection! And yes, it's Victorian. Elegant Designs of the Ages is a collection of 31 designs based on Victorian books of design, art and architecture. Its images are adapted from designs throughout the ages, from ancient days to the Victorian era. (It even has a design by Fred Miller from The Girl's Own Paper!)
In this gorgeous collection (if I do say so myself), you'll find Chinese peonies, Japanese koi, patterns based on medieval church windows and traceries, tiles, historic fabric designs, and more. You'll find mandalas--well, in coloring book land, if it's circular, it's called a mandala, even though in reality one of these is a Victorian design for a milking stool!
If you love coloring and you love Victoriana, you'll love this collection. It's available for pre-order from Amazon.com; it will be officially "in print" on February 15. (What a nice Valentine's Day gift for someone special!) It's also available from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.ca and apparently every other branch (I was even able to find it at Amazon.co.jp).
And of course, since it's a Dover coloring book, you know it's printed on quality paper, on one side of the page, with perforations for easy removal.
Can't wait? Download a pair of free sample patterns now from Dropbox!
Happy Spring!