Podcasts about edwardians

Tread Perilously's celebration of Tom Baker's 90th year continues with the Doctor Who story called "Pyramids of Mars." A quirk in time and space forces the TARDIS to land at UNIT HQ some 60 years before it is built. Instead, they find a priory owned by archeologist Marcus Scarman. For his part, the explorer has been possessed by Sutek, an alien imprisoned under a Saqaara pyramid for millennia. Will The Doctor and Sarah Jane figure out the Osirian's plan before he launches a rocket at Mars or will the bodies of hapless Edwardians keep piling up? Erik points out the Robert Holmes hidden in the proceedings. Justin enjoys the silliness of it all. Elisabeth Sladen proves to be the MVP as Sarah Jane snarks her way through the adventure. The Scarman brothers prove to be compelling guest characters even as Justin and Erik can't help but riff on Sutek's genocidal tendencies. Ancient Aliens comes up every so often. The presence of a poacher leads to a lot of discussion. The many highs of the story are tempered by an unusually soggy middle and an obscure plot. Erik figures out where Sutek was the whole time and Ramses II starts selling discount pyramids.

Alwyn Turner, author of Little Englanders: Britain in the Edwardian Era, speaks to Paul Lay about the early 20th century, an age of anxiety. Image: Street musicians in London in the Edwardian era. Credit: KGPA Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo 

This episode of TITANIC TALK was recorded in early May before the tragic events of last week when five men lost their lives in the Titan submersible.As you listen to Gareth Russell, author of the meticulously researched book "The Ship of Dreams: The Sinking of the Titanic and the End of the Edwardian Era," you will not fail to be struck by the eerie parallels between his insights on Titanic and the recent events surrounding the loss of the Titan that has shaken the maritime world. Our hearts go out to their families and loved ones during this difficult time.In his book, Gareth sheds light on various aspects of the Titanic's ill-fated voyage and explores how the disaster could have been prevented. He discusses his admiration for individuals like Thomas Andrews, the ship's designer, and The Countess of Rothes, a survivor who displayed incredible bravery and social conciousness. It's chilling to think that some of Gareth's predictions resonate with the recent loss of Stockton Rush, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding and the renown and highly respected explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet.Gareth draws parallels between the Edwardians' disregard for technological warning signs and our current negligence towards climate change much like the oversight exhibited by Oceangate in their deep-sea diving operations. The losses suffered in the name of Titanic, the ship of dreams, continue to haunt us and serve as a cautionary tale. A stark reminder that history has a way of repeating itself when we fail to learn from our past mistakes. Gareth is published by Simon and Schuster and all this books can be found on Amazon HERETwitter@garethrussell1Instagram_garethrussellFacebookgarethrussellhistorianTITANIC TALK Official Merchandise now on sale HERET-shirts, hoodies, baseball caps and mugs - the perfect gift for your favourite TitaniacFor more information on where to watchSHIP OF DREAMS: TITANIC MOVIE DIARIES go toshipofdreamsfilm.comShip of Dreams on FacebookShip of Dreams on TikTokWatch TITANIC TALK on YouTube go to ~TITANIC TALK YouTubeInstagram @titanic_talk_podcastFacebookFollow NelsonInstagram @nelsonaspenTwitter @nelsonaspenFollow Alexandra Instagram @fstclsswmn Twitter @alexactwrdirTikTok

In 1960's San Francisco, the “Color Movement” swept across the city's architectural landscape. Victorians and Edwardians were painted in bright fanciful colors as an homage to the psychedelic colorscape of the LSD experience. Inspired by this, architectural color designer Bob Buckter, aka Dr. Color, carried this movement into the 70's and on. As his style transformed over the decades, Bob's unique and tasteful color palette touched everything from residential homes and commercial buildings, to churches and hotels. His specialty is in historic homes. Bob is a second-generation San Franciscian. His legacy can be found not only through his family history, but also on the exteriors of some of SF's most beautiful and iconic buildings. Please enjoy our interview with Bob Buckter, aka Dr. Color! Check out some of Bob's work at: https://drcolor.com/ Meet Bob Buckter!

In our latest everything you wanted to know episode, Dr John Jacob Woolf answers listener questions on Edwardian Britain. Speaking to Ellie Cawthorne, he touches on subjects ranging from suffrage, labour movements, empire and international relations, to leisure time, childhood and roller-skating. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode our guest is Dr. Color, Bob Buckter. He's provided home color consulting on over 23,000 homes across the world, and more than 17,000 of those are in San Francisco and San Francisco Bay Area. He's responsible for many of the bright, standout colors of some of the city's most iconic Victorians and Edwardians. We're talking about his beginnings in color consulting, what he likes and what he hates, plus, we'll be getting some great advices and insights about his work. Learn more about his work at drcolor.comOn What Types of Buildings did Dr. Color work?How to Define Good Taste?Why Should We Use Test Colors?What are the Current Trends Right Now? When Did Colorist Movement Started in San Francisco?What Should You Never Do When Picking Colors?As always, thanks for listening! If you enjoyed the show, a five-star rating on your favorite podcast app really makes a difference to our show rankings. Until next time, thanks for listening! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In a podcast format well suited to audio, the incomparable Stephen Fry gathers together familiar and little-known facts about those irrepressible Edwardians. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile contributor Sandi Henschel discuss this companion piece to Fry's delightful exploration of VICTORIAN SECRETS, presented in 12 lively episodes. Frequently joined by a number of historians, authors, and reenactors, Fry seems to have a wonderful time recounting some of the fascinating arcana of the ostensibly tightly wound Edwardian era. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile's website. Published by Audible, Inc. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com Today's episode of Behind the Mic is brought to you by Oasis Audio, publisher of The Phantom Stallion series by Terri Farley, and more. Visit oasisaudio.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As requested by Maria in episode 45, Genna will be talking about many of the dangerous inventions from the Edwardian Era. Shockingly, the Edwardians did not quite understand how to control the new discovery of electricity and took a deadly amount of time figuring out the effects of asbestos and radium on the human body. In Maria's least favorite fashion, Genna made sure to save the worst for last. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/wonderbingepod/message

Nick Baker and John Woolf, writers of Stephen Fry's Edwardian Secrets, discuss some lesser-known aspects of the Edwardian ageThe Edwardians were not just about the afternoon tea and croquet on the lawn. Behind the Downton Abbey image of the age lies a much murkier reality. Nick Baker and John Woolf, writers of the new Audible series Stephen Fry's Edwardian Secrets, discuss some of the lesser-known aspects of the era. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On May 2, 2015, Donna Garban and Kate Jacobs opened Little City Books in Hoboken, New Jersey. Donna is by nature a salonista, and Kate likes the Russians and the Victorians, and some of the Edwardians, and is learning to like the Nows.Jane Simon Ammeson is a freelance journalist, food and travel writer, and author. Her book Lincoln Road Trip: The Back Roads to America's Favorite President, was a Finalist for the 2019 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards in the Travel category. Her other books include How to Murder Your Wealthy Lovers and Get Away with It: Money & Mayhem in the Gilded Age, Hauntings of the Underground Railroad: Ghosts of the Midwest and Murders that Made Headlines: Crimes of Indiana.Enjoy!Links for this episode: Little City BooksKate Jacobs, Bar None RecordsFantasy Author Panel: Ava Reid, Alix Harrow, and R.F. KuangIn The Heights! Book Launch with Lin-Manuel Miranda Sutton Foster, Hooked Chris Frantz, Remain in Love Seven Silly Eaters, Mary Ann Hoberman, Marla FrazeeWhy Sinatra Matters, Pete HamillA Walk in the Woods, Bill BrysonJane Simon AmmesonJane Simon Ammeson Book Red-Headed Woman, Katherine Brush    Support the show (https://paypal.me/TheBookshopPodcast?locale.x=en_US)

After a month of hiatus, we are finally back to talk about books, Charlotte Mason, and life in general.***Books, TV, Movie, Song, Anything Review***We discuss the soon-to-be movie feature (but no dates yet!) The Midnight Library and Alan Jacobs' Breaking Bread with the Dead. We shared how these books made us feel and think about how they both apply to our lives at present time.***Book Club Discussion #TFPR_HomeEducation***We talk about our key takeaways Part V - Lessons as Instrument of Education and gave listeners a bit of a hint about what the next episode is going to be about.***Mama Me-Time Plans***Rest is vital and he we share our mama me-time plans for the weekend, making ourselves accountable to make time specifically for ourselves.**We would love to hear from you! Connect with us at:**https://www.instagram.com/thefilipinoparentsreview/**Read our blog:**https://thefilipinoparentsreview.com/**Wall of Quotes**"You don't have to understand life. You just have to live it."-Matt Haig, *The Midnight Library*"The way that you expand your Now is not by treating the distant past as though it were present; rather, your task is to see it in its difference as well as in its likeness to your own moment."-Alan Jacobs, *Breaking Bread with the Dead: A Reader's Guide to a More Tranquil Mind*"There are many wonderful things about books, but among the most wonderful things is that you can lose them when you need to. It's like being able to quit someone's table instantaneously... it might actually be a good reason not to."-Alan Jacobs, *Breaking Bread with the Dead: A Reader's Guide to a More Tranquil Mind*"It isn't the writer who's the time traveler. It's the reader. The author is not a guest at our table, we are a guest at hers."-Alan Jacobs, *Breaking Bread with the Dead: A Reader's Guide to a More Tranquil Mind*"Wisdom lies in discernment."-Alan Jacobs, *Breaking Bread with the Dead: A Reader's Guide to a More Tranquil Mind*"She was speaking to her country, her culture, and her time... she was speaking to the wordy Victorians and their successors, the Edwardians... to British parents who lived over hundred years ago... Does that make her principles unusable for us? Not at all. Principles do not change... Principles remain constant."-Karen Glass, *In Vital Harmony*"It is the very nature of an idea to grow."-Charlotte Mason, *Home Education*"We live in an age of pedagogy"-Charlotte Mason, *Home Education*"Why must the children learn at all? What should they learn? How should they learn it?"-Charlotte Mason, *Home Education*"Narrating is an art, like poetry-making or painting, because it is there, in every child's minds, waiting to be discovered, and is not the result of any process of disciplinary education."-Charlotte Mason, *Home Education*"Allowing each child to digest and narrate knowledge for herself is part and parcel of a larger philosophy that underpins the use of narration as an educational practice: a philosophy that sees each child as a person with a hungry mind that needs to be fed in order to grow, not a vessel to be filled."-Karen Glass, *Know and Tell: The Art of Narration***TFPR Booklist**Home Education, Charlotte Mason - https://amzn.to/3om8D85The Midnight Library: A Novel, Matt Haig - https://amzn.to/3suG6i4When Breath Becomes Air by: Paul Kalanithi - https://amzn.to/399RKY0Breaking Bread with the Dead, Alan Jacobs - https://amzn.to/3pY4QOEIn Vital Harmony, Karen Glass Know and Tell: The Art of Narration, Karen Glass https://amzn.to/3e7V3kL

It's early January at the cabin, before the snow. Cian watches the 1997 movie Fairy Tale: A True Story in the first of two investigations into the 1997 double-bill of Cottingley Fairy films. Grab yourself whatever you may need to get through a schmaltzy 90s kid film. Along the way we'll talk about: -how Victorians & Edwardians were obsessed with fairies -why Theosophists, Spiritualists, and Arthur Conan Doyle were so keen to believe in real fairies -the strange friendship between Conan Doyle and the American magician Houdini -the importance of ambiguity in films about fraud/belief -the role of youth, femininity and class in the story of the Cottingley Fairies SOURCES: Borderland Forms: Arthur Conan Doyle, Albion's Daughters, and the Politics of the Cottingley Fairies, Alex Owen, History Workshop, 1994 https://academic.oup.com/hwj/article-abstract/38/1/48/643266?redirectedFrom=fulltext The Coming Of The Fairies, Arthur Conan Doyle, 1922 http://www.gutenberg.org/files/47506/47506-h/47506-h.htm Princess Mary's Gift Book https://www.gutenberg.org/files/39592/39592-h/39592-h.htm

Christina Wolbrecht, professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame and author, most recently, of A Century of Votes for Women with Kevin Corder, talks with Jared about the political mobilization of women over the last hundred years, and how women may use their political power over the next few months of the US general election. Segment 1: Edwardians playing golf Segment 2: Masc vs Mask - gender (& race) and political power Segment 3: Having it all: women in politics Segment 4: Women leaders: how do they compare? Segment 5: "You oughta be talking to the waitresses" - voter demobilization in COVID-19 Segment 6: A perfect storm for voter suppression Segment 7: Women, Labor, and political power Segment 8: "Women have been the backbone for political movements" in US history Segment 9: Emergency tikka masala Christina Wolbrecht on Twitter Full episodes, behind-the-scenes content, and other benefits are available to supporters of At The Table on Patreon. Host: Jared Rizzi [Twitter]

To support our work and listen to additional content, see here: https://patreon.com/yourshelf and follow us on social media @_yourshelf_. In our latest, fifth episode of The YourShelf Podcast, Everything Is Both, our chief curator Juliano Zaffino (Jay) sits down with author Rebecca Dinerstein Knight to discuss books, Norway, screenplays, Jenny Slate, and Rebecca's second novel, Hex. For full show notes, see here: https://podcast.yourshelf.uk/episodes/5. Thanks for listening.  LinksPatreonInstagramTwitterPodcastYourShelfEpisode NotesJay asks Rebecca about her bookshelves, the books that made her, and which authors she'd invite to a dinner party. (from 1:35)Rebecca begins the discussion with her first novel, The Sunlit Night, and the process involved in writing the screenplay for the film adaptation due out later in 2020. Rebecca and Jay discuss Rebecca's wide-ranging writing career, the impetus behind her latest novel Hex, creative friendships, obsession, the sophomore slump, and the doubleness of everything. (from 10:24)Finally, Rebecca hints at what her next projects are going to look like. (from 48:21)Jay recommends signing up to our Patreon for access to exclusive content, including a short bonus episode with more content from the interview, where Jay and Rebecca play a game of "Celebs Read Nice Tweets", and Rebecca answers some extra questions from Jay.Jay wraps up with all the books that were discussed in the episode and a few other books he recommends. Some of the books and authors we discussed in our latest episode include Kafka, Mark Strand, Louise Glück, Wallace Stevens, Frank O'Hara, Nicole Sealey, Noah Warren; All The King's Men by Robert Penn Warren, To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf, Independent People by Halldór Laxness, Changing by Liv Ullmann; Dante, George Eliot, Gustave Flaubert; Little Weirds by Jenny Slate, Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery, The Moomins by Tove Jansson, the short stories of Grace Paley, The Edwardians by Vita Sackville-West, Sweet Days of Discipline by Fleur Jaeggy, Pond by Claire-Louise Bennett; Michael Chabon, Walter Pater; Parakeet by Marie-Helene Bertino, A Burning by Megha Majumdar, and Riding With The Ghost by Justin Taylor. If you're looking for even more recommendations, especially in the age of social distancing, Jay has you covered. Recently, he's read and enjoyed Olivia Laing's Funny Weather, Seán Hewitt's Tongues of Fire, Martha Sprackland's Citadel, Sam Riviere's After Fame, and Deborah Levy's memoirs Things I Don't Want to Know and The Cost of Living.Also, Jay reminds that you can order a copy of his book of poems, the debut publication of The YourShelf Press, on yourshelf.uk/press.Rebecca Dinerstein Knight closes with a reading of the stunning 'Pharmakon' chapter in her new second novel Hex. (from 58:49)Buy, read and review Hex online now, available from most bookstores! Rebecca's first novel The Sunlit Night is also available for purchase, and her debut poetry collection Lofoten is available digitally.Thanks for listening and tune in again soon for Episode Six!

Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Lost World is the proverbial ‘not-terrible’ dinosaur story. Let’s face it, besides Jurassic Park, there aren’t many. And Conan Doyle knocked it out of the (ahem) park back in 1912 when he brought prehistoric creatures of literary age in this tale of daring Englishmen, led by the infuriating Professor Challenger, finding dinosaurs alive and well on a flat-topped mountain in the jungles of South America. The book is a seminal text in the colonial-era adventure genre. In this episode of WIDE ATLANTIC WEIRD, Cian sups on a Bud on the porch of the cabin in the woods and covers the myriad influences on old ACD when he wrote The Lost World. Explore the Victorian and Edwardian obsession with archaeology and exotic places. Percy Fawcett disappearing into the Amazon in 1925. The discovery of Troy. The colonial adventurer who later became an anti-imperial Irish revolutionary. The birth of what we now call cryptozoology – the hunt for mystery animals in both fact and fiction. And exactly why might readers in 1912 have been primed to believe that living dinosaurs might just exist? Down a quick brandy to steady your nerve, pack your elephant gun, and follow a crumbling map to EDWARDIANS AND DINOSAURS: THE PREHISTORY OF ‘THE LOST WORLD.’ Ladybird Pickwick Cassette Edition https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvNLbyuqsLU Lost And Found In Maple White Land by Sherri S. Malch https://michaeldelahoyde.org/dinosaurs/lost-world-tude/ The Lost City of Z by David Grann https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3398625-the-lost-city-of-z Frank Reade and Romaina – from Science Fiction Studies https://www.depauw.edu/sfs/reviews_pages/r70.htm Darren Naish on Piltdown Man and Conan Doyle (Tetrapod Zoology) https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/tetrapod-zoology/piltdown-man-came-from-the-lost-world-well-no-it-didn-t/ Discovery of Mountain Gorillas from Mountain Gorilla Conservation Fund https://www.saveagorilla.org/discovery.html Beasts And Men by Carl Hagenbeck, 1909 https://archive.org/details/beastsmenbeingca00hage Hunting Monsters by Darren Naish, 2016 https://www.amazon.com/Hunting-Monsters-Cryptozoology-Reality-Behind-ebook/dp/B01B867JTO

Bob Buckter's painting and color consulting business is responsible for the look and feel of more than 17,000 homes and businesses in San Francisco. In this podcast, Bob picks up where he left off in Part 1. He talks about the early years of his painting business, the Colorist Movement, the history and meaning of the term "painted ladies," his brief early retirement, a failed marriage, the recent gray/blue (or what we call BORING) trend, and what he's up to next. Actually, that last link, to Annie Vainshtein's SF Chronicle article from October 2019, has some great history of Victorians and Edwardians in San Francisco. Check it out. We recorded this podcast at Bob's home near Potrero Hill in January 2019. Film photography by Michelle Kilfeather

Tis the season to be jolly, so we've dipped into our stocking full of podcasts and pulled out three festive talks that explore Christmas traditions through the ages.  Join food historian Dr Annie Gray as she explores the traditions of Christmas dinner, from medieval festive fare through to the decadent Edwardians. For more information on the history of our palaces visit: www.hrp.org.uk/history-and-stories 

Kelly & Tom go nuts for tea huts in their coverage of Mr. Selfridge Episodes 7 & 8. Their more quick-witted than usual observations extend to remembering that Drunky McGin exists, the plight of colorblind Edwardians, the return of Lady May’s hair bra, how Selfridge’s might have capitalized on the sinking of Titanic, Mr. LeClair’s snazzy new iPhonograph, an imagined MySpace rivalry between Baron Julian and Eyeliner, Rosalie Selfridge and the vexing strap, “Umberland” as a unit of measurement, and the many dangers of automated nutcrackers. In addition, Kelly thinks Doris and Bobcat Goldthwaite are the same person, Tom spots a pair of egregious anachronisms, and everyone laments the return of Roddy “The Rodent” Temple. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It’s mainly history in this second “Tom Repeats History/Fashion Backwards” episode as Kelly and Tom give book reports on Black Edwardians by Jeffrey Green and Edward and the Edwardians by Phillippe Jullian, neither of which are worth reading if you don’t host a Downton Abbey podcast.  They also pitch a reboot of The Craft starring Britain’s grand old dames, express disgust at the nickname “Tum-Tum,” debate the proper pronunciation of WEB DuBois’ last name, reveal Kelly’s secret identity, and Tom plans a visit to the Gogol House of Ill Repute. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Hur skriver man en roman? Författarna Bodil Malmsten, som nu ger ut handboken Så gör jag, och John Irving, aktuell med romanen I en människa, delar med sig av sina bästa tips. Sedan blir det frossa i engelskt sekelskifte. Snart börjar tredje säsongen av tv-serien Downton Abbey på SVT. Författaren Johan Hakelius kommer till studion tillsammans med manusförfattaren Cilla Börjlind och ger oss ett litterärt perspektiv på den så populära tidsperioden. Dessutom: Den iranska regimkritikern, författaren och skribenten Parvin Ardalan lever i exil som fristadsförfattare i Malmö. I år fick hon permanent uppehållstillstånd i Sverige, och nu är hon aktuell i antologin Fria ord på flykt. Reporter Mona Masri har träffat Parvin som, med livet som insats, kämpar för det skrivna ordet. Veckans dikt läses av poeten Pär Hansson, aktuell med nya diktsamlingen Vi plockar bär i civilisationen. Och insamlingen av svenska folkets "ordskrot" fortsätter med hjälp av regissören Suzanne Osten. Att skriva en roman. När det färdiga manuset skickas in till förlag ska man även bifoga en presentation - ett följebrev. Bodil Malmsten har varit vår lärare och granskat vårt påhittade exempel. Hennes synpunkter är: * Skriv inte ordet "Hej!" * Skriv inte att manus bifogas - det märker förlaget ändå. * Skriv inte att din familj har uppskattat manuset... * Skriv inte att förlaget ska höra av sig snabbt. Se det påhittade med Bodils egna kommentarer! Vill du diskutera vidare? Bli vän med Tips! Böcker i programmet - klicka på "Läs mer" och bläddra ned för engelsk frossa... Parvin Ardalan m.fl - Fria ord på flykt Bodil Malmsten - Så gör jag John Irving - I en människa Pär Hansson - Vi plockar bär i civilisationen Engelsk frossa: Henry James - Porträtt av en dam Jane Austen - Förnuft och känsla, Stolthet och fördom Emily Brontë - Svindlande höjder Anne Brontë - Främlingen på Wildfell Hall Charlotte Brontë - Jane Eyre Edith Wharton - Buccaneers om giftermålen mellan lantadel och amerikanska arvtagerskor. Vita Sackville-West, som blev snuvad på arvet Knole, eftersom hon hade fel kön, och aldrig kom över det. Hon återkommer till lantgodstemat i flera bäcker, kanske främst i Edwardians, som behandlar ungefär samma period som inledningen av Downton Abbey. Anthony Powells svit A Dance to the Music of Time är 12 romaner skrivna mellan 1940- och 1970-tal som beskriver England från första världskriget och framåt. I stora stycken lantgodsromaner, med teman som hör till sådana. Kazuo Ishiguro - Återstoden av dagen, som berättas ur en butlers perspektiv, men har som ett tema livet på lantgodsen under den sista delen av nedgångsepoken under mellankrigstiden. Alan Hollinghursts - The Line of Beauty utspelas bara i korta avsnitt på lantgods, men är en modern tolkning av den typen av litteratur, satt i 1980-tal och med tydliga blinkningar till Henry James. Hans senaste bok The Stranger's child är ännu tydligare en lantgodsroman, som spänner över hela 1900-talet. Ian McEwans - Atonement. En roman om skuld och rädsla, men satt i den välkända lantgodsmiljön med början i 20-tal. (Kommentarer av Johan Hakelius.)

What was education like for the majority of children in 1911, the year when pupils staged strikes in 62 schools? This talk provides a fascinating glimpse of day-to-day life in an Edwardian school, covering such aspects as lessons, discipline, and examinations. It also touches on the dramatic resignation of the President of the Board of Education.

Urban air pollution is certainly not a new problem. During the Middle Ages the use of coal in cities such as London was beginning to increase. By the the 17th century the problems of urban air pollution are well documented. The Industrial Revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries was based on the use of coal. In addition the burning of coal in homes for domestic heat pusehed urban air pollution levels further up with sometime disastrous results. The Great London Smog of 1952 resulted in around 4,000 extra deaths in the city, and led to the introduction of the Clean Air Acts of 1956 and 1968. The problems realated to air pollution, past and present, are well known but less known is the cultural history attached to air pollution. In this edition of Exploring Environmental History Stephen Mosley of Leeds Metropolitan Univeristy will explore how Victorians and Edwardians viewed air pollution and how they dealt with it. He also suggests that there is a continuation of perceptions of air pollution that links us with the Victorians.

Bathing hour is an image of leisure. Fox captured sunlight and colour in a scene of happy holiday-makers enjoying healthy outdoor pursuits. He showed a mother in a loose fitting dress drying her young child. Set apart in the intimacy of their domestic ritual, Fox emphasised the bond between mother and child. At the time it was painted Fox’s depiction of a naked child in such a setting was unconventional.

In this dreamy scene three elaborately gowned women with accessories of roses and richly coloured shawls and fans, pose together on a balcony. Nocturne is one of a series of night balcony scenes that Bunny painted which evoke a mood of intimacy and luxurious leisure, of perfume, poetry and distant music. Though ostensibly intimate, the scenario is theatrical.

In Arabs bargaining Carrick’s interest is as much in describing this commonplace market scene as in constructing a painting of abstract elements and high-keyed and vibrant colours. For Carrick, the intense light and colourful costumes of the Arab people provided a rich visual spectacle that allowed her to experiment with ever more intense blocks of colour and pattern in her work. Many artists travelled to Morocco to paint. They admired the beauty, the uniqueness of the dress, the brilliance of the light and the unaccustomed brilliance of colour that they found there.

John intended the idealised head of this figure to resemble a painting of the Virgin Mary by Dürer. The composition echoes the private and intimate domestic spaces painted by Dutch artists such as Vermeer. A few years before she painted A lady reading Rodin had given John money to move into an unfurnished room, and in this work she expressed her delight in having a room of her own.

The Negro gardener reflects Harold Gilman’s admiration of Velasquez and the Spanish tradition of portraiture. Gilman depicted his subject in the pose of a gentleman; with the gardener’s shovel replacing the gentleman’s walking cane. In portraying a servant as if someone of social standing, Gilman approached his subject in a similar fashion to Agnes Goodsir when she depicted a servant in La Femme de ménage.

A decoration was once owned by Pickford Waller, an English designer and a collector of Conder’s work, as well as paintings by Spencer Gore, George Lambert, William Nicholson, Charles Shannon and Whistler. In his house in Pimlico, Waller placed this large decorative piece in a room that was entirely hung with Conder’s works. It includes features that are typical of Conder’s work, such as the oval medallion, wreaths and ribbons, and decorative borders.

In June 1912 The Firebird was performed in London for the first time by Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. Gaudier-Brzeska portrayed the moment in Scene One when Ivan the Tsarevich captures the Firebird. He translated the figures into a series of simplified planes and conveyed movement through the crouching figure linking arms with the upwardly thrusting Firebird.

In the 1880s, British sculpture was revitalised with the introduction of ‘art bronzes’, or small-scale sculptures. The aim was to democratise sculpture, to make it an affordable domestic ornament for the increasingly affluent Victorian and later Edwardian middle classes. In Greek mythology Orpheus is the musician who descended to the underworld in an attempt to retrieve his love, Eurydice, back to the living. Parker’s Orpheus plucks his lyre, a symbol of his divine talent, yet his melancholic gaze foreshadows his human vulnerability and the tragic end to his quest.

The figures represented in The yellow screen (Family group) are Max Meldrum, his wife Jeanne and his eldest daughter Ida. Meldrum was greatly influenced by the work and technique of the Spanish artist Velasquez. As a result, this work becomes as a study of tone, the forms existing only as they are defined by light.

‘For now she need not think about anybody. She could be herself, by herself … All the being and the doing, expansive, glittering, vocal, evaporated; and one shrunk, with a sense of solemnity, to being oneself … Although she continued to knit, and sat upright, it was thus that she felt herself; and this self having shed its attachments was free for the strangest adventures.’ When Virginia Woolf wrote this of her character Mrs Ramsay in To the lighthouse (1927), Woolf could just as easily have been describing herself as she was painted by her sister in this work. Bell’s portrait captured a moment of quiet intimacy between the sisters, with Virginia knitting or sewing, quite unselfconsciously ‘being herself’.

Introduction

In Old Irish couple Reynell expressed the quiet dignity of the couple she encountered on her travels in Ireland and suggested their resilience against all odds. In 1915 Reynell’s friend Rose McPherson (Margaret Preston) wrote about the poverty in Ireland: ‘It is almost inconceivable … A family of nine in the ordinary course of events, and the father never hopes to earn more than seven shillings a week, how they feed them I don’t know’. (quoted in Butler, 1987).

Of all Drummond’s views of London, In the Park is the largest and most impressive, with the silhouetted figures depicted as if arrested in time. In a review of the 1912 Camden Town Group exhibition, The Times’art critic suggested that the bright colours in Drummond’s work had been inspired by the 1910 exhibition, ‘Manet and the Post-Impressionists’.

From around 1910 William Strang painted images of his family and friends wearing fashionable clothes and placed in imaginary settings in which he conveyed aspects of male–female relationships. In Bank holiday he suggested a young couple’s awkwardness when dining out, and included two symbols of devotion: the flowers and the pet. Strang created a deliberately understated image that allowed viewers to find their own interpretation.

La Belle chauffeuse is a portrait of the playwright Sylvia Bristowe. Nicholson loved style and often included costume in his paintings. In depicting Sylivia Bristowe in a motoring outfit he made a statement about her being a modern woman, adopting the latest modes of transport as well as being wealthy enough to own a car.

Almina was the fifth daughter of the wealthy and well-known Bond Street dealer, Asher Wertheimer. The portrayal of European women as alluring ‘orientals’ was fashionable at the turn of the 20th century. Sargent portrayed Almina dressed in exotic costume with an ivory-white Persian dress, a turban entwined with pearls and holding a sarod, a musical instrument from northern India.

Steer painted many nudes in which his figures are set in a domestic environment. In Seated nude:The black hat he depicted his model sitting at ease among her discarded clothes, still wearing her hat. Her incomplete state of undress emphasises her nakedness. Steer never exhibited this work because his friends suggested that it was improper to paint a nude wearing a hat.

Florence, Lady Phillips (1863–1940) was the daughter of a South African land surveyor. In 1885, she met and married Lionel Phillips, who had become wealthy in the 1880s by mining diamonds. They lived in England from 1898 to 1906, during which time Lady Phillips developed a keen interest in art and bought contemporary works — by William Orpen, William Rothenstein, Walter Sickert and Philip Wilson Steer, as well as by Pissarro, Monet and Sisley. In 1919, her daughter Edith married the artist William Nicholson.

Valerie Susan Langdon — the subject of this work — caused a scandal in 1878 when she married in secret Henry Meux, the heir to a brewery fortune. Valerie said she was an actress before her marriage, but many suggested she had worked under another name at a dance hall frequented by prostitutes. In a bid to gain his wife a place in polite Victorian society, Henry bought Lady Meux the diamonds that Whistler portrayed her wearing in this painting. However, neither the jewels nor her Egyptian antiquities collection could gain her the position that she desired.

Nellie Melba was the professional name of Helen Porter Mitchell (1861–1931). The Australian soprano was born in Melbourne, the city from which she took her name. She sang at Covent Garden, London, from 1888 to 1926, and at intervals with the Metropolitan Opera Company, New York. Famous for her lyric and coloratura roles, Sarah Bernhardt described her voice as being ‘pure crystal’ and Percy Grainger claimed that her voice always made him ‘mindsee Australia’s landscapes’. When Bunny painted this portrait, Melba was at the pinnacle of her success and beginning her artistic partnership with the tenor, Enrico Caruso.

Lambert presented Lotty in command of the room, comfortably looking out at the viewer. The lady, dressed for outdoors in hat and gloves, is tenuously seated in this room; her body silhouetted against the door suggests her imminent escape. It was rare for a lady to venture into a kitchen, and in portraying Lotty and the lady together Lambert challenged traditional Edwardian social roles and behaviours.

In Important people Lambert presented a group of ordinary people at a time when the subjects of group portraits were often people with wealth or status in society. He mocked the assumption that importance is a matter of money or property. He created an allegorical image representing a range of human qualities that he regarded as important: motherhood, physical prowess, business acumen, and new life and energy.

Melba wore this cloak for her role as Elsa, in Wagner’s opera Lohengrin. Following her first appearance as Elsa at the Metropolitan Opera Company, the critic for the New York Tribune remarked: ‘the magnificence of her wardrobe was without a parallel as far as the local stage is concerned’. (quoted in Gray, 2004) Melba always wore her own costumes, not those belonging to the theatre as had been the standard practice.

Peter Pan is a small-scale version of George Frampton’s sculpture unveiled in Kensington Gardens in 1912. Edwardian society was enchanted by JM Barrie’s story of Peter Pan. The subject reflects a contemporary fascination with paganism and a belief in the power of nature and natural forces.

Nevinson witnessed the heavy casualties and widespread devastation of the first battles of the First World War. At the front, he made notes and sketches which he later worked up into drawings, paintings and drypoints. In Returning to the trenches he captured, through angular lines and abstract blocks of colour, the movement of an army on the march. He portrayed the column of men marching as if they were robots, caught up in a destiny over which they had no control.

This portrait of Thomas Lister, 4th Baron Ribblesdale, came to epitomise the Edwardian aristocrat: a sportsman, soldier, courtier and landowner. Sargent portrayed him as being alert and upright, a man with a strong physical presence, immaculately dressed, but with an expression that suggests he may have been stubborn at times. While Sargent revealed everything about his subject, in another sense he gave nothing away — he presented Ribblesdale’s public face and not his private life.

The models for The Browning readers were the artist’s wife, Alice, and her sister, Grace, wife of the artist William Orpen. Rothenstein depicted the readers in a quietly lit domestic parlour, decorated in an artistic ‘oriental’ style. This work was influential on contemporary interior decoration. The simplicity of the decoration shown in this painting — the brass plate and the blue and white china and the glass vase with a branch of spring blossom — started a fashion for uncluttered interiors.

By the end of the Edwardian era designers had embraced fashion inspired by the Orient and stylish women wore harem pants, lampshade tunics and turbans in vibrant colours, with Eastern bejewelled slippers as accessories. In Le Manteau chinois Fergusson has used a flat, decorative style, emphasising basic shapes and bright colours, rather than tonality and modelling.

A study of a male nude in Julian’s atelier, Paris exemplifies works produced at the Académie Julian by many artists at this time. Typically, the subject is observed against the light, contre-jour, involving a close study of local colour. Munnings described his time at the Académie Julian in the first volume of his autobiography, An artist’s life(1950): Julian’s in the Rue du Dragon soon became a second home … All were friends. Some advanced students were painting the most wonderful studies. Large canvases surprised us with their truth, drawing and colour … Youth, enthusiasm and small expenses bore us along week by week.’

Throughout the 19th century and in the beginning of the 20th, artists used mythological and allegorical themes as well as classical forms to elevate their subjects. In An idyll Bunny conveyed the universal and ageless theme of love with two lovers asleep, watched over by Cupid. First exhibited as L’Age d’Or, the image conveys a dream of a golden time, of Olympian gods and goddesses, of Adam and Eve before the Fall and of eternal man and woman.

In The fountain, Villa Torlonia, Frascati, Italy Sargent portrayed the artist Jane de Glehn sketching the scene in front of her, watched by her artist husband Wilfrid. Jane described sitting for the picture in a letter to her sister on 6 October 1907: ‘Sargent is doing a most amusing and killingly funny picture in oils of me perched on a balustrade painting. It is the very ‘spit’ of me. He has stuck Wilfrid in looking at my sketch with rather a contemptuous expression … I am all in white with a white painting blouse and a pale blue veil around my hat. I look rather like a pierrot, but have rather a worried expression as every painter should have who isn’t a perfect fool, says Sargent. Wilfrid is in short sleeves, very idle and good for nothing’. (quoted in Kilmurray and Ormond, 1988)