Category Archives: real life tales

My Memories of the Marshall University Plane Crash

Posted on November 14, 2018 by

This is not a post based on Jane Austen and her writing or on the Regency Period in England as you would customarily find on my blog. Rather it is a a moment in time when I stood witness to … Continue reading →

Posted in American History, film, real life tales, sports history | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 32 Comments

James Lackington: The Man Who Revolutionized Book Stores

Posted on November 12, 2018 by

In a time when we bemoan the loss of Borders, Waldenbooks, and fear the demise of Barnes & Noble and Books-a-Million, it is hard for us to imagine what it must have been like for those who entered “The Dome … Continue reading →

Posted in books, British history, buildings and structures, business, England, Georgian England, history, publishing, reading, reading habits, real life tales | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

William Hamilton, an Irishman’s Attempt to Kill Queen Victoria

Posted on November 9, 2018 by

  Thursday, 19 May 1849, William Hamilton, a 22-years-old, orphaned, unemployed Irish bricklayer, fired a pistol at the Queen Victoria, as she drove, yet again, down Constitution hill toward Buckingham Palace. This was shortly after the birth of her seventh child. … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, England, Great Britain, history, political stance, real life tales, research, royalty, Victorian era, weaponry | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Rise of the Paston Family from Yeomanry to the Ranks of the Greatest Landowners in England and The Paston Letters

Posted on November 5, 2018 by

Although they are not held as a single collection, the Paston Letters provide insight into 15th Century life, which no other set of documents can. They are a record of a family’s correspondence, from different members of the Paston family, … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, buildings and structures, history, medieval, military, political stance, real life tales, research | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Craigievar Castle, the Inspiration for Walt Disney’s Trademark Castle and a Ghostly Experience

Posted on November 2, 2018 by

  Are you still looking for the ghosts and goblins of Halloween? Permit me to introduce you to Craigievar Castle in Scotland, where you might hear ‘Red’ Sir John tell of ancient feuds between the clans and the murder of … Continue reading →

Posted in architecture, British history, buildings and structures, history, legends, medieval, paranormal, real life tales, Scotland, spooky tales, suspense | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The “Hunchback’s” Attempt to Kill Queen Victoria

Posted on October 26, 2018 by

Two weeks after John Francis’s second attack on Queen Victoria, the 16-year-old John William Bean made an attempt to assassinate the Queen. “In 19th century Britain, treason had its own special rules of evidence and procedure, which made it difficult to … Continue reading →

Posted in British history, history, kings and queens, real life tales, research, Victorian era | Tagged , , , , , ,

John Francis Attempted to Kill Queen Victoria Twice

Posted on October 19, 2018 by

On May 29, 1842, Prince Albert and Queen Victoria were returning to their home at Buckingham Palace from Sunday morning services at the royal chapel at St. James’s Palace when what Albert later described as “a little, swarthy, ill-looking radical” … Continue reading →

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