“X” Marks the Spot: Exposing the Late Victorian Fascination with X-Rays

Just a (not so) quick and (mostly unscripted) explanation of why the show is going on hiatus until December, which ends with my reading of Edgar Allan Poe’s poem, “Spirits of the Dead.” ***** References Poe, Edgar Allan. “Spirits of the Dead.” https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48632/spirits-of-the-dead Wikipedia. “Poems by Edgar Allan Poe.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poems_by_Edgar_Allan_Poe#Spirits_of_the_Dead_(1827) ***** Email: [email protected] Twitter (or X, or whatever it’s called now): twitter.com/victorianvarie1 Threads: threads.net/@marisadf13 Bluesky: @marisadf13.bsky.social Buy Me a Coffee: buymeacoffee.com/marisadf13 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/thevictorianvarietyshow I’d greatly appreciate it if you could take a moment to rate & review this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Goodpods, Spotify, Podchaser, Audible, or wherever you listen, as that will help this podcast reach more listeners!

In the second episode of my 2-part examination of the life and career of Sir William Crookes (1832-1919), I explore events that inspired his interest in spiritualism, his unique methods of combining his studies in this area with his scientific background, and his work with some well-known 19th-century mediums, as well as the reception his work with mediums received from the scientific and spiritualist communities. ***** References Barral, Miguel. “The Ghosts of William Crookes.” https://www.bbvaopenmind.com/en/science/leading-figures/the-ghosts-of-william-crookes/ Crookes, William. Researches in the phenomena of spiritualism. https://archive.org/details/researchesinphen00croo/page/4/mode/2up Doyle, Arthur Conan. “The Researches of Sir William Crookes.” https://worldspirituality.org/william-crookes-html/ Ghost Club, The. “The Ghost Club.” https://ghostclub.org.uk/history.html Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, The. https://hermeticgoldendawn.org Magnet Academy (National MagLab). “William Crookes.” https://nationalmaglab.org/magnet-academy/history-of-electricity-magnetism/pioneers/william-crookes/ Psi Encyclopedia. “William Crookes.” https://psi-encyclopedia.spr.ac.uk/articles/william-crookes#:~:text=William%20Crookes%20was%20the%20first%20British%20scientist%20of,continue%20to%20be%20widely%20cited%20and%20discussed%20today. Society for Psychical Research. https://www.spr.ac.uk/about/our-history Victorian Era. “Victorian Spiritualism And Spiritualists.” https://victorian-era.org/victorian-spiritualism-spiritualists.html Wikipedia “Allen Thomson.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_Thomson “C.F. Varley.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._F._Varley “William Crookes.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Crookes Relevant past TVVS episodes “2 Sides of Sir William Crookes, Part 1: The Scientist.” https://anchor.fm/marisa-d96/episodes/2-Sides-of-Sir-William-Crookes--Part-1-The-Scientist-e295aad “Victorian-Era Spiritualism, Part 1: The Fox Sisters.” https://anchor.fm/marisa-d96/episodes/Victorian-Era-Spiritualism--Part-1-The-Fox-Sisters-e187d57 ***** Email: [email protected] Twitter (or X, or whatever it’s called now): twitter.com/victorianvarie1 Threads: threads.net/@marisadf13 Bluesky: @marisadf13.bsky.social Buy Me a Coffee: buymeacoffee.com/marisadf13 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/thevictorianvarietyshow I’d greatly appreciate it if you could take a moment to rate & review this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Goodpods, Spotify, Podchaser, Audible, or wherever you listen, as that will help this podcast reach more listeners!

I first learned about British physicist and chemist Sir William Crookes (1832-1919) several months ago, while working on my episode on X-rays. Recently, while reading Violet Tweedale’s Ghosts I Have Seen and Other Psychic Experiences, I learned that Sir William had an interest in spiritual and paranormal matters in addition to the sciences. In this episode, I focus on some of his better known scientific discoveries (and will discuss his relationship to the paranormal next time). ***** References Barral, Miguel. “The Ghosts of William Crookes.” https://www.bbvaopenmind.com/en/science/leading-figures/the-ghosts-of-william-crookes/ Crookes, Sir William. On radiant matter [microform] : a lecture delivered to the British Association for the Advancement of Science, at Sheffield, Friday, August 22, 1879. https://archive.org/details/onradiantmatterl00croorich/page/7/mode/2up Division of Chemical Education, Purdue University. “6.1 Crookes' Tube.” https://chemed.chem.purdue.edu/genchem/demosheets/6.1.htm National MagLab. “William Crookes.” https://nationalmaglab.org/magnet-academy/history-of-electricity-magnetism/pioneers/william-crookes/ Sella, Andrea. “Crookes' tube.” https://www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/crookes-tube/8381.article Travis, Anthony S. “Introduction: Food or Famine.” https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-68963-0_1 Tweedale, Violet. Ghosts I Have Seen and Other Psychic Experiences. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/39769/39769-h/39769-h.htm#Page_33 Wikipedia “Atomic, molecular, and optical physics.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic,_molecular,_and_optical_physics#Optical_physics “Crookes radiometer.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crookes_radiometer “Organic chemistry.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_chemistry “Phenakistiscope.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenakistiscope “Robert Bunsen.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Bunsen “William Crookes.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Crookes ***** Email: [email protected] Twitter (or X, or whatever it’s called now): twitter.com/victorianvarie1 Threads: threads.net/@marisadf13 Buy Me a Coffee: buymeacoffee.com/marisadf13 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/thevictorianvarietyshow I’d greatly appreciate it if you could take a moment to rate & review this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Goodpods, Spotify, Podchaser, Audible, or wherever you listen, as that will help this podcast reach more listeners!

If you spend any time learning about Victorian Era funeral and burial etiquette, chances are you’ll come across an illustration of a Fisk Patent Air-Tight Metallic Burial Case…and once you do, you’ll never forget it. I discuss the circumstances that inspired the creation of this unique coffin and some of its benefits, as well as how it’s often viewed from a modern perspective. ***** References American Civil War Medicine & Surgical Antiques. “Valentine Mott, M.D.” http://medicalantiques.com/civilwar/Medical_Authors_Faculty/Mott_Vanentine.htm Cherrell, Kate. “Victorian Iron Mummies: The Fisk Casket.” https://burialsandbeyond.com/2019/07/01/victorian-iron-mummies-the-fisk-casket/ Dickinson, Emily. “A Coffin — is a small Domain.” https://allpoetry.com/A-Coffin---is-a-small-Domain Fisk, Almond D. “Patent US5920A.” https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/59/07/cd/c02d1344615405/US5920.pdf Meier, Allison. “The Cast Iron Coffin That Was Too Creepy Even for the Victorians.” https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/morbid-monday-fisk-mummy-case Neighbors, Joy. “A Grave Interest.” https://agraveinterest.blogspot.com/2012/08/history-of-coffins-caskets.html Warnasch, Scott. “A Brief History of Fisk’s Coffins.” https://ironcoffinmummy.com/a-brief-history-of-fisks-coffins/ Wikipedia. “Fisk metallic burial case.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisk_metallic_burial_case Woodyard, Chris. “A Grave Warning About Iron Coffins.” http://hauntedohiobooks.com/news/a-grave-warning-about-iron-coffins/ ***** Email: [email protected] Twitter (or X, or whatever it’s called now): twitter.com/victorianvarie1 Threads: threads.net/@marisadf13 Buy Me a Coffee: buymeacoffee.com/marisadf13 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/thevictorianvarietyshow I’d greatly appreciate it if you could take a moment to rate & review this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Goodpods, Spotify, Podchaser, Audible, or wherever you listen, as that will help this podcast reach more listeners!

In this Season 3 premiere, I bring you my recent conversation with Ryan Stevens, in which we talked briefly about the history of figure skating, as well as its increased popularity in the 19th Century and Victorian Era “Skate King,” Jackson Haines. About Ryan Stevens: I am a former figure skater and judge from Halifax, Nova Scotia. I have been writing about figure skating history since 2013, on my blog Skate Guard. I also write for U.S. Figure Skating's magazine "Skating", the oldest continuously published skating periodical in the world. I have been consulted on figure skating history by numerous museums, as well as by television programs on CBC, NBC and ITV. Skate Guard: skateguard1.blogspot.ca Jackson Haines: The Skating King: https://bit.ly/3WKMKkZ ***** References du Maurier, George. “Rincomania.” http://www.skatingaheadofthecurve.com/ThePoetryOfSkating.html du Maurier, George. “Rincomania” (with illustration). https://archive.org/details/punch68a69lemouoft/page/n43/mode/2up Talent, Annalise. “Become an Instant Expert on William Wordsworth, the Ice-Skating Poet.” https://theartssociety.org/arts-news-features/become-instant-expert-william-wordsworth-ice-skating-poet Wikipedia. “George du Maurier.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_du_Maurier Wikipedia. “The Prelude.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Prelude Wordsworth, William. “So through the darkness and cold we flew.” https://wordsworth-coleridge.com/home/wordsworth/skating ***** Email: [email protected] Twitter: twitter.com/victorianvarie1 Threads: threads.net/@marisadf13 Buy Me a Coffee: buymeacoffee.com/marisadf13 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/thevictorianvarietyshow I’d greatly appreciate it if you could take a moment to rate & review this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Goodpods, Spotify, Podchaser, Audible, or wherever you listen, as that will help this podcast reach more listeners!

In the second episode of my 2-part miniseries on Isabella Mary Mayson Beeton (a.k.a. “Mrs. Beeton”), I delve deeper into her voluminous Book of Household Management. Catch episode 1 here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6cBEAgXffA4uv8doOxpm6l?si=doVWQOEYT5qbHki5lua8zg ***** References Beeton, Isabella. The Book of Household Management (1861 edition). https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/10136/pg10136.html Beeton, Isabella. The Book of Household Management (1888 edition). https://archive.org/details/b21536193/page/n1/mode/1up Discover Britain. “Isabella Beeton and the art of household management.” https://www.discoverbritainmag.com/isabella-beeton-and-the-art-of-household-management/ Hughes, Kathryn. “Mrs Beeton and the art of household management.” https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/mrs-beeton-and-the-art-of-household-management Miss Windsor’s Delectables. “The Culinary Chronicles of Mrs Beeton!” https://missw.shar-web.co.uk/myblog/the-culinary-chronicles-of-mrs-beeton/ Wikipedia. “Isabella Beeton.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_Beeton ***** Email: [email protected] Twitter: twitter.com/victorianvarie1 Threads: threads.net/@marisadf13 Buy Me a Coffee: buymeacoffee.com/marisadf13 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/thevictorianvarietyshow I’d greatly appreciate it if you could take a moment to rate & review this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Goodpods, Spotify, Podchaser, Audible, or wherever you listen, as that will help this podcast reach more listeners!

If you’re a fan of vintage food and cooking (like I am), you’ve probably heard the name “Mrs. Beeton,” and may even have seen an edition of her voluminous Book of Household Management. But who was Mrs. Beeton, and what are some reasons her book has stood the test of time? ***** References Beeton, Isabella. The Book of Household Management. https://archive.org/details/b21536193/page/n1/mode/1up Discover Britain. “Isabella Beeton and the art of household management.” https://www.discoverbritainmag.com/isabella-beeton-and-the-art-of-household-management/ Findlaw. “Copyrighting Recipes.” https://www.findlaw.com/smallbusiness/intellectual-property/copyrighting-recipes.html Hughes, Kathryn. “Mrs Beeton and the art of household management.” https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/mrs-beeton-and-the-art-of-household-management Miss Windsor’s Delectables. “The Culinary Chronicles of Mrs Beeton!” https://missw.shar-web.co.uk/myblog/the-culinary-chronicles-of-mrs-beeton/ Wikipedia. “Isabella Beeton.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_Beeton Wikipedia. “The Queen: The Ladies Newspaper and Court Chronicle.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Queen:_The_Ladies_Newspaper_and_Court_Chronicle ***** Email: [email protected] Twitter: twitter.com/victorianvarie1 Threads: threads.net/@marisadf13 Buy Me a Coffee: buymeacoffee.com/marisadf13 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/thevictorianvarietyshow I’d greatly appreciate it if you could take a moment to rate & review this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Goodpods, Spotify, Podchaser, Audible, or wherever you listen, as that will help this podcast reach more listeners! Download a FREE audiobook version of Washington Irving’s The Chronicles of Wolfert’s Roost & Other Papers (for which I read a chapter) here! https://librivox.org/chronicles-of-wolferts-roost-and-other-papers-by-washington-irving/

I (& my dog) recently had X-rays, & it hit me that X-rays were a pretty big (albeit short-lived) fad toward the end of the Victorian Era. I discuss the history of the X-ray, & explore why X-rays were initially so popular & why that popularity eventually faded. ***** References Click Americana. “How X-rays were discovered – Victorian medical tech we still use every day.” https://clickamericana.com/topics/discoveries-inventions/how-x-rays-were-first-discovered-medical-tech Davis-Marks, Isis. “Researchers Reveal Mummy’s Surprising Contents Without Unwrapping It.” https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/researchers-examine-1900-year-old-mummy-without-opening-it-180976561/ Gershon, Livia. “The X-Ray Craze of 1896.” https://daily.jstor.org/the-x-ray-craze-of-1896/ Kaye, George William Clarkson. X rays, an introduction to the study of Röntgen rays. https://archive.org/details/xraysintroductio00kayerich/page/216/mode/2up Kennedy, Kelsey. “The Existential Horror Created by the First X-Ray Images.” https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/roentgen-xrays-discovery-radiographs Pamboukian, Sylvia. “‘Looking Radiant’m Science, Photography and the X-ray Craze of 1896.” https://www.jstor.org/stable/27793468?mag=the-x-ray-craze-of-1896 Wikipedia. “Crookes tube.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crookes_tube Wikipedia. “X-ray.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-ray X-Ray Art. “Pre-Röntgen X-Ray History.” https://www.xray-art.com/pre-rontgen-x-ray-history/ ***** Email: [email protected] Twitter: twitter.com/victorianvarie1 Buy Me a Coffee: buymeacoffee.com/marisadf13 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/thevictorianvarietyshow I’d greatly appreciate it if you could take a moment to rate & review this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Goodpods, Spotify, Podchaser, Audible, or wherever you listen, as that will help this podcast reach more listeners!

I briefly explore the life of writer Edith Nesbit, a.k.a. “E. Nesbit” (1858-1924), and read excerpts from some of her works. ***** References Banerjee, Jacqueline. “E. Nesbit, Rudyard Kipling and The Strand Magazine.” https://victorianweb.org/authors/nesbit/kipling.html Britannica. “Fabian Society.” https://www.britannica.com/topic/Fabian-Society Fabian Society. “Our History.” https://fabians.org.uk/about-us/our-history/ Morbid Curiosity Podcast. “The Shadow.” https://www.thebelfry.rip/blog/2022/1/24/shadow-of-edith-nesbit-morbid-curiosity Nesbit, E. “A Dirge.” https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/50162/pg50162-images.html#A_DIRGE Nesbit, E. “Man-Size in Marble.” https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/40321/pg40321-images.html#MAN-SIZE_IN_MARBLE Nesbit, E. The Story of the Treasure Seekers. https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/770/pg770-images.html Page, Benedicte. “E Nesbit's classic The Railway Children accused of 'plagiarism'.” https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/mar/21/nesbit-railway-children-plagiarism Wikipedia. “E. Nesbit.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._Nesbit Wikipedia. “The Children’s Book.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Children%27s_Book Winter, Jessica. “The British Socialist Who Rewrote the World for Children.” https://www.newyorker.com/books/under-review/the-british-socialist-who-rewrote-the-world-for-children ***** Email: [email protected] Twitter: twitter.com/victorianvarie1 Buy Me a Coffee: buymeacoffee.com/marisadf13 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/thevictorianvarietyshow I’d greatly appreciate it if you could take a moment to rate & review this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Goodpods, Spotify, Podchaser, Audible, or wherever you listen, as that will help this podcast reach more listeners! Also, check out Anthony Trollope’s Hunting Sketches and thousands of other FREE audiobook versions of books in the public domain at LibriVox.org!

What with popular attribution of the phrase “We are not amused” to Queen Victoria and the widespread belief that Victorians were obsessed with etiquette and death, it’s easy to get the impression that many people during this period lacked a sense of humor. However, I will explain why I’ve found the opposite to be the case, and provide examples of Victorian humor. ***** References Nicholson, Bob. “Actually, we are amused – how the Victorians helped to shape Britain’s unique sense of humour.” https://theconversation.com/actually-we-are-amused-how-the-victorians-helped-to-shape-britains-unique-sense-of-humour-82714 Punch 1841-1992. https://archive.org/details/pub_punch Rowe, Kaz. “The Endless Horror of TikTok’s Historical Misinformation.” https://youtu.be/l4NflBAcsJ4 Russ, Arthur. “19th Century British and American Humour.” https://discover.hubpages.com/education/victorian-humour The Book of humour, wit, and wisdom : a manual of table-talk. https://archive.org/details/bookofhumourwitw00londiala/page/n5/mode/2up Vasey, George. The philosophy of laughter and smiling. https://archive.org/details/philosophyoflaug00vase/page/27/mode/2up Victorian London Random Joke Generator. http://www.victorianlondon.org/joke/random.htm Vintage Everyday. “18th-19th Century Jokes Most People Today Might Not ‘Get.’” https://www.vintag.es/2017/07/18th-19th-century-jokes-most-people.html Wikipedia. “Phrenology.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrenology Wilson, Andy. “Queen bombshell: Did Queen Victoria really say 'we are not amused'?” https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1287776/Queen-Victoria-did-Queen-Victoria-say-we-are-not-amused And, if you haven’t yet listened to my previous episode on Punch Magazine, you can check it out here! https://open.spotify.com/episode/5w0dB0O3oniDXuhattiwkJ?si=idK_dDvcSquSpiInUag7JQ ***** Email: [email protected] Twitter: twitter.com/victorianvarie1 Buy Me a Coffee: buymeacoffee.com/marisadf13 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/thevictorianvarietyshow I’d greatly appreciate it if you could take a moment to rate & review this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Goodpods, Spotify, Podchaser, Audible, or wherever you listen, as that will help this podcast reach more listeners!