pocket victorian reference?

[randomdream.livejournal.com]

Hello there, I'm a writer from Austin and for this year's NaNo I have been toying with the notion of trying historical fiction. I know this is not a genre to take on lightly, especially last minute. Perhaps I won't make it very far without a great deal of research, but I'm hoping to get the basics of plot, character, etc down this month. Then my plan is to go back and research to my heart's content. I figure it would be helpful to have specific scenes to flesh out, instead of just doing a whole lot of research with no direction. (If it backfires I'll turn it into fantasy and have a heyday with mixing cultural references!) I am a double major in English and History, so you'd think I'd already have great ideas for resource materials, but instead I'm rather at a loss.

That being said, I'm looking for a good all-purpose reference for the lifestyles / clothing styles / foods etc of the period I'll be working with--still up in the air. Something with both text and illustration, if at all possible. I'm currently interested in three time periods: Elizabethan, Jacobean uprising (early to mid 1700s), or especially early Victorian.

Any other well-loved references would be welcome suggestions, also. Thanks in advance!

Comments

[christinex1001.livejournal.com]

For the Victorian reference, I highly recommend http://www.amazon.com/Austen-Charles-Dickens-Whist-Nineteenth-Century/dp/0671882368/ref=sr_1_1/002-0654130-2921650?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193859559&sr=8-1 . It's a great all-around reference. Can't help you with the other two, unfortunately.

Good luck!

[leavesoflorien.livejournal.com]

iawtc

[randomdream.livejournal.com]

EXCELLENT!!

Thank you for your help, this looks wonderful. It's exactly what I've been looking for!!

[originalpuck.livejournal.com]

I have no suggestions, but I just wanted to say that I am in the same boat (choosing a historical era piece at the last minute) and I'll be very interested to see what people respond with. ((Victorian Era ftw!))

[randomdream.livejournal.com]

Good luck! This book looks pretty handy. I can't wait to check it out--I found a library at the University of Texas that has a copy available.

[leavesoflorien.livejournal.com]

Out of curiosity (based on your mention of Jacobean), are you writing something about the Jacobites and/or Scotland?

[randomdream.livejournal.com]

Yes, that is a possibility. Right now I'm just looking for the right fit for the setting of my story. Intuition tells me to go with Victorian, so I don't know yet. :)

[hendrikboom.livejournal.com]

Not a reference, but it occasionally goes referency, and provides a lot is insight:

The French Lieutenant's Woman, by John Fowles.

Also not a reference:

The marginal notes in the Annotated Alice provide a lod of interesting details of Victoriana.

[randomdream.livejournal.com]

Thank you for your help! I was put off by the bizarreness of Alice when I was young. I've been wondering if I ought to give it another try now that I'm older, and it seems like this would be a good opportunity.

Is French Lieutenant as confusing as it sounds? Looks pretty detailed, and I like the different angle, but it sounds like of all over the place.

[hendrikboom.livejournal.com]

The book is quite different from the movie. I found it a bit slow to get into, but once I got past the first few chapters, it was a kick-ass read.

The Annotated Alice's commentary explains some of the bizarreness. Some of it is obscure Victorian references, the rest is typical mathematician's humour, as practiced by mathematicians everywhere. Well, the Victorian references wouldn't have been obscure back then, but they are now.

[s0kate.livejournal.com]

*sneaks in* love your icon *sneaks away*

[randomdream.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I got it here: http://times-c.livejournal.com/

Enjoy!