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200th Anniversary of Frankenstein

2018 marks the 200th anniversary of the publication of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, the iconic novel about the young scientist, Victor Frankenstein, and the monster he created in his laboratory.  In this post, we will take a look at the history of the novel, a critical early review, the novel’s origins, and its various adaptations for the stage and screen. Publication The Morning Post printed a notice of the publication of a new novel, ‘Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus’, by an anonymous author.  The

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6 terrible love tips from history’s lonely hearts

Lonely hearts columns aren’t a modern phenomenon. Search our historical newspapers and you’ll find numerous examples of ‘matrimonial advertisements’ from the 1800s and 1900s. The notices can often make for amusing reading. We’ve collected together a few of our favourites to provide you with some tips for finding love. You may or may not want to take the advice…   1) Be overly specific and insulting An American woman advertised for a husband in 1920, advising that he ‘can have

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The Death of Elizabeth Gaskell – 12 November 1865

Elizabeth Gaskell (aka ‘Mrs Gaskell’), author of such classic Victorian and ‘Condition of England’ novels as North and South and Cranford, died in Holybourne, Hampshire, on 12 November 1865 – she was 55. The Illustrated London News did a feature on ‘The Secret of the Author of Cranford‘. To commemorate the day, here is a newspaper tribute to Mrs Gaskell that was published on 18 November 1865.                          

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The First Duel Fought in Hot Air Balloons – Paris, 1808

Monsieurs Granpree and Le Pique fight for the hand of Mademoiselle Tirevit in the skies above Paris We love stumbling across quirky stories in the Archive! More often than not, we find these stories while looking for something else – our eyes always seem happy to read weird and wonderful tales in adjacent columns. This strange story reports on the first duel to be fought in hot air gas [Ed: Thanks to all that provided feedback. Correction made!] balloons, in Paris,

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