Consult the Oracle: A Victorian Guide to Folklore and Fortune Telling
BookThis item doesn’t have any media yet
2013 | History & Politics
"If you sing before breakfast you will cry before supper...' In their own words, what it meant for Victorians to dream of actors, April Fools, herrings or a railway ticket - why it was advised to throw a black snail by its horns over the left shoulder for good luck - and why it is essential to inform bees of a death in the family. "If one drops a knife, a woman is coming; a fork, a man is coming; a spoon, a fool." Tappings on tables, questionable curatives, old wives' tales and whispers from beyond the grave - Victorians were fascinated by the supernatural. Consult the Oracle was where they might have turned when they needed to identify a witch, interpret an omen or dream, required a natural cure or wanted to divine their future with a pack of cards - or simply wished to understand what the supernatural meant to them and their ancestors. First published in 1899, it offered a layman's guide to 'matters magical and mysterious', and today is a quirky glimpse of a supernatural age now lost, by turns haunting and hilarious.
Related Items:
Published by | Bloomsbury Publishing PLC |
Edition | Unknown |
ISBN | 9781908402738 |
Language | N/A |
Images And Data Courtesy Of: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC.
This content (including text, images, videos and other media) is published and used in accordance
with Fair Use.