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Around the World in 80 Days (2004)
Around the World in 80 Days (2004)
2004 | Action, Comedy, Family
5
6.3 (4 Ratings)
Movie Rating
2004 reimagining of the classic Jules Verne novel, and I do mean reimagining: sure, the basic premise is the same (a bet is made during Victorian times that a man can travel around the world in 80 days), but the particulars are quite different in this than in the source.

This stars Steve Coogan and Jackie Chan, both playing exactly the type of roles you would expect from each, with plenty of cameos (including Arnie Schwarzenegger!) sprinkled throughout. It's an OK film, but I did find myself zoning out at several points.
  
Daisy Belle: Swimming Champion of the World
Daisy Belle: Swimming Champion of the World
Caitlin Davies | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
An independent woman in a time where it was frowned upon
This is a lovely story of a female swimmer in Victorian times: Daisy Belle. A child, and later a woman, who very much knows what she wants: to be in the water, swimming and competing. I honestly got the impression that she would stay in the water if she could. We see some of the constraints of the time: women were ruled by their fathers and husbands, but we also see that women were starting to assert their independence wherever they could. And for Daisy, this was in the water.
I believe a lot of the research for this story was set around some very well known Victorian female swimmers. These women were performers, performing feats of daring and endurance, something that men thought them incapable of. Daisy proves this theory wrong.
There was a point in the story where I thought all was lost for Daisy, but it all comes good in the end, much to my relief. I really liked her. Some of the men, apart from her brother, were not particularly nice people.
In all, a really good read - I thoroughly enjoyed it!
This was read on The Pigeonhole in August/ September 2018.
  
Unmentionable: The Victorian Lady's Guide to Sex, Marriage, and Manners
Unmentionable: The Victorian Lady's Guide to Sex, Marriage, and Manners
Therese Oneill | 2016 | Art, Photography & Fashion, Gender Studies, Humor & Comedy
8
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
The author's writing style, history, information, frivolity. It isn't dry. (0 more)
It doesn't delve as deeply as I like. (0 more)
Such glorious fun!
I love this author's writing style. It isn't a recitation of dry facts as some historical nonfiction books can be. She really takes you into the daily rituals associated with fashion, hygiene, sex, marriage, and manners by immersing you in the culture as a virtual time traveler visiting the Victorian era. It brushes away the romance of the time period and gets you into the nitty-gritty, down-and-dirty history but in a fun and frivolous way as she takes you into her confidence and shares the secrets of the past. It's a delightful romp written with light sarcasm that brought tears from laughter into my eyes. I highly recommend this book and this author. She has written another book on the history of child-rearing called Ungovernable: The Victorian Parent's Guide to Raising Flawless Children (Hardcover), which will be available April 16, 2019. Though I don't have children, I'm tempted to buy this book because the other was so much fun.


Oh, and if you like this book, you might also enjoy The Dirt on Clean: An Unsanitized History by Katherine Ashenburg.