STRANGE TIMES
Strange Times offers a treasure trove of outlandish, funny, sometimes shocking stories from Victorian Era. Explore Victorian ideas, customs, holidays, clothing, architecture, art, women, men, businesses, leisure activities and more.
Esther Howland Valentines Launched A Lucrative Business
Esther Howland Valentines Launched A Lucrative Business
Esther Howland (1828-1904) was not the first person to make commercial Valentines in America. She wasn’t even the first to Read More>...
Mary Cassatt Paved Way For The New Woman In Life And Art
Mary Cassatt Paved Way For The New Woman In Life And Art
In Mary Cassatt’s time(1844-1926) , artwork created by females was largely considered inferior. Few women were allowed to attend important Read More>...
Let Them Eat Twelfth Cake Or King Cake On 12th Day Of Christmas
Let Them Eat Twelfth Cake Or King Cake On 12th Day Of Christmas
Queen Victoria banned Twelfth Night celebrations from British holidays. Fortunately she continued to let them eat King Cake (a.k.a. Twelfth Read More>...
The Christmas Pickle Launched Holiday Dreams And Woolworth’s Dynasty
The Christmas Pickle Launched Holiday Dreams And Woolworth’s Dynasty
According to legend, the Christmas Pickle was a time-honored German tradition that found its way to America in the Victorian Read More>...
Krampus Enforced Saint Nicholas’s Naughty List At Christmas
Krampus Enforced Saint Nicholas’s Naughty List At Christmas
The Naughty and Nice List wasn’t always as forgiving as it is today. In Victorian times and long before, the Read More>...
Victorian Christmas Cards Delivered Dark Holiday Humor
Victorian Christmas Cards Delivered Dark Holiday Humor
Nothing says Happy Holidays like a frog stabbing a fellow frog and escaping with what looks like a bag of Read More>...
Sarah Hale Campaigned 17 Years For Our National Thanksgiving Holiday
Sarah Hale Campaigned 17 Years For Our National Thanksgiving Holiday
Sarah Hale was one of America’s original tastemakers. As co-editor of the enormously successful Godey’s Lady’s Book, she was the Read More>...
Jules Verne Facts And Myths: Around The World In Eighty Days
Jules Verne Facts And Myths: Around The World In Eighty Days
On November 14, 1889, Nellie Bly set sail to beat the fictional record set by Jules Verne in his novel, Around Read More>...
Victorian Era Halloween Games Spelled Romance
Victorian Era Halloween Games Spelled Romance
By the Victorian Era, Halloween rituals had become gentler and sweeter. For some revelers, Halloween rivaled Valentine’s Day. Still, it Read More>...
The Supernatural Ruled Victorian Era Halloween Festivities
The Supernatural Ruled Victorian Era Halloween Festivities
Victorian Era Halloween festivities showcased the supernatural. For centuries, people viewed Halloween as a time when the veil between life Read More>...
Top Five Secrets Of Victorian Era Sea Bathing
Top Five Secrets Of Victorian Era Sea Bathing
Sea Bathing had long been praised as “the cure” for everything from general malaise to broken bones and deadly diseases. Read More>...
Victorian Era Pleasure Piers And The Working Class Holiday
Victorian Era Pleasure Piers And The Working Class Holiday
Victorian Era Pleasure Piers flourished along with the working class holiday starting in the 1840s. Seaside resorts were sprouting out of Read More>...
Queen Victoria’s Bathing Machine And Seaside Retreat
Queen Victoria’s Bathing Machine And Seaside Retreat
A look into Queen Victoria’s bathing machine and seaside retreat on the Isle of Wight might alter any dour image Read More>...
Parasols Said It Best!
Parasols Said It Best!
Parasols said it best in an era when people often had to communicate without words. Imagine life minus email, cell Read More>...
Queen Victoria Had Multiple Mother Issues
Queen Victoria Had Multiple Mother Issues
Queen Victoria had multiple mother issues. First, she had issues with her own mother. Later she had mother issues with each Read More>...
