The Devil's Dinner Hour: Recent Episodes
Evelyn James
Welcome to The Devil's Dinner Hour! Your source for everything Victorian and strange. I'm Evelyn James and I'll be your guide down the dark alleyways and moonlit moors of Victorian England.
Season Two is Coming Soon!
Prepare yourself for a night of gruesome amputations, crazy drug parties, and mental breakdowns. So, sharpen those knives and put on your best blood-soaked apron as we dissect the Victorian Surgical Revolution.
The Victorian Slang word of the day is sure to leave you in knots.
Music by:
David Fesilyan & David Renda
Sources:
F. B. Smith, The People’s Health 1830-1910 (London: Croom Helm, 1979), 262
Adrian Teal, The Gin Lane Gazette (London: Unbound, 2014).
John Eric Erichsen, On Hospitalism and the Causes of Death after Operations (London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1874), 98.
Lindsey Fitzharris, Houses of Death: Walking the Wards of a Victorian Hospital, 2017 https://www.drlindseyfitzharris.com/2017/03/24/houses-of-death-walking-the-wards-of-a-victorian-hospital/
Karen Rosa Hammerschlag “The Gentleman Artist- Surgeon in Late Victorian Group Portraiture” 2013
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5125553/
Vipin K Gupta, Chhavi Saini, Meher Oberoi, Gagan Kalra, Md Imran Nas. "Semmelweis Reflex: An Age-Old Prejudice "
Hugh Small, “Florence Nightingale and the Germ Theory of Disease” 2018.
H. Laing Gordon. Sir James Young Simpson and Chloroform (1811-1870)
The Christmas tradition of sharing ghost stories was beloved by many in Victorian England. So, put on your warmest clothing as we explore a Victorian mid-winter, when the veil between the living and the dead is at its thinnest. Where ghosts roam and Scrooge groans a very un-merry, Humbug!
Music By: David Fesilyan
tag: Victorian History
Sources:
Wilde, Oscar "The Soul of a Man Under Socialism" 1891
Picard, Liza. “Education in Victorian Britain.” The British Library. The British Library, 2014. Web. 15 Nov 2016.
Lloyd, Amy J.: “Education, Literacy and the Reading Public.” British Library Newspapers.Detroit: Gale, 2007
London Weather J.H. Brazell HMSO (Meteorological Office) 1968
Roll up your sleeves, and let’s carve into the Victorian’s fascination and love for tattoos- that crossed both class and gender divides, empowering men and women alike to live their best lives and turn their bodies into living, breathing works of art. This episode has got liars, tigers and fairs, oh my!
The Victorian slang term of the day will leave you asking for some baby powder.
Sources:
Dawson, Rachel. Inking the Victorians: The Story of Sutherland Macdonald- Britain's First Professional Tattooist.
Nyssen, Carmen. Tom Riley : "The Making of a Tattooist"
Stewart, Jessica. "Amazing Photos Reveal the Work of Britain's First Tattoo Artist in Victorian Times"
Hartog, Kristenden "The Fashionable Craze of Today: A Victorian Tattoo Artist"
"Died After Being Tattooed- A Mysterious Death." Eastern Evening News, 6 April, 1899.
"Tattooing Among the Aristocracy." Nottingham Journal, 7 April, 1899.
“Tatooist’s Exciting Adventure.” Belfast News-Letter, 17 April, 1906.
Music by:
David Fesilyan & David Renda
Tonight's episode will be about the noble art of bodysnatching... with some murder and mayhem thrown in for good measure. There will be tales of graveyard hi-jinks, friendships to die for, and close curtain calls with death. So, please grab your nearest shovel so we can dig into the dark dealings of death and how much doctors were willing to pay in the name of science and discovery.
Music By: David Fesilyan & David Renda
Sources:
Sappol, Michael. “A Traffic of Dead Bodies: Anatomy and Embodied Social Identity in Nineteeth Century America.”
Fitzharris, Lindsey “Coffin Collars and Cemetery Guns: Fortifying the Dead Against Bodysnatchers”
Hamlin, Hannibal. Yale Journal of Biology. “The Dissection Riot of 1824 and the Conneticut Anatomical Law” March 1935.
Woolens British Gazette. October 13, 1822. ‘Advertisement for Bridgeman’s Patent Wrought- Iron Coffin’
Ofgang, Eric. “When Yale Medical Students Robbed a Grave for Science New Haven Erupted in Fury” March 19, 2018 conneticutmag.com
National Museum of Civil War Medicine “A Brief History of American Anatomy Riots”. February 12, 2017. www.civilwarmed.org
Haas, Maya Wei. How Fetus Dissections in the Victorian Era Helped Shape Today’s Abortion Wars. Smithsonian Magazine.
Jones, Richard. ‘The Iron Coffin’ May 21, 2016
‘The Raven Report’ theravenreport.com September 18, 2017 “Welcome to the Grim Underworld of the Resurrectionist”
Richardson, Ruth. “Death, Dissection and the Destitute”
Documentaries:
Magnus Magnussen Investigates: Burke & Hare: Throughout the 18th Century. Living Legends. BBC. 1979.
Dan Cruickshank Investigates: From Bodysnatching to Burning: Victorian Way of Death Documentary. BBC Two. Timewatch. 2001.
Histories Mysteries: Bodysnatchers. History Channel. 2000.
Tonight, do I have a trick or treat, for you! I’ll be carving my way into all the juicy bits and bobs that make up a Victorian Halloween. If you’re ready for a night of fiery fruity fun, then look no further. There’s a bowl of flaming raisins with your name on it. Looking for love? Who needs Tinder, when you’ve got the Magic Mirror Game. Nothing like the ghostly apparition of a future flame to set your heart ablaze. If you haven’t guessed already, this will be a fun one.
Music: David Fesilyan & David Renda
Sources:
Beard, Linda. How to Amuse Yourself and Others. New York: Scribner & Sons, 1893.
Chambers, Robert. Ed. The Book of Days. London: W. R. Chambers, 1832.
“Halloween at Balmoral” Staffordshire Sentinel. Staffordshire, England. Friday 06 November 1874.
Ingalls’ Home and Art Magazine. Vol. IV. Nov. 1890 to Oct. 1891. Lynn, Mass: J. F. Ingalls, 1891.
Miller, Hugh. Scenes and Legends of the North of Scotland. Edinburgh: Adam & Charles Black, 1876.
Matthews, Mimi. "A Victorian Halloween Party" 2015.
Death, Daguerrotypes, and Posing Stands, Oh My! Tonights episode is all about the wonderfully disturbing world of postmortem photography. So grab a spoon to lift up those eyelids as we explore death in all of its copper-coated glory and expose some myths in the process.
The Victorian word of the day is sure to leave you feeling a bit buzzed.
(An example of how a posing stand was used to keep a child still.)
Susan Cantrell's website: https://dealer042.wixsite.com/post-mortem-photos
Music by :
David Fesilyan & David Renda
Sources:
A Victorian Obsession With Death : Fetishistic Rituals Helped Survivors Cope With Loss of Loved Ones. Public Affairs. D. Lyn Hunter.
Jaqueline A. Bunge & Jack Mord. Memory Keepers: Photography as a Form of Remembrance. Beyond the Dark Veil. pg. 8. 2013
Marion Peck. Remembering Death. Beyond the Dark Veil. pg. 6. 2013
Marien, Mary Warner (2002). Photography: A Cultural History. New York: Harry N. Abrams.
Philadelphia Photographer. 1875 volume 11. Page 27.
Clearing Up Some Myths About Postmortem Photography
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/victorian-post-mortem-photographs
Kelly Christian. The Unpleasant Duty: An Introduction to Postmortem Photography. http://www.orderofthegooddeath.com/unpleasant-duty-introduction-postmortem-photography
Caitlin Doughty. Victorian Standing Corpse Photographs? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8DxI8Pn1Uw
Grab a lantern to light the way, as we explore the gory and gothic world of Penny Dreadfuls. Meet creatures that slash people to bits, murderous bakers, killer vampires, and unscrupulous neer-do-wells.
The Victorian slang term of the day is sure to leave you in a bit of a pickle.
Music By: David Fesilyan & David Renda
Sources:
Troy. Youth of Darkest England: Working-Class Children at the Heart of Victorian Empire. New York: Routledge, 2005.
“The Effects of Reading Penny Dreadfuls.” Dundee Courier. June 17, 1896.
Hitchman, Francis. “Penny Fiction.” The Quarterly Review. Vol. 171. London: John Murray, 1890.
“How to Counteract the Penny Dreadful.” The Review of Reviews Annual. Vol. XII. London: Mowbray House, 1895.
Mackay, T. “Penny Dreadfuls.” Time: A Monthly Magazine of Current Topics, Literature, & Art. Vol. VIII. London: Swan Sonnenschein, 1888.
“That Poor Penny Dreadful.” Punch. Vol. CVIII. London: Fleet Street, 1895.
“The Poor Little Penny Dreadful.” The Speaker. Vol. XII. London: Fleet Street, 1895.
The Publisher’s Circular. Vol. LXIII. London: Samson, Low, Marston, & Co., 1895.
The Publishers Circular. Vol. LXIV. London: Samson, Low, Marston, & Co., 1896.
Sutherland, John. The Longman Companion to Victorian Fiction. New York: Routledge, 1988.
Wright, Thomas. “On a Possible Popular Culture.” The Contemporary Review. Vol. XL. London: Strahan & Co, 1881.
https://www.thepassivevoice.com/penny-dreadfuls/
https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/penny-dreadfuls
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20160502-the-shocking-tale-of-the-penny-dreadful
Tonight we will be heading to the Victorian Market place! Not to buy food...but rather to sell our (no-longer loved) ones. So, if you have a not-so-special someone who has been driving you batty during this pandemic, feel free to throw a rope around their waist and bring them along, as we experience what it was like for the common Victorian man or woman to sell their spouse. Maybe you'll even draw the attention of a new lover along the way.
Don't forget to stick around until the end of the episode for the Victorian slang term of the day! It's sure to leave you in a good mood.
Sources:
E. P. Thompson, Customs in Common (London: Merlin Press)
Lauren Padgett, ‘The British Scandal’:Victorian Spouse- Selling. Journal of Victorian Culture
‘Selling a Husband for £10’, Glasgow Herald, Saturday 2 January 1869, Issue 9040.
‘Selling a Husband’, Birmingham Daily Post, Thursday 12 January 1888, p. 8, Issue 9218.
Vaessen, Rachel Anne (Autumn 2006 ). "Humour, Halters and Humilitation: Wife-sale as Theatre and Self-divorce" (PDF). Master of Arts thesis: p. 35. Simon Fraser University. Retrieved on 2009-12-19. "The following early nineteenth century caricature ridiculing a wife-selling husband (Figure 2)...", taken from A.H. Phillips Georgian Scrapbook (1949) - page 123
Music: David Fesilyan and David Renda
Prepare yourself for an evening of mesmerism, crystal-gazing and ghostly possession. Please join hands as we call upon some friendly phantoms to find out why the Victorians were so fascinated with the spirit realm.
Sources:
Owen, Alex. 1089. The Darkened Room: Women, Power and Spiritualism in Late Victorian England. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Julie Mathias, “Seeing is Believing: Spiritualism in the Victorian Era-Part 1”, Curious Histories (blog on oldoperatingtheatre.com), January 26th, 2017.
Barrow, L. 1986. Independent Spirits. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Berry, Catherine. 1876. Experiences in Spiritualism. London: James Burns.
https://www.spr.ac.uk/home
Music by:
David Fesilyan & David Renda
Welcome to the strange and often deadly world of Victorian beauty. In this episode, you'll find out what some of the hidden and not so hidden) ingredients were in beauty products of the era, as well as, discovering a whole new meaning for the saying, "Dressed to kill". At the end of the episode, the Victorian slang term I'll teach you is sure to add a little sweetness to your day. So kick back, relax, and pamper yourself with some handsome history!
Music By: David Fesliyan
Special Thanks all of the following sources used in my research:
Tisdall, E. E. P. (1954). Alexandra: Edward VII’s unpredictable queen. New York: John Day Company.
Cheryl Wischhover, “The Most Dangerous Beauty through the Ages,” S.D. Powers, The Ugly-Girl Papers, Or, Hints for the Toilet Allison Meier, “Objects of Intrigue: Look Radiant in Radium, Natalie Zarrelli, “The Poisonous Beauty Advice Columns of Victorian England,” Alison Matthews David “Fashion Victims: The Dangers of Dress Past and Present”
Potter, C. B. (1908). The secrets of beauty & mysteries of health. Being practical suggestions for the right care of the person together with a collection of valuable receipts pertaining to the health & beauty gathered during the author’s stage experiences & travels in all parts of the world. San Francisco: Paul Elder and Company.
Looking for a fun night in? Well, look no further because you are cordially invited to attend...a Mummy Unwrapping Party.
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Just a quick disclaimer, this episode will get a bit dark, because the Victorians were B-A-N-A-N-A-S. If you aren’t comfortable with hearing about mummies, corpses and the real and very dark shenanigans the Victorians got up to, I’d probably turn back now.
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Music by: David Fesliyan
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Sources:
Parra, Jose Miguel, National Geographic, "Egyptian Mummies in European Culture", History Magazine, 2019.
Nikolaidou, Dimitra, "Victorian People Unrolled Mummies For Fun", Atlas Obscura, 2016.
Wynarczyk, Natasha, "Uncovering the Dead at a Victorian Mummy Unwrapping Party", Vice.com, Vice Media Group, 2016.
Dawson, W. (1934). Pettigrew's Demonstrations upon Mummies. A Chapter in the History of Egyptology. The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, 20(3/4), 170-182. doi:10.2307/3854736