The Secret Victorianist’s 2023 Holiday Gift Guide

Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays to everyone celebrating this festive season and welcome (back?) to the Secret Victorianist—my blog dedicated to nineteenth-century literature and culture. In today’s post, I share some gift (or let’s face it, self-gifting) ideas for lovers of books and Victoriana. Let me know what you think and what else is top of your wish list…

For the busy bookworm… Consider giving them an annual subscription to Audible, so they can listen to books with their hands full or while on the go.

For the Victorianists who read the footnotes… The Longman Annotated Poets series is incredible. Why not pick up their Selected Edition of Tennyson’s poetry?

For historical fiction fans… Some of the best #HistFic books I read this year were Booth by Karen Joy Fowler, Joan by Katherine J. Chen, The Daughter of Dr. Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, A Witch in Time by Constance Sayers, and The Orchid Hour by Nancy Bilyeau.

For fans of the Victorian aesthetic… Buy them a locket or a cape or a fan or a corset or a parasol or a print of a Pre-Raphaelite painting or William Morris wallpaper. 

For those looking to time travel… Consider booking an experience (e.g., getting tickets to a ball, visiting a stately home, or having afternoon tea).

For letter writers… Beautiful, monogrammed stationery makes for a wonderful gift. Wax seal = optional. 

For Bronte fans… My fiction pick for the year is Rachel Cantor’s Half-Life of a Stolen Sister (check out my review here) or my own novel Bronte’s Mistress, of course, while I recommend Lucasta Miller’s The Bronte Myth to those who prefer non-fiction.

For historical novelists… Buy them a ticket to the Historical Novel Society Conference 2024, at Dartington Hall in the UK. We’re going to have a blast. 

Have more ideas to add to my list? Share them below, on Facebook, on Instagram, or by tweeting @SVictorianist. Want a signed copy of Hope C. Tarr’s Irish Eyes (2023), another great historical fiction read? Sign up to my monthly email newsletter by December 7th for a chance to win!

A Victorianist's Guide to Oxford

‘Towery city and branchy between towers’ – the opening line of Gerard Manley Hopkins’s poem ‘Duns Scotus’s Oxford’ has always summed up for me the appearance of England’s first university city on a sunny morning. One of Oxford’s greatest attractions is this sense of continuity with the past – the idea that the city looked much the same over a century ago and even further back than that. So for any Victorianists looking to take a trip to Oxford in the near future, I’ve compiled a list of attractions which could help you feel even closer to the Oxford of Hopkins and his contemporaries:

Print of Merton College, Oxford

Have a pint in Hardy-named pub: Jude may not have made it into a Christminster college but you can visit his namesake pub in Oxford – Jude the Obscure in Jericho. There’s also a Far from the Madding Crowd more centrally.

The library at the Oxford Union

Admire the pre-Raphaelite murals in the Union: The Oxford Union, Oxford’s student debating society (founded 1823), boasts beautiful buildings, as well as an illustrious history. Commissioned by John Ruskin, the library murals depict scenes from Arthurian myth (think Tennyson) and were painted by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones.

Visit Keble College: Contrasting strongly with many of the older colleges, Keble (founded 1870) is every bit as grand, but strikingly different with its neo-Gothic red brick buildings, designed by William Butterfield.

Watch a play in Ancient Greek: The Oxford Greek Play has a tradition going back over130 years (you can read my post on the history of the Cambridge Greek Play here). The next production will be in Autumn 2014 at the Oxford Playhouse (and don’t worry, there are surtitles!).

Take a peek in Max Beerbohm’s room: Essayist, theatre critic and parodist Max Beerbohm (also known for his Oxford-based novel Zuleika Dobson (1911)) was at Merton College in the 1890s. A small set of rooms appended to the college’s Old Library now hold many of his satirical drawings and other items of interest.

Do you know of any other top spots for Victorianists among the dreaming spires? Let me know here, on Facebook or by tweeting @SVictorianist!