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Tag: Non Fiction

Review – The Royal Wardrobe

Posted in Book Blogger

The Royal Wardrobe: A Very Fashionable History of the Monarchy

by Rosie Harte

Book Cover: The Royal Wardrobe

Genres: Non Fiction, Fashion, Royalty, United Kingdom
Release Date: June 8, 2023
Pages: 400
Purchase from: Amazon
My Rating: ★★★★☆

Peek into the wardrobes of history’s most fashionable royals

Why did women wear such heavy and uncomfortable skirts in the Elizabethan era?
What the hell happened to Charles II’s pubic hair wig?
How did Princess Diana’s revenge dress become so iconic?

Fashion for the royal family has long been one of their most powerful weapons. Every item of their clothing is imbued with meaning, history and majesty, telling a complex tale of the individuals who wore them and the houses they represented.

From the draping of a fabric to the arrangements of jewels, the clothing worn by royals is anything but coincidental. King at just nine years old, Edward VI’s clothes were padded to make him seem stronger and more manly; and the ever-conscious Elizabeth II insisted her coronation gown include all the representative flora of the commonwealth nations, and not just that of the United Kingdom. Yet reigning monarchs are not the only ones whose fashion sensibilities could mean make or break for the crown.

Original and enlightening, Rosie Harte’s complete history delicately weaves together the fashion faux pas and Vogue-worthy triumphs that chart the history of our royals from the Tudors to the Victorians right through to King Charles III and our twenty-first-century royal family. Travelling far beyond the bounds of the court, The Royal Wardrobe reveals the economic, social and political consequences of royal apparel, be it breeches, tiara, wig or waistcoat.

Each stitch has a story, you just need to know how to read them

Review – Anne Boleyn: 500 Years of Lies

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Anne Boleyn: 500 Years of Lies

by Hayley Nolan

Book Cover: Anne Boleyn: 500 years of lies

Genres: Biography, Non Fiction, Tudor Period
Release Date: December 1, 2019
Pages: 333
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
My Rating: ★★★★★

A bold new analysis of one of history’s most misrepresented women.

History has lied.

Anne Boleyn has been sold to us as a dark figure, a scheming seductress who bewitched Henry VIII into divorcing his queen and his church in an unprecedented display of passion. Quite the tragic love story, right?

Wrong.

In this electrifying exposé Hayley Nolan explores for the first time the full, uncensored evidence of Anne Boleyn’s life and relationship with Henry VIII, revealing the shocking suppression of a powerful woman.

So leave all notions of outdated and romanticised folklore at the door and forget what you think you know about one of the Tudors’ most notorious queens. She may have been silenced for centuries, but this urgent book ensures Anne Boleyn’s voice is being heard now.

#TheTruthWillOut

Review – The Shortest History of Our Universe

Posted in Book Blogger

The Shortest History of Our Universe: The Unlikely Journey from the Big Bang to Us

by David Baker

Book Cover: The Shortest History of Our Universe

Series: Shortest History
Genres: History, Science, Space, Nonfiction
Release Date: May 2, 2023
Pages: 256
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo
My Rating: ★★★★☆

A complete history of the universe, spanning 13.8 billion years in an ultra-accessible, uncommonly illuminating, exhilarating chronicle of key events

“Baker introduces us not only to the history of our species and our planet, but the history of our vast universe.”—from the foreword by John Green, author of The Anthropocene Reviewed and The Fault in Our Stars

In this thrilling history, David Baker captures the longest-possible time span—from the Big Bang to the present day—in an astonishingly concise retelling. His impressive timeline includes the “rise of complexity” in the cosmos and the creation of the first atoms; the origin of all galaxies, stars, and our solar system; and the evolution of life on Earth, from tiny single-celled organisms to human beings.

Weaving together insights across the sciences—including chemistry, physics, biology, archaeology, and anthropology—Baker answers the fundamental questions: How did time begin? Why does matter exist? What made life on Earth the way it is? He also argues that never before has life on Earth been forced to adjust to a changing climate so rapidly, nor has one species ever been responsible for such sudden change. Baker’s grand view offers the clearest picture of what may come next—and the role we can still play in our planet’s fate.

Sometimes You Need a Rant

Posted in Book Blogger, and Personal

I’ve said before that I tend to read “easy reads” that I can get lost in, specifically books without much conflict or angst. However, I also read non-fiction occasionally, usually history based.

I especially enjoy books that examine historical expectations, lifestyles, and often-overlooked details like Unmentionable and Corsets & Codpieces. They can really help understand the nuances of historical literature and provide supplementary information to better understand documentaries. When done well, historical non-fiction can be interesting and a fun way to learn more. But, they can also go horribly wrong

Review – Unmentionable

Posted in Book Blogger

Unmentionable: The Victorian Lady’s Guide to Sex, Marriage, and Manners

by Therese Oneill

Genres: 19th Century World History, Etiquette, Victorian Era
Release Date: October 25, 2016
Pages: 309
Purchase from: Amazon
My Rating: ★★★★★

Have you ever wished you could live in an earlier, more romantic era? Ladies, welcome to the 19th century, where there’s arsenic in your face cream, a pot of cold pee sits under your bed, and all of your underwear is crotchless. (Why? Shush, dear. A lady doesn’t question.)

Unmentionable is your hilarious, illustrated, scandalously honest (yet never crass) guide to the secrets of Victorian womanhood, giving you detailed advice on: What to wear Where to relieve yourself How to conceal your loathsome addiction to menstruating What to expect on your wedding night How to be the perfect Victorian wife Why masturbating will kill you And more!

Irresistibly charming, laugh-out-loud funny, and featuring nearly 200 images from Victorian publications, Unmentionable will inspire a whole new level of respect for Elizabeth Bennett, Scarlet O’Hara, Jane Eyre, and all of our great, great grandmothers. (And it just might leave you feeling ecstatically grateful to live in an age of pants, super absorbency tampons, epidurals, anti-depressants, and not dying of the syphilis your husband brought home.)

Review – Elegant Etiquette in the Nineteenth Century

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Elegant Etiquette in the Nineteenth Century

by Mallory James

Elegant Etiquette in the Nineteenth Century

Genres: Non Fiction
Release Date: November 30, 2017
Pages: 152
Purchase from: Amazon
My Rating: ★★★★★

Have you ever wondered what it would have been like to live in the nineteenth century? How would you have gotten a partner in a ballroom? What would you have done with a letter of introduction? And where would you have sat in a carriage?
 
Covering all these nineteenth-century dilemmas and more, this book is your must-have guide to the etiquette of our well-heeled forebears. As it takes you through the intricacies of rank, the niceties of the street, the good conduct that was desired in the ballroom, and the awkward blunders that a lady or gentleman would have wanted to avoid, you will discover an abundance of etiquette advice from across the century, and a lively, occasionally tongue-in-cheek, and thoroughly detailed history of nineteenth-century manners and conduct.
 
This well-researched book is enjoyable, compelling reading for anyone with an interest in this period. In exploring the expectations of behavior and etiquette, it brings the world of the nineteenth century to life.