Charlotte Boyce
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c19thceleb.bsky.social
Charlotte Boyce
@c19thceleb.bsky.social
1.6K followers 1.2K following 270 posts
Associate Professor in Victorian Literature. Research interests: hunger & masculinity | food & consumption | history of celebrity. Co-I on ‘Young Women & Body Image’. Dog person. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 https://researchportal.port.ac.uk/en/persons/charlotte-boyce
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c19thceleb.bsky.social
One of my favourite objects at MFA Boston: an inkwell of Sarah Bernhardt as a sphinx - sculpted by the actress herself!

#HappyHalloween
A Gothic looking inkwell depicting the 19th century actress Sarah Bernhardt as a sphinx with bat’s wings.
October 31, 2025 at 9:06 PM
c19thceleb.bsky.social
Why are you even framing this as a matter of debate, Daily Mail? Totally irresponsible.
A Daily Mail headline reading: what is the REAL truth about any link between paracetamol and autism?
September 23, 2025 at 7:44 AM
c19thceleb.bsky.social
Beautiful medieval floor tiles at Titchfield Abbey in Hampshire. After the dissolution of the monasteries, the building was converted into a mansion by Thomas Wriothesley (of ‘Call-Me Risley’ fame for fans of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall trilogy).
Medieval floor tiles at Tichfield Abbey. Some of them are patterned and some inscribed with Latin text. Titchfield Abbey in Hampshire.
September 7, 2025 at 7:11 PM
c19thceleb.bsky.social
The famous beetle-wings dress worn by Ellen Terry as Lady Macbeth, now on display at Terry’s former home, Smallhythe Place in Kent. The picture doesn’t quite do it justice - the colours are so much deeper and more iridescent in real life! 🤩
#19thCentury
#FashionHistory
A photo of a green, floor-length dress decorated with beetle wings and a gold and green knotted belt.
August 23, 2025 at 3:03 PM
c19thceleb.bsky.social
Can we take a moment to appreciate the gorgeousness of Rudyard Kipling’s dining room wallpaper?
#Bateman’s
#19thCentury
#Art #InteriorDesign
A picture of the interior of Rudyard Kipling’s dining room at Bateman’s in East Sussex. A close up of the wallpaper in Rudyard Kipling’s dining room. It’s gold with painted foliage and birds.
August 16, 2025 at 6:03 PM
c19thceleb.bsky.social
I can still recite every word of this by heart … 🥹

RIP Allan Ahlberg
The front cover of the children’s book Each Peach Pear Plum by Janet and Allan Ahlberg.
July 31, 2025 at 9:22 PM
c19thceleb.bsky.social
Wonderful to see so many old and new faces at BAVS’ 25th anniversary conference! #BAVS2025

It was particularly inspirational to hear from so many of our past presidents at the event’s closing panel. A fitting ending to a fantastic 3 days! #19thCentury #BAVSTRAVAGANZA
A photo showing the six past presidents of BAVS, the current and incoming president, sitting in a line at the annual conference.
July 26, 2025 at 11:06 AM
c19thceleb.bsky.social
Happening later today at #RSVP2025 - panel 1B. Come along if you’re in Chicago!
A laptop screen showing the opening slide for a presentation on Body Image in the Girl’s Own Paper: Conflicting Voices and Visions.
July 11, 2025 at 1:27 PM
c19thceleb.bsky.social
Love to see the Welsh flag flying in South End, Boston! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🇺🇸
A Welsh flag (red dragon on white and green background) flies from a top floor balcony.
July 8, 2025 at 1:07 PM
c19thceleb.bsky.social
Re-engaging with Sally Mitchell’s classic *The New Girl*, and love her account of how she got the sabbatical to write it!
The New Girl … was written almost by accident and certainly for fun. When the form to apply for a sabbatical had a section headed “Describe your methodology” I actually wrote “I will read a great deal and write something”.
July 1, 2025 at 9:57 AM
c19thceleb.bsky.social
Day 1 of the INCS 2025 Conference in Genoa has not disappointed! Great panels and an amazing city 🤩
A view of Genoa city from the port.
June 18, 2025 at 4:31 PM
c19thceleb.bsky.social
Did a (belated!) Chelsea chop over the weekend so now have lots of lovely blooms to bring some colour to the house 😊
Photo of a cream vase containing purple salvias and red lilies (I think! Not an expert on plants)
June 9, 2025 at 5:42 PM
c19thceleb.bsky.social
The South Downs looking resplendent this sunny weekend 😎
A view from Harting Down, with fields and hills extending into the distance. The sky is blue with just a few tiny white clouds.
May 11, 2025 at 4:53 PM
c19thceleb.bsky.social
I was so excited to see The Women of Llanrumney at the Sherman Theatre last night after missing out on tickets for last year’s sold-out run. It was harrowing but brilliant. Suzanne Packer in particular was amazing. If you get the chance to see it, do!
Poster for Azuka Oforka’s play The Women of Llanrumney. In shows a candlelit scene. Annie, an eighteenth century house slave on a Jamaican sugar plantation, is setting down a platter of fruit on an elaborately laid dinner table. She is staring directly at the viewer. On the left and right hand sides of the poster flames are raging.
May 4, 2025 at 11:56 AM
c19thceleb.bsky.social
Some examples of Queen Victoria’s mourning dress, on display at the ‘Dress Codes’ exhibition at Kensington Palace. #19thCentury
A black mourning dress and white widow’s cap worn by Queen Victoria. A black crepe mourning jacket worn by Queen Victoria.
April 23, 2025 at 6:32 PM
c19thceleb.bsky.social
Convinced I would be sooo much more productive if I could just work in Dylan Thomas’s lovely little writing shed …
The exterior of Dylan Thomas’s writing shed in Laugharne. The interior of Dylan Thomas’s little writing shed, with a desk and chair, and notes and pictures on the walls.
April 17, 2025 at 7:21 PM
c19thceleb.bsky.social
My parents have been cleaning out their ancient drinks cabinet and among the treasures found are 2 unopened bottles of Bailey’s (use by date 2023) and this dusty bottle of Angostura Bitters (bought for £2.99 in Tesco according to the price sticker - date unknown).
An old and dusty bottle of Angostura bitters.
April 14, 2025 at 3:47 PM
c19thceleb.bsky.social
The Girl’s Own Paper’s helpful advice on how to preserve your complexion?

‘Avoid worry.’

Um, yeah, thanks for that!
#19thcentury
Text from the 1902 volume of The Girl’s Own Paper saying ‘avoid worry’.
March 11, 2025 at 10:06 AM
c19thceleb.bsky.social
Sure, the world’s going to hell in a handcart, but why not organise a bicycle gymkhana?

The Girl’s Realm is here to show you how!
An article on how to organise a bicycle gymkhana from the late C19th magazine The Girl’s Realm. A picture of women on bicycles standing up and holding hands from an article on how to organise a bicycle gymkhana from the late C19th magazine The Girl’s Realm. Some text and a picture of a woman riding a bike backwards from an article on how to organise a bicycle gymkhana from the late C19th magazine The Girl’s Realm.
March 7, 2025 at 2:30 PM
c19thceleb.bsky.social
Great to be back at the British Library, but I’m gutted to have missed their Medieval Women exhibition - by just 3 days 🤦‍♀️
A huge wall poster for the ‘Medieval Women in their Own Words’ exhibition at the British Library.
March 5, 2025 at 4:35 PM
c19thceleb.bsky.social
This weekend’s dog walk took us past the Tichborne estate - famous to Victorianists (and readers of Zadie Smith’s novel The Fraud) as the centre of a C19th cause célèbre!

Pictured: The Tichborne Arms, looking resplendent in the early spring sunshine.
A photograph of the Titchborne Arms pub, an old red brick building with a thatched roof.
March 2, 2025 at 8:34 PM
c19thceleb.bsky.social
Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus!

Happy St David’s Day!
A picture of a woodland scene with a single daffodil flowering in the foreground.
March 1, 2025 at 5:09 PM
c19thceleb.bsky.social
Finally got around to seeing the Barbie exhibition at the Design Museum this weekend!

Lots of nostalgic fun, but we did think the exhibit labels overstated Barbie’s diversity & eco credentials a bit …
A Poster advertising the barbie exhibition at the design museum in London. It contains an image of the original Barbie doll from the 1950s.
January 26, 2025 at 6:09 PM
c19thceleb.bsky.social
Some of my favourite reads of 2024! (part 2)

Elizabeth Kostova, The Historian
Tana French, The Wych Elm
Tana French, The Searcher
Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall
Hilary Mantel, Bring up the Bodies
Hilary Mantel, The Mirror and the Light

(Some of these have been on my shelves for AGES)
Pictured are cover images of the following books: A Elizabeth Kostova, The Historian; Tana French, The Wych Elm; Tana French, The Searcher; Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall; Hilary Mantel, Bring up the Bodies; Hilary Mantel, The Mirror and the Light.
December 31, 2024 at 8:47 PM
c19thceleb.bsky.social
Some of my favourite reads of 2024! (Part 1)

Zadie Smith, The Fraud
Dorothy B. Hughes, In a Lonely Place
Rebecca F. Kuang, Yellowface
Karen Joy Fowler, Booth
Lucy Atkins, The Night Visitor
Claire Korda, Woman, Eating
Covers of the following 6 books are pictured: Zadie Smith, The Fraud; Dorothy B. Hughes, In a Lonely Place; Rebecca F. Kuang, Yellowface; Karen Joy Fowler, Booth; Lucy Atkins, The Night Visitor; Claire Korda, Woman, Eating.
December 31, 2024 at 8:41 PM