Perils of writing at home!

I just bought the 4th volume of The Tell Tale or Universal Museum (1804) published by Ann Lemoine with at least 2 tales by Sarah Wilkinson! There is something so wonderful about Gothic chapbooks that it helps me escape from the current nightmare that is frump.

I know it doesn't mean much to other people, but I finally found evidence that Gothic novelist Sarah Wilkinson, was a bookseller as well as a teacher! I know it is a small detail, but it does shed light on an author who knew exactly what her readers desired and expected in a novel (& chapbook).

In Laguna Beach with the family. A nice break with lovely people!

To be honest, I'm burnt out. There is too much political and academic uncertainty, & I incessantly worry about what next year will bring. To recover & recharge, I'm spending time with my family, immersing myself in research & avoiding the news. For me, this frontispiece is a glimpse of the future.

Today is Gothic novelist & bluebook author Sarah Wilkinson's 245th birthday. She lived by the pen, taught school, battled breast cancer, & died in a workhouse at the age of 52. We should make more of an effort to read those authors who never achieved the success of a Charlotte Smith or Jane Austen.

We adopted Harry last week. In part, it was due to his name. We are Potters, after all. He is a polydactyl with 24 digits, 7 on each front paw, and 5 on each rear paw. It takes some getting used to, but he's a keeper.

The frontispiece from Sarah Wilkinson's The Chateau de Montville published 1 June 1803 by Thomas Hughes. The caption "There lies your father Unhappy Girl" is found on page 15. Note the enlarged skeleton and chain for effect. Wonderful isn't it!

Academic baking. Anyone else like to bake cakes associated with their research? My Bleeding Nun cake, complete with raspberry compote that dripped like blood when cut. I know I'm not the only one, right?

I lectured on Gothic chapbooks and Sarah Wilkinson today. For me, it's the highlight of my Gothic course. I try to remind my students that for every Ann Radcliffe or Jane Austen, there were dozens of struggling female authors who wrote to survive and ultimately perished by the pen.

An interesting abridgment of St. Clair of the Isles (1803) by Elizabeth Helme. William Mason published a number of Gothic chapbooks like this based on popular novels.

The frontispiece and title page of Oswick, The Bold Outlaw, a Gothic chapbook published by Thomas Hughes in 1806. It's one of the few frontispieces I've seen where the subject confronts the viewer 'standing over the mangled body' of his victim.

I'm hoping to find a good community on this site. If you are interested in Gothic literary history, Gothic chapbooks & illustrations (frontispiece of The Vampire or the Bride of the Isles, c1820), Gothic bibliography, Gothic publishing history, & the Gothic writer Sarah Wilkinson, let's connect.

Trying to spend less time on Musk's echo box, and hoping that a load of Gothic scholars are already here. I'm bringing the Bleeding Nun with me.

I've been researching and writing about Gothic chapbooks and their illustrations for while now, but they never cease to amaze me.