‘Trash History’: Historical Accuracy in Film and Fiction

Thought it might not look like it, this idealized painting of the first Thanksgiving is historically inaccurate. According to the notes, the costume of the Pilgrims is inaccurate and Wompanoag Native Americans depicted in the painting would not have worn the feather bonnets nor would they have been sitting on the ground. Painted during WWI, …

A Stealthy Fox: Bette Davis in The Little Foxes (1941)

***This post is part of The 4th Annual Bette Davis Blogathon, hosted by the In The Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood blog. *** ***Some spoilers*** “[Bette Davis’ character] lies in wait like a coiled snake (or a stealthy fox set to pounce).” (Carr, par. 5) I’m back after my month hiatus from blogging! I’ve got …

Science, Ghosts and Haunted Houses: Three 19th Century Classic Women Horror Writers

Photo Credit: Mr. T. P. Cooke, of the Theatre Royal Covent Garden, in the character of the monster in the dramatic romance of Frankenstein, 1823 production of Presumption; or, the fate of Frankenstein, lithograph reproduction of an original painting by Nathanial Whittock and Thomas Charles Wageman, The New York Public Library: Tronvillian/ Wikimedia Commons/PD Old …

Catalyst For A Series: My Unexpected “Aha!” Moment from The Blackwater Lightship

Photo Credit: Dark light… come shine in her lost heart tonight, taken on 26 November 2016 by Nikk: The Maniac Macrographer/Flickr/CC BY 2.0 I’ve talked quite a bit about inspiration on my blog. In this blog post I discuss how I believe inspiration is something you don’t sit around and wait for but go out and …

More Than Just a Gibson Girl: The New Woman

The New Woman prompted a lot of satirical photos and cartoons by the male establishment who felt threatened by her growing popularity and power. This photo depicts the “masculinized” New Woman. Dressed in turn-of-the-century male garb (the straw hat and knickerbocker pants), she stands over her man with a cocky, stern look on her face, …

Gilded Age Backlash: The Progressive Era

Although this cartoon refers specifically to only one of the reforms during the Progressive Era (women’s suffragism), it is visually a great example of what was going on with all reforms during this era. Photo Credit: Political cartoon about suffrage in the United States. Four women supporting suffrage on a steamroller crushing rocks "opposition". Illustration …

What’s in a Tagline? Picking Apart My Tagline

Photo Credit: Woman with veil, dark Gothic fantasy image, uploaded December 24, 2014 by LoganArt: LoganArt/ Pixabay/CC0 1.0 Last week, the Sisters in Crime organization held a webinar for authors about author branding. The idea of “branding” is relatively new buzzword in business and marketing (when it comes to people rather than products, that is) but …

A Life for a Life: Wives Under Suspicion (1938)

***This post is part of Made in 1938 Blogathon, hosted by the In The Good Old Days of Classic Hollywood and Pop Culture Reverie blogs. *** ***Some spoilers*** “It’s still a life for a life, as far as I’m concerned.” (Warren William, Wives Under Suspicion) The year 1938 was an interesting one in America. The nation started …

Not Worth a Cent: Glitz and Excess in The Gilded Age

The idea behind the cartoon is, as I mention below, big business controlled the government during the Gilded Age. In this cartoon, big business is represented by “the robber barons”, the name given to railroad company tycoons (and the businesses that made them possible, such as the steel business), pictured as bloated bags of money, …

A Dissatisfying Ideology: Separate Spheres in the 19th Century

Photo Credit: OpenClipartVectors/Pixabay/CC0 1.0 Welcome to the Dream Book Blog’s first post of 2019! I’m not ashamed to say I’m a feminist. I became a feminist in college when I began studying literature and women’s fiction. I came from a very patriarchal house (read: chauvinist) where my parents supported the idea that the men ruled …