Written in 1894, ~ "The Sidewalks Of New York"...

"Soiled Doves" Of The Victorian Era...

Abandoned 19th Century Theatre...

"Gone With The Wind," & The Author Of It, ~ Margaret Mitchell: Some Fascinating Videos...

When I read the book I loved the scope of the story. Yes, how much of the Civil War it helped me to understand. I thought Scarlett was a selfish brat and was glad she didn't get Rhett. The movie, ~ I thought Viven Leigh was perfect as Scarlett, Mammy, Melanie, Ashley Wilkes, Suellen, ~ perfectly cast. But, Clark Gable as Rhett, ~ no. I see Rhett as More like a young Timothy Dalton, or a young Pierce Brosnan, or even a young Hugh Jackman...

Clips From "From Hell," ~ Based On The Award Winning Graphic Novel, And Starring Johnny Depp...

Marguerite & Company: An Outrageous And Vile Tale Of Montmartre In The Early 1900s, ~ Part 1 of 3 (so far)...

Marguerite was "un enfant terrible," ~ a terrible child, but she was never really a child. (You know what I mean.) Well, of course, she was small once, and when she was full grown she was still tiny, being no more than four feet, ten. But, she was abnormally advanced in mind and spirit always, with a sly cunning, like an exquisite and seductive vixen fox.

But, her hair, rather than being fox-red, was a satiny light honey blond and it stayed that way, even when she was an adult. Her eyes were as golden as a hawk's. (She was such a diminutive beauty.) Marg, as she liked to call herself, said she was born on a murky Spring night under a streetlight in Pigalle, in Paris, but if that was true who could say? Her father was a grifter. Her mother was a streetwalker of the lowest and scrappiest type, picking fights with other soiled doves, continually, even when she was in labor with her baby. That Marguerite survived her birth was practically a miracle. She was taken under the wing of another streetwalker, a heart-of-gold type, who was nursing her own baby at the time. (Yes, Marguerite's mother rejected her, calling her "a squirmy little rat".) When Marguerite was twelve she delighted in dressing in adult clothes and charmed the son of a baker, who was eighteen. He wanted to marry her, but Marguerite would have none of that. However, she did develop a liking for chocolate eclaires. [To be continued.] --- Copyright by Antoinette Beard, 2023.

Clips From "Van Helsing"...

Gabriel Van Helsing, ~ investgator extraodinaire, goes afer Doctor Jeckle-Mister Hyde, then tackles female vampires, the wives of Count Dracula, in Romania, plus the Count himself, gets himself bit by a werewolf, and you just know nothing go-oo-od will come of that!!!...

The Daring Madame de Maintenon, ~ Louis XIV's Last Mistress & Secret Wife...

"Gigi," ~ the 1958 movie based on Colette's story of a girl born into a family of famous and scandalous mistresses......

The Tragic Life Of Beautiful Sisi, ~ Empress Of Austria...

Colette: French Writer, ~ best known for creating "Gigi"...

The Top Scandals The 19th & Early 20th Centuries...

Romanov Princess Tatiana, ~ In Color...

The Tragedy Of The Romanovs: Explained...

The Hunt For The Missing Fabrege Eggs...

19th Century Beauties Of The Russian Imperial Court Brought To "Life"...

My Short Story, "The Lunatic Girl," --- Part 3...

One of the orderlies approached me, a male orderly. He seemed to be leering. He grabbed my upper arm, led me away, down the long room to a bed with a screen behind it. "Get behind the screen and strip," he said. "NO!," I answered. "You will," he almost growled. "I WON"T!" He dragged me behind the screen. "I know why you're here," he said. "You're loose." "WHAT? How do you know such things? And, I am not loose!" He smiled, such a creepy smile. "Oh, anyone here, any of us medical persons, can look at the records. I saw you come in. When Ira went away I read the entry book. It said you have female hysteria and you're pregnant. You're unwed. You're pretty. Pretty girls are rare here." "You're filthy! Get away from me!" I screamed once more. Why weren't my screams bringing help, or at least attracting a bit of some sort of attention? He held my wrists with his powerful fingers. I struggled. He would rape me. I felt faint, perhaps, partly due to my condition, and, of course, the fright. He stood over me. He had dropped my wrists. I felt so, so sick and very faint. I was on my hands and knees, my mouth open, panting. A little drool fell from my lips. My stays felt like an iron band around my middle. I woke on the bed, face down on my belly. A dark haired woman was standing next to the bed, her arms folded across her chest. She looked down at me blankly. There was something wrong with her mouth. It looked swollen.

Then, the woman rushed off. I closed my eyes. I felt very, very sick, so shakey and ill. I heaved up the contents of my belly, over the edge of the bed. I closed my eyes again. I might have slept a bit, or fainted once more. A loud, harsh female voice woke me. Lucille!" She was standing next to the bed, a huge woman, her muscular arms ending in large clenched fists. "LUCILLE!" "Yes...," I answered, weakly. "You vomited, you pig! It will have to be cleaned up! You're clothes are a disgrace! You need to bathe and dress yourself neatly." She pointed to a small pile of clothing at the foot of the bed. "Pick those up and follow me." I did as she asked. We walked down the long room, empty eyes looking at us, the hollow-looking eyes of the inmates of this horrid place. We went throught a door to another big room. This was obviously the washroom. Metal bathtubs lined the walls and there were tables with yellow bars of soap and raggedy towels. The woman filled a tub half full with barely warm water. "Take a bath!," she ordered. I did as I was told, extremely embarrassed, as she watched me. I dried myself, put on the clothes. a shapeless gray cotton dress and a pair of long, rough wool stockings. "Follow me," the woman said. "The clothes you came in will be burned. That soap is very strong. It should have killed any lice. I hope your hair was not as infested as the hair of most of our patients. But, it will be shorn, just in case." "NO!," I said, touching my still damp locks. "Humph!," the woman snorted. "It will be, for cleanliness." --- Copyright 2023, by Antoinette Beard. (To read parts 1 & 2 check the "Search Box".)

Do You Remember The Mad Hatter & The March Hare From "Alice In Wonderland"?...

Rabbits can seem magucal...

A long-held view is that the hare will behave strangely and excitedly throughout its breeding season, which in Europe peaks in the month of March. This odd behavior includes boxing at other hares, jumping vertically for seemingly no reason and generally displaying abnormal behavior. An early verbal record of this animal's strange behavior occurred in about 1500, in the poem Blowbol's Test where the original poet said: Thanne þey begyn to swere and to stare, And be as braynles as a Marshe hare (Then they begin to swerve and to stare, And be as brainless as a March hare) Similar phrases are attested in the sixteenth century in the works of John Skelton (Replycacion, 1528: "Aiii, I saye, thou madde Marche Hare"; Magnyfycence, 1529: "As mery as a marche hare"). A later recorded use of the phrase occurs in the writings of Sir Thomas More (The supplycacyon of soulys made by syr Thomas More knyght councellour to our souerayn lorde the Kynge and chauncellour of hys Duchy of Lancaster. Agaynst the supplycacyon of beggars: "As mad not as a March hare, but as a madde dogge." Although the phrase in general has been in continuous use since the 16th century, It was popularised in more recent times by Lewis Carroll in his 1865 children's book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, in which the March Hare is a memorable character.

The Victorian Fascination With All Things Ancient Egyptian & The Mummy Unwrapping Parties!!!...

"The Telltale Heart," by Edgar Allen Poe, --- a wonderfully creative animated film & a dramatic story reading...