Terror and Wonder

I went to The Gothic Exhibition at The British Library and bought the book: Terror and Wonder, The Gothic Imagination. I am very amused by an illustration in it of an 1802  lithograph by James Gilray, printmaker and caricaturist. The inscription reads; 'This attempt to describe the effects of the Sublime and Wonderful is dedicated to M.G. Lewis Esq".  The caricature is of 'four spellbound women poring over a copy of Lewis's collection in a bourgeois parlour room, with a copy of 'The Monk' placed on the table. The women's faces express their horrified reaction to gothic tales of terror and wonder.

Gothic Exhibition British Library

Today I visited the Gothic Exhibition at the British Library with a dear friend. The exhibition traces the history of Gothic literature and films. The first emphasis is on Hugh Walpole's Castle of Otranto, but there are references to gothic subject matters in the mediaeval period and in Shakespeare.


We enjoyed the exhibits of texts, handwritten pages, books old and modern and the history of gothic films including The Birds based on Daphne du Maurier's short story. I came away inspired with material for Tuesday's Child a follow on novel from Sunday's Child, published by MuseItUpPublishing and Monday's Child which I am almost ready to submit.

The Infant's Library - Georgian's Revealed Exhibition

At the Georgain's Revealed Exhibition at The British Library I fell in love with The Children's Library a collection of 17 small books published c.1800. They measure approximately 55mm by 45 mm. These tiny books are covered with pretty coloured paper. They are illustrated with woodcuts, some of which are hand-coloured. Originally they were contained in a box with a pink paper lining and a sliding front with "a pretty image of a glass-fronted bookcase".

The subjects of each book are diverse: the alphabet, reading and spelling, games for boys and girls, furniture and domestic items, etc.

Two of the books on display were open. The first two facing pages. Page 62 and 63 of the "History of England". A woodcut of "Our most gracious Sovereign George III" and another woodcut of "his amiable consort Queen Charlotte. The second book was open at a page with the text "I will practice a minuet, and when Harriet and Matilda come in the evening, they will dance to it." The woodcut is of a young girl practicing on a harpsichord.