Queen Mab and the Pantomime Wars

by | Dec 12, 2021 | History

Pantomime has a long and complex history but was well underway as a form of popular entertainment in Britain by the middle of the eighteenth century. With its roots in commedia dell’arte, it had become a mainstay of Lincoln Inn’s Fields playhouse under the well-known...

From Whores to Sentimental Heroines

by | Sep 1, 2021 | History

I have been living with this portrait of an unknown woman (purchased from the excellent Cabinet Antiques) for a while now. She hangs on the wall of our office at home, above the filing cabinet, gazing softly down at me as I type. Her manner is unmistakeably...