Romance and Sex
Elopement of Richard Brinsley Sheridan with Marcia Maria Grant
In 1835, English newspapers reported on the scandalous elopement of the future Whig politician Richard Brinsley Sheridan and Marcia Maria Grant, daughter of Lieutenant General John Colquohoun Grant. The elopement happened on 15 May 1835, around the same time that Madame Tussaud was busying establishing her wax museum on Baker Street in London and many…
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Jailhouse Romance of August Spies and Nina Van Zandt
A jailhouse romance between the convicted August Spies and Nina Van Zandt, an attractive, well-educated 24-year-old, made front page news in the 1880s. Spies was one of the anarchists found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder after a bombing attack happened on 4 May 1886 at Chicago’s Haymarket Square in Chicago, Illinois. The event became…
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Duchess of Kendal the Longtime Mistress of George I
The Duchess of Kendal was the longtime mistress of King George I. Described as a thin woman, she was said to be “lean and haggard” and was known as “the Scarecrow” in Germany, as “the Maypole” in England, and called “the Goose” by Jacobites, who most famously taunted her in the Scottish ballad Cam Ye…
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Roderick Maclean: Attempted Assassination of Queen Victoria
Roderick Maclean was a Scotsman who attempted to assassinate Queen Victoria with a pistol. It happened on 2 March 1882, at Windsor, England. His motive was purportedly because he received a curt reply to some poetry that he mailed to the Queen.
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The Beecher-Tilton Scandal of 1875: A Shocking Event
The Beecher-Tilton scandal involved Henry Ward Beecher and Elizabeth Tilton. Henry was a well-known and popular New York clergyman and Elizabeth was the wife Theodore Tilton. In addition, both the Tiltons were members of Henry’s Brooklyn congregation and in fact, Theodore and Henry were good friends. Theodore had served as Henry’s assistant from 1860 to…
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Eye Miniatures: For Lovers of the 18th and 19th centuries
Eye miniatures became a popular item to exchange among lovers and although the fashion began in the late 1700s it reached its zenith around 1803 or 1804. Among some of the earliest pieces produced was one given by the Prince Regent (the future George IV) to his lover and mistress Mrs. Maria Fitzherbert. The gift…
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