Still thinking about the elusive Mrs Blackpool from Dickens’s Hard Times, and as I had such fun thinking about what had happened to her to make her the woman so despised in the novel, I have continued on. No doubt it needs some work, but in the meantime, here is Chapter 2 of Mrs Blackpool…Continue reading “Dickens Fanfic – Chapter 2”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Wedding Dress Woes
Is there anything in life more stressful than moving house? Having found my dream home in Northumberland, I am now starting to get my house packed up and ready for the big move North. Today’s task was sorting out my garage. Easy enough, one would think, albeit a tad dusty with the risk of aContinue reading “Wedding Dress Woes”
How I Came to The Story of Divorce
If I was going to pinpoint the reason for why I was inspired to write The Story of Divorce, I guess, to some extent, I am going to have to blame Dickens. But before we get to the inimitable novelist and the reason why he was responsible for my obsession with the stories underlying theContinue reading “How I Came to The Story of Divorce”
Book Review: The Bone Jar by SW Kane
The Bone Jar by S.W. Kane My rating: 3 of 5 stars Now, the mystery/thriller genre is normally not my thing, but if you were going by the blurb, I should have loved this book. I mean it had an abandoned asylum, and a former patient, so there was going to be some historic context.Continue reading “Book Review: The Bone Jar by SW Kane”
A Bit of Dickens Fanfic
If you have been reading along with #HardTimes2020 at https://hardtimesreadalong.wordpress.com/ you will note that I am getting a bit over-invested in Dickens’s portrayal of Stephen Blackpool, his martyr. And having a bit of time to spare I thought I might try seeing him from another point of view: his wife’s. Here is my Dickens fanfic,Continue reading “A Bit of Dickens Fanfic”
Ann Dawson, A Story of (No) Divorce
While researching the life and political writing of Caroline Norton for my MA I spent some time trawling through the archives of digital newspapers of the time, going over references to her, and to the issue of divorce law reform in general. During one of my (many) visits to the British Library while I wasContinue reading “Ann Dawson, A Story of (No) Divorce”
Review of Outrages by Naomi Wolf
Outrages: Sex, Censorship & the Criminalisation of Love and Wolf’s Consideration of Divorce Law in the Nineteenth Century Deborah Siddoway MA LLB (Hons) Naomi Wolf’s book Outrages: Sex, Censorship & the Criminalisation of Love[1], in its discussion of the Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Act 1857 (“the Divorce Act”), if nothing else demonstrates the dangers ofContinue reading “Review of Outrages by Naomi Wolf”
Voices in the Dark
Voices In The Dark: Pony Talk & Mining Tales by Derek Hollows My rating: 4 of 5 stars This book is an anthology of poems, memoirs, stories, pictures and recollections dedicated to recalling the special place that pit ponies hold in the annals of mining history. Many of the contributions come from the Bevin boys,Continue reading “Voices in the Dark”
(Re)Introducing myself
Hello, and welcome to my new blog. It’s time to not so much introduce myself, but to re-introduce myself. My name is Deborah Siddoway. It is important to say that because until recently, Deborah Siddoway was in hibernation. She was hidden away as if she didn’t exist, put into a grave of her own makingContinue reading “(Re)Introducing myself”
Deborah Siddoway 