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[thelongvictorian]

The History of England by Jane Austen, Aged 16

The following is the transcript from a video I have just put up on Youtube. WARNING: My first ever edited video. The editing and my narration “a work in progress”! TRANSCRIPT: For me creativity is not very far from playfulness. And Jane Austen was a highly creative person. Here she is barely 16 years old – enjoying playing with history – and the way we often only half remember it – and also…

[thelongvictorian]

Amy Robsart (1887) by Thomas Francis Dicksee (English, 1819–1895). Amy, Lady Dudley (née Robsart, 1532–60) was the first wife of Robert Dudley (favourite of England's Queen Elizabeth I). Sadly, Amy is mostly remembered for her suspicious death, falling down a flight of stairs.

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Study at a Reading Desk (1877) by Frederic Lord Leighton (English artist, lived 1830-1896). Leighton enjoyed the sumptuous / rich / luxurious. I imagine he enjoyed painting this. The reading desk was probably a Koran stand from the artist's own collection.

[thelongvictorian]

The Laboratory (1895) by John Collier (English artist and writer, lived 1850–1934). An old alchemist and a young woman. But what is she trying to take from his hands - and why? Pre-Raphaelite style.

[thelongvictorian]

A Ray of Sunlight (The cellist), 1898, by John White Alexander (American artist, lived 1856–1915). Pleasingly painted with much shadow and a streak of mellow sunlight.

[thelongvictorian]

The Green Coat (1926) by Sir John Lavery (Irish artist, lived 1856-1941). “I don't do fashion, I AM fashion.”

[thelongvictorian]

Lady Agnew of Lochnaw (1893) by John Singer Sargent (American artist, lived 1856–1925). According to the Scottish National Gallery, 'the cumulative cost of sustaining celebrity with style obliged Lady Agnew to sell her own portrait'.

[thelongvictorian]

Portrait of a Girl (1896) by Arthur Hacker (English artist, lived 1858–1919).

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The Lady in Pink (1867) by Alfred Stevens (Belgium artist, lived 1823–1906).

[thelongvictorian]

The Breakfast (1911) by William McGregor Paxton (American artist, lived 1869–1941). Oh dear, looks like there's "a bit of an atmosphere" here.

[thelongvictorian]

The Seranade by Joseph Frederic Soulacroix (French-Italian artist, lived 1858–1933).

'If music be the food of love, play on; Give me excess of it ..' - William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night.

[thelongvictorian]

Memories (1890-91) by Irving Ramsay Wiles (American artist, lived 1861–1948). Music - a strong mnemonic device for things we want to remember .. and forget.

[thelongvictorian]

The Lanterns (c. 1910) by Charles Courtney Curran (American artist, lived 1861–1942).

'That all the world will be in love with night And pay no worship to the garish sun.' - William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet.

[thelongvictorian]

Sappho (1877) by Charles Mengin (French artist, lived 1853–1933). Ancient Greek poet, born around 600 BC. According to a sad legend she threw herself off a cliff and into the sea from unrequited love.

[thelongvictorian]

La Parisienne Japonaise (1871) by Alfred Stevens (Belgium artist, lived 1823–1906). A young woman in a blue kimono.

[thelongvictorian]

The Painter's Honeymoon (1864) by Frederic Leighton (English artist, lived 1830–1896). Here, love is equated with art.

[thelongvictorian]

Winding The Mantle Clock (c. 1875-80) by Alfred Stevens (Belgian artist, lived 1823–1906).

"But believe me .. there is nothing stronger than those two: patience and time, they will do it all." - Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace.