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Apr 7, 2025

April 7, 2025 marks 10 years since the incorporation of the Friends of Dalnavert Museum. Founding member, Vanessa Warne, reflects on that history.

Apr 7, 2025

Mar 8, 2025

The Unconventional New Woman

Mar 8, 2025

The New Woman - capital N, capital W- was a Victorian Era concept that originated in the 1890s. Women were realizing that they were more than simply to remain in the household, and help to take care of the children. While this is all well and good, some women wanted to do more, oftentimes, this meant that she wanted to work, and - to the shock of society - remain unmarried.

Mar 8, 2025

Winnipeg Telegram - June 24 1904 - Sir Hugh Seance.png

Oct 1, 2024

Spiritualism, Seances and Victorians, Oh My!

Oct 1, 2024

Seances and spiritualism were quite popular within the Victorian Era. Death became a sort of friend to the Victorians; knocking on doors, often coming with traditions such as mourning wear, locks of hair being worn in a brooch or locket, or ring; even death photography which was popular during this time, allowed for a commemoration of deceased loved ones.

Oct 1, 2024

Sep 19, 2024

Museums, Morality, and Masculinity in Arthur Conan Doyle’s “Lot No. 249”

Sep 19, 2024

Behind the Bookshelf III: In this edition, I invite you to consider museums and the cultural work they do. While museums are spaces of conservation and education, they can also be spaces of appropriation and theft. Let's examine the case of a Victorian-era fictional character with a taste for collecting Egyptian artifacts!

Sep 19, 2024

Sep 12, 2024

A Readerly Window into Womanhood: Margaret Oliphant’s “The Library Window”

Sep 12, 2024

Behind the Bookshelf II:

The cushioned seat of Dalnavert’s grand bay window would have been a lovely spot for the Macdonalds to cuddle up with a book. After studying the hauntingly perplexing short story “The Library Window,” I am inclined to believe that Maragaret Oliphant would agree that this spot has a comforting appeal!

Sep 12, 2024

Sep 5, 2024

Disrespecting the Dinner Table in Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights

Sep 5, 2024

Behind the Bookshelf I: The Dalnavert dining room is set for a festive meal. However, this spotless setting is not necessarily representative of all Victorian mealtimes… To explore some unorthodox dining practices, look no further than the much-debated character of Heathcliff in Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights.

Sep 5, 2024