Author Archives: dgm

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About dgm

Former IT professional, previously a digital archiving and repository person, ex research psychologist, blogger, twitterer, and amateur classical medieval and nineteenth century historian ...

Tolstoy, translators and English utopianism

While spending a little more time with Constance (and the Russian revolutionary community in London at the end of the nineteenth century), I kept coming across the names of Louise and Aylmer Maude who were also translators of Tolstoy’s work … Continue reading

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Sergei Stepniak

Sergei Stepniak is obviously key to the story of the Friends of Russian Freedom, in 1890s London, as well as to the life of Constance Garnett. So, as an exercise, I thought I’d try and see what we could learn … Continue reading

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The Society of Friends of Russian Freedom

Sometimes a diagram is best. On the back of my looking into the life of Ethel Voynich, I kept on coming across the same names, sometimes in different contexts, so to try and make sense out of it I drew … Continue reading

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Lenin in Torquay

Strange one this. There’s apparently an unsubstantiated story that while Lenin was in London in 1907 he had himself a little cycling holiday in Torquay in Devon. Well, maybe he did, or maybe he didn’t, but it is true that … Continue reading

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So what did the elusive Madeleine Smith call herself later in life?

Madeleine Smith is commonly said to have been known as Lena Wardle, and certainly after her second marriage to William Sheehy, she was known as Lena Sheehy, but on the 1881 England an Wales census her name is given as … Continue reading

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Madeleine and George

A few years ago, I got interested in the story of Madeleine Smith, a youg woman in Glasgow who was put on trial for murdering her clingy boyfriend by putting arsenic in his cocoa when he refused to break off … Continue reading

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The afterlife of Katherine Scragg

As I often do, I decided to find out a little of Katherine Scragg’s life after her 1887 assault. I’d already established that in both the 1891 and 1901 censuses she was listed as a school teacher living in Cheslyn … Continue reading

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Ethel Voynich’s early life as revealed by the census…

As I’ve said elsewhere I spent part of yesterday afternoon in the library researching Ethel Voynich’s early life to see what I could glean from the England Wales census records Ignoring the 1871 census which unsurprisingly confirms she was living … Continue reading

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The Lunatic Asylum Soviet …

When I was researching the story of Ethel Voynich, I came across the following link I couldn’t of course access it as I’m not a UCC student or staff member, but fortunately the State Library of Victoria also provides access … Continue reading

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Ethel Voynich

If you’ve been following my blogs you’ll know that I have an interest in both the role of the Okhrana, the tsarist secret police, in penetrating groups of anti tsarist dissident living in London, and also the attempts by the … Continue reading

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