Rachel with an E

Mariano Fortuny Museum, Venice, Italy – Part One.

In April of this year I had the great good fortune to visit the Fortuny Museum in Venice, Italy. The Fortuny Museum or ‘Museo Fortuny’ in Italian is housed in the Palazzo Pesaro a 15th Century Venetian palace. Fortuny or Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo (11th May 1871, Granada Spain – 3rd May 1949, Venice Italy was an early twentieth century Spanish couturier based in Venice and is perhaps most famous for his ‘Delphos’ dresses (pictured above) of finely pleated silk with Murano glass beads on a silk cord to either side of the waist of the dress to way the dress down.

View Post

Musuem of the History of Bologna – Bologna, Italy.

Naturally. when I go abroad I like to visit museums to find out more about the area and it’s heritage and history. When I visited Bologna of this Year I visited the Museum of the History of Bologna situated in Bologna’s city centre. The museum details the story of Bologna from pre-historical times through the Roman and Renaissance up to the Twenty-First Century. With a nominal fee of eight euros and situated over several floors visiting the museum was a great way to find out more about the history of Bologna which I admit I knew very little about!

View Post

I was Granny reared; an Irish country childhood

Image 1 - Dromore Street Ballynahinch Co Down Ireland c1900 OLD PHOTO

In my last post, I talked about the Christian principles evident in Anne of the Island and it got me thinking of my own childhood being brought up on these principles and other moral principles by my beloved maternal grand-mother. My grand-mother, or Nanny as I called her, as we say in the country in Ireland ‘Granny reared’ me for most of my young life.

View Post

Beyond the Bookcase – Anne of the Island, Lucy Maud Montgomery.

veiligplekje: Cover art for Anne of the Island...

Rachel With An E? – Anne With An E? Sense a theme here? My blog is in homage to Anne Shirley of the Anne of Green Gables books by Lucy Maud Montgomery. As like Anne I to get frustrated when people mis-spell my name as Rachael when it is Rachel. Also like Anne I’m always reminding people my name is Rachel With An E! The Anne of Green Gables series are some of my all time favourite books. But, I confess until recently I had not read past the first two books Anne of Green Gables (1908) and Anne of Avonlea (1909).

View Post

The End of the Line – Why it’s important to remember Irish women’s history

End of the line; end of the month; well, women’s history month that is! It is so important to remember women’s history; not just in March, but throughout the year as if we don’t remember it and talk about it it will be lost to history. This has been an interesting month to delve into my interests as an historian of Irish dress, and by extension the history of Irish women.

View Post