Join me tonight as we all scream for ice cream alongside the king of poisonous penny licks and the queen of fancy ices. We'll dive right into the heart of the dairy trade, and learn about the flavors, syrups and "special toppings" that made the Victorians brain freeze with delight.

The Devil's Dinner Hour is written, edited, produced, and hosted by Evelyn James

Music: David Fesilyan, David Renda & Sergei Chetvertnykh

Works Cited

“Anthony S. Wohl. Endangered Lives: Public Health in Victorian Britain. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 1983. Pp. 440. $20.00.” The American Historical Review, Apr. 1985, https://doi.org/10.1086/ahr/90.2.415. Accessed 20 July 2020.

Ashmole, Elias. The Institution, Laws and Ceremonies of the Most Noble Order of the Garter Collected and Digested into One Body ... A Work Furnished with Variety of Matter, Relating to Honor and Noblesse. 1672.

ccaspell. “The Hokey Cokey Man.” The Classical Source, 22 May 2009, www.classicalsource.com/concert/the-hokey-cokey-man/. Accessed 30 July 2024.

Eales, Mary. “Mrs. Mary Eales’s Receipts. (1733).” Https://Www.gutenberg.org/Files/20735/20735-h/20735-H.htm, www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/20735/pg20735-images.html. Accessed 3 July 2024.

Geist, Edward. “When Ice Cream Was Poisonous: Adulteration, Ptomaines, and Bacteriology in the United States, 1850–1910.” Bulletin of the History of Medicine, vol. 86, no. 3, 2012, pp. 333–360, www.jstor.org/stable/26305867.

“Ice Cream: The inside Scoop.” The British Museum, 9 July 2020, www.britishmuseum.org/blog/ice-cream-inside-scoop.

Image: Ice Cream recipe by Lady Ann Fanshawe. Published: 1651-1707. © Wellcome Library, London via Wikimedia Commons

Mark, Joshua. “Mesopotamia.” World History Encyclopedia, 14 Mar. 2018, www.worldhistory.org/Mesopotamia/.

“Mrs Agnes Marshall.” Www.canalmuseum.org.uk, www.canalmuseum.org.uk/ice/marshall.htm.

Thomson, John. Street Life in London. By J. Thomson and Adolphe Smith. 1877.

Join me tonight as we tread the boards of the Victorian stage and learn what it was like for actors, directors, and writers as they navigated a world that didn't yet appreciate their gifts. We will experience a revolution that was started with song and dance, watch as theatre fires consume the streets of London, learn about Victorian special effects, lighting, and set design, and meet some interesting characters along the way!

The Devil's Dinner Hour is written, edited, produced, and hosted by Evelyn James

Music: David Fesilyan, David Renda & Sergei Chetvertnykh

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Explore a world of stunning spectacle: The Victorian Circus. Let's take a stroll through the dusty sands of the circus ring, and learn what daily life was like for both performer and proprietor. In this episode, we will walk alongside misfits of every kind, color, creed, and identity who used their creativity and ingenuity to create a place, not only of danger, wonder, and excitement… but of belonging.

Some stories to look forward to in this episode: Pablo Fanque: the first recorded black circus owner, Madame Ella Zoyara: a little lady with a big secret, Macomo: an African Sailor who would one day become a king and the various Lion Queens that battled lions and astounded audiences with their strength and bravery.

“ Open the gates, and draw the curtain, Here comes something fine that’s certain; Lounder the band begins to play, Open the gates, and clear the way! Enters a Queen with a King beside her; Every horse is proud of his rider, Two by two they march to the tune, And head the procession that will follow soon...”

-Mcloughlin Brothers

Works Cited:

Frost, Thomas. Circus Life and Circus Celebrities. 1875.

James Redding Ware. Passing English of the Victorian Era. E.P. Publishing, 1972.

Daily News (London, England), Monday, January 14, 1850, Issue 1135

The Annals and History of Leeds, and Other Places in the County of York. 1860.

Manchester Evening News, "A Lion-Tamer Killed by His Beasts at Bolton," January 4, 1872, p. 2

Unknown. The Circus Procession. New York, Mcloughlin Brothers, 1888, www.loc.gov/resource/rbc0001.2003juv12208/. Accessed 28 June 2024.

“V&a · the Story of Circus.” Victoria and Albert Museum, V&A, 2011, www.vam.ac.uk/articles/the-story-of-circus.