Author Archives: hudsonhousemysteries

About hudsonhousemysteries

I am a graphic artist. My work is based on photography and I am also a writer of historical novels, specializing in the Victorian era with a strong emphasis on the historical connections between that time and this.I began writing by working with my late father, Alvin Schwartz, who wrote Superman and Batman comics for more than twenty years. Starting very early, about age six, I plotted comic book stories then moved on to writing film, advertising and fiction ranging from young person’s novels to my current historical novels http://hudsonhousemysteries.com/south.php. In addition to telling a good yarn, I like to use an historical perspective to comment on modern issues. I learned about art from my mother who was one of Hans Hofmann's students and had one of the last show at Peggy Guggenheim's in NYC. I have had one man shows in Montreal and Toronto. My art website is Alan McKee.com.

“THE NAPOLEON OF CRIME”

Adam Worth, sometimes given the same epithet as the fictional villian who challenged Sherlock Holmes, “The Napoleon of Crime”, was a German-born criminal mastermind. Worth was born in Germany in 1844, the first child of a poor Jewish family; his … Continue reading

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What would you gamble for a better life?

Many people of the British Empire were ready to risk anything for a better future. People emigrating to India endured a three-month voyage on ships that were tossed about like corks. Then, they had to cope with conditions so foreign … Continue reading

Posted in British Raj, Charles Dickens, Downton Abbey, the bibighar, the Indian Mutiny, The Lucknow Courtesans: Indian Queens of a Golden Age, The Memorial Well, The Music of Lucknow After the 1857 Rebellion, The Music of Lucknow after the 1857 Rebellion, The princely states of India | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The great photographic adventurers of 19th Century India

I recently attended a meeting of the Historical Photographic Society and  had the pleasure  of seeing an image by one of my favourite Victorian adventurer-photographers. Samuel Bourne dragged his heavy wooden camera and tripod across rivers, deserts, up and down … Continue reading

Posted in 19th century India, 19th century photography and photographic techniques, spiritualism, spiritualistic phenomena, spirit photography, Rajphoto.com, Uncategorized, victorian India | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Murder Mysteries

Do you know who Svengali was, or Count Fosco, or Lydia Gwilt? All were famous villians of nineteenth century murder mysteries. All three raised issues about the society of the time 1860s  to 1890s. After the discovery of “mesmerism” in … Continue reading

Posted in Jack the Ripper, victorian crime, Victorian forensic science | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

We’ve Moved!

HudsonHouseMysteriesBlog has moved. Click HERE to visit the new site location. All Future updates will be made at the new location. See you there!

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Will Downton Abbey Raise the Bar for an Appreciation of History and Historical Fiction?

The phenomenon of the immensely popular Downton Abbey is the result of one man’s life long interest in history and the lives of the upper classes in Britain. I am speaking, of course, of the tv show’s creator and main … Continue reading

Posted in 19th Century London, 19th century women's rights, British royalty, Downton Abbey, Edwardian history in England, the "Great Game" | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Shadows of Empire

http://youtu.be/J_Brt2TiFVo

A short video by Alan McKee

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Posted in 19th century India, 19th century Lucknow, memorial to women and children at Cawnpore, the "Great Game", the bibighar, the British Raj, the Indian Mutiny, The Lucknow Courtesans: Indian Queens of a Golden Age, The Lucknow Courtesans: Indian Queens of a Golden Age, The Music of Lucknow After the 1857 Rebellion, The Music of Lucknow After the 1857 Rebellion, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Want to time travel and meet Jack the Ripper? It’s more of a thrill than visiting the Olympics.

A lot of people will be pouring into London this summer to see the Olympics. But I would rather have the thrill of time travel. I would rather walk in the footsteps of Jack the Ripper, see what he saw, … Continue reading

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Who was “the great London Minotaur”?

“…not even the great London Minotaur himself—that portentous incarnation of lust and wealth—fill us with such sorrow and shame….”W.T. Stead in the Pall Mall Gazette July 8, 1885 In his epoch making series of articles on the Victorian business of … Continue reading

Posted in 19th century child prostitution, 19th century Indian prostituion, 19th Century London, 19th century women's rights, Jack the Ripper, victorian London, victorian trade in children, victorian women's rights, victorian, 19th century, Jack the Ripper, the Raj, victorian child prostitution, 19th century virtuosi, The National Railway Museum, Josephine Butler,, women's rights, suffragettes, 19th century industry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The most bizarre method of detection used to trace Jack the Ripper

So desperate were the police to track the mysterious killer known today as “Jack the Ripper,” they resorted to some unusual methods of detection. A letter to Sir Charles Warren, Commisioner of Police, was written by J.H. Ashforth of Nottingham … Continue reading

Posted in 19th century British Journal of Photography, 19th century photography and photographic techniques, spiritualism, spiritualistic phenomena, spirit photography, Jack the Ripper | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment