And I Thought The 1970s' Editions of Georgette Heyer Were Bad . . .
Posted 25 February 2009 in Books by Catriona
Well, they were, of course.
But look at what happens when you buy a 1990s’ edition of a Louisa May Alcott novel:
There’s no way she’s a demure Victorian maiden!
The book was originally published in 1876, and this is what a well-to-do young lady looked like in 1876, albeit in a fancier dress.
But this woman? She looks like Victorian Barbie.
(Which, I admit, did give me a fun ten minutes while I imagined other nineteenth-century Barbies. Victorian Prostitute Barbie! Comes with three different outfits, reflecting her changes in fortune after successive run-ins with the 1864 Contagious Diseases Act! Victorian Demure Governess Barbie! Optional second wig reflecting her seduction by the wastrel younger son of the household! Victorian Superfluous Woman Barbie! Buy the furniture for her depressing bedsit in Chelsea separately! Victorian Suffragette Barbie! Comes with length of railing, handcuffs, and prison hunger strike!)
Actually, no: it’s worse than that.
She looks like Nancy Drew in the 1980s’ rejig of the series:
And when your Louisa May Alcott heroine is almost interchangeable with Nancy Drew as drawn in 1987, you have something of a problem.
Share your thoughts [6]
1
Leigh wrote at Feb 25, 10:16 am
Funny, as soon as I saw the picture and before I had read all of the post I was thinking, she looks really wrong, like a Victorian Barbie. Great minds and all that xx
2
Wendy wrote at Feb 25, 10:21 am
i think that Victorian Barbies are genius and you need to get in contact with Mattel ASAP.
Others – Queen Victoria Barbie with Prince Albert Ken doll
plus Wasting away with galloping consumption Barbie (although that’s not specific to Victorian era I guess)..or perhaps this could be Skipper or Skippy or whatever the lesser known young Barbie relation was called
I know…a whole line of “Historical Barbies”…Barbie through the ages…from cavewomen to cyberpunk Barbies and beyond
(but best of all would be Barbies that when you cut their hair it actually grew back)
3
Catriona wrote at Feb 25, 10:30 am
I agree, Wendy—we’ve all cut Barbie’s hair and then regretted it a little, haven’t we?
I like Galloping Consumption Barbie.
We could also have Seduced But Penitent Barbie: pull a string and she sings Bridge of Sighs.
Or Seamstress Barbie, complete with fatal collapse after a twenty-two-hour working day and indignant response from Karl Marx!
Or Chimney Sweep Skipper!
The possibilities are endless.
4
Wendy wrote at Feb 25, 11:32 am
perhaps a Miss Havisham Barbie also…complete with decaying wedding dress…
I think I’ll stop now..you’re right.. the possibilities are endless
5
Matthew Smith wrote at Feb 26, 03:12 am
Don’t forget Ken! (With ruffles and a goatee) I suspect this won’t be the last we hear of Victorian Barbie.
6
Catriona wrote at Feb 26, 03:48 am
No goatees, not in the Victorian era. Or, at least, not the mid-Victorian era, which tended to favour smooth-shaven men with seriously massive sideburns.
I might find some pictures from Victorian journals and write a piece on Victorian Barbie . . .