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A Header (?)
Historical poem, 1883
By James Clarence Harvey
From The Wheelman, April 1883, p. 45

He rode a fifty-four-inch wheel,
His form outshone Apollo;
O'er hill and dale, his steed of steel
No other steed could follow.
At break of day two shell-like ears
Would hear his bugle sounding,
And to the window, swift as light,
Two tiny feet come bounding

And through the day her mind would dwell
Upon the handsome rider,
And deep, dark eyes look far away
Beyond the book beside her.
And he would ride a dozen miles
Out of his way, returning,
For one swift, stolen glance at her
For whom his heart was yearning.

One fateful day his bugle notes
Had to the window led her;
So swift he flew he took her breath,
And also took a header.
One dainty shriek, and o'er his form,
No introduction needing,
She knelt, and bound her kerchief 'round
His forehead, bruised and bleeding.

He said, of course, "Where am I?" soon,
With voice quite weak and sickly;
He saw who held his aching head,
And came to very quickly.
She asked him in, and he, of course,
Concluded he would tarry;
They tore my romance all to bits,
And now they're going to marry.

An article in Bicycling magazine about us:
"How To Bike Like A Victorian"
http://www.bicycling.com/culture/people/old-doesn-t-mean-bad-modern-conversation-victorian-era-cyclists

A few of Sarah's accounts of our Victorian cycling adventures:
 
The flower fields of the Skagit Valley:
http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/blog/my-recent-trip-to-the-skagit-valley
 
A Trip to A Lavender Festival:
http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/blog/sneak-peek-into-a-future-book
 
The Tricycle's Maiden Voyage:
http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/blog/the-tricycles-maiden-voyage
 
The Chilly Hilly ride:
http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/blog/chilly-hilly
 
Port Townsend to Port Gamble:
http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/blog/port-gamble-wa
 
Sarah ALWAYS wears a corset—even while cycling.  Here's an excerpt from her book about it:
http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/blog/cycling-in-a-corset-a-short-excerpt-from-victorian-secrets
 
Rebuttal of an erroneous article:
http://www.thisvictorianlife.com/blog/a-rebuttal-to-a-recent-article ​

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​Other historical cycling articles
A Burglar, A Bicycle, and A Storm (Fiction—1896)
A Cycle of the Seasons: A Bicycle Romance in Four Meets (Fiction—1883)   
A Cycle Show in Little (1896)
A Header (?) (Poem—1883)
A Modern Love Sung in Ancient Fashion (Poem—1884)
Bicycling and Tricycling (1884)
Cycling for Women (1888)   
Cycling's Value As An Exercise (1879)
Is Bicycling Harmful? (1897)
The Evolution of a Sport (1896)
Foreign [Bicycling News] (1884)
​A Midwinter-Night's Dream (An homage to Dickens' A Christmas Carol, cycling style —1883)
On Wings of Love (Poem—1884)
Rosalind A Wheel (Fiction—1897)
Snakes in his Wheel (1895)
Wheelman's Song (Poem—1883)
The Work of Wheelmen for Better Roads (1896)   
Woman's Cycle (1896)

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Back to Historical Articles Index
 
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The Books In a seaport town in the late 19th-century Pacific Northwest, a group of friends find themselves drawn together —by chance, by love, and by the marvelous changes their world is undergoing.  In the process, they learn that the family we choose can be just as important as the ones we're born into.  Join their adventures in

The Tales of Chetzemoka

Buy the book​
​Learn more​​​​​

First Wheel in Town:
A Victorian Cycling Club Romance​​
In the summer of 1881, a Pacific Northwest town is buzzing with curiosity over a mysterious package received by handsome young Dr. Brown. Kitty Butler, the town dressmaker, is as curious as anyone else. She only knows one thing about that crate in the post office: everyone else's guesses about its contents are all wrong. 

When Dr. Brown unpacks the crate and reveals the first bicycle the town has ever seen, he wants to share his enthusiasm for this revolutionary new piece of technology —but encounters overwhelming hostility instead of the excitement he'd expected. The only one who seems positively interested is the pretty young widow Kitty Butler, and Dr. Brown soon realizes how much he needs her support…

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​Learn more

Love Will Find A Wheel:
A Victorian Cycling Club Romance
            "I'm sure he'll be glad you're here —once he gets used to it." 
            When Jacob Simmons arrives in Washington Territory in the summer of 1882 and receives a glacial reception from his uncle Silas, he appreciates Dr. Brown's encouraging prediction but doesn't have much faith in it.  Jacob's not even sure Silas will have time to get used to his presence, let alone consider him welcome.  If the young man can't meet the draconian requirements of a contract with his business investors, he'll face exile and financial ruin, thus fulfilling old Silas' prediction that he would be just as dismal a failure as his father.  His whole future rests on finding a market for a remarkable new machine —and he'll need help selling them.
                                                                                     ***
            Addie Kellam is an incredibly lonely young woman.  She's more comfortable with books than with other people, yet she longs for the sort of romance she reads about in stories.  It's something she fears she'll never experience herself, since even friendship seems elusive.  She envies the cameraderie her brother finds in his cycling club, but the only bicycles in the town of Chetzemoka are specifically designed for men.  There aren't any wheels for women anywhere —are there?

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Learn more

A Rapping At The Door:
A Victorian Cycling Club Suspense Story
         When the delivery of a mysterious letter to Silas Hayes' mansion is followed by the arrival of a beautiful young woman who claims she can communicate with the dead, Nurse McCoy sniffs trouble in the wind. It's obvious to her that the newcomer is after Silas' fortune, but he is helplessly in awe of the medium's eerily intimate knowledge of his past and her seemingly supernatural abilities. Meanwhile, Kitty Brown's yearning to reach out to the departed spirit of her first love is making her push away her new husband, just when she needs him the most. The whole situation is a dreadful mess, and McCoy's got to straighten it all out before Silas' nephew and his bride come back from their honeymoon. Honestly, she doesn't know how any of the fools in this world would get along without her…

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Learn more
​

Delivery Delayed:
A Victorian Cycling Club Romance
It's obvious to everyone in the Chetzemoka cycling club that Lizzie and Isaac could make each other very happy —but does anyone really listen to their friends about affairs of the heart?  A prim schoolmarm and a stoic steamship captain are hardly the people to discuss their sentiments, especially with each other.  The smallest challenges seem like huge obstacles, even with everyone else trying their best to bring them together.  When progress finally seems possible, a well-intentioned little girl steps in with the kind of help they'd be better off without.  Will the situation be resolved in time, or will Isaac ship out for good?

*****

The Wheelman's Joy
Victorian Cycling Poetry and Words About Wheels
There is something inherently romantic about cycling, and there has been since the first riders set their wheels to the road. This collection of nineteenth-century poetry, prose quotes and bon-mots about cycling reflects both the ardent passion and the innocent affection cycling inspires. From the glory days of high-wheel cycling through the boom of the safety bicycle, riders were falling in love with their wheels, with new-found freedoms, and above all with each other. This delightful little collection tells of those days in their own words, and evokes sentiments which every cyclist will find timeless. Compiled edited and introduced by Sarah A. Chrisman, author of the charming Tales of Chetzemoka cycling club series, This Victorian Life, Victorian Secrets, and others.

Love's Messenger
A Choice Collection of 
Victorian Love Poetry

The verses embraced within these pages have been kissed awake after a long slumber.  Copied from the fragile pages of nineteenth-century books and magazines, they are the whispers of lovers long entranced.  In this beautifully diverse collection of Victorian love poetry high-born ladies and their eloquent beaux keep company with simple maids whose sweethearts pledge their love in simpler —and often much funnier— terms.  Prepare for your happy sighs to be joined by occasional giggles while you hold this book close to your heart.
 
Compiled, edited and introduced by Sarah A. Chrisman, author of the charming Tales of Chetzemoka historical fiction series, This Victorian Life, Victorian Secrets, and others.

Quotations of Quality
A Commonplace Book of Victorian Advice, Wit, and Observations on Life
​ Eloquent statements are like the seeds of beautiful flowers: in the fertile garden of the mind they grow and blossom into inspiration, reflection, and rewarding conversations. The Victorian era was a time when people expressed themselves skillfully and beautifully, and the writings of that age are a rich legacy from the past. This little volume is a collection of sentiments on an array of subjects, among them:

Books: "A minute's reading often provokes a day's thinking." —W.H. Venable, 1872. "Books are those faithful mirrors that reflect to our minds the minds of sages and heroes. A good book is the precious life-blood of a master spirit treasured up on a purpose for a life beyond." —J.F. Spaunhurst, 1896.
Writing: "Every new book must have, in the consciousness of its author, a private history that, like the mysteries of romance, would if unfolded have an interest for the reader, and by unveiling the inner life of the volume show its character and tendencies." —Sarah Josepha Hale, 1866.
Language: "The [Ancient] Greeks said that barbarians did not speak, they twittered." —Charles DeKay, 1898.
The Sexes: "It is better for men, it is better for women, that each somewhat idealize the other." —Gail Hamilton, 1872.
Love: "True love is that which ennobles the personality, fortifies the heart, and sanctifies the existence. And the being we love must not be mysterious and sphinx-like, but clear and limpid as a diamond; so that admiration and attachment may grow with knowledge." —Henry Frédéric Amiel, 1880.
Optimism: "Refuse to dwell among shadows when there is so much sunshine in the world." —Hester M. Poole, 1888.
History: "The past is our wisest and best instructor. In its dim and shadowy outlines we may, if we will, discern in some measure those elements of wisdom which should guide the present and secure the welfare of the future." —Frederick Douglass, 1889.
Work: "Make the most of your brain and your eyes, and let no one dare tell you that you are devoting yourself to a low sphere of action." —Anonymous, late 19th-century

Keep this book in a place where its wisdom can refresh your spare moments, or buy a copy for a friend to brighten their day. May the flowers of thought thus planted bear rich fruit for you.

​Compiled and edited by Sarah A. Chrisman, author of The Tales of Chetzemoka, This Victorian Life, and others.

Words For Parting
Victorian Poetry on Death and Mourning
 Love and grief and the two most private, and at the same time the most universal of all human emotions. It is for love that we remember the dead: love of their spirits, love of their vibrancy, love of the good deeds which they did and which live on after them. The poems in this collection were all written by grieving hearts who have now themselves passed over into that great mystery. We can not truly know what death is, yet we know it will come to all of us. In ancient times when a friend told the philosopher Socrates that his judges had sentenced him to death he responded, "And has not Nature passed the same sentence on them?"
          Inasmuch as there can ever be any comfort for those left behind, part of it lies in knowing that death is a reflection of life. When it comes we cry, then we take our first faltering steps towards understanding. In time we become accustomed to this manifold enigma which nature has given us, and then ultimately we look towards the future with hope.
          If this little book of poems may be of some help to those in sorrow by reminding them they are not alone, then it will have done its work.
​
          Compiled and edited by Sarah A. Chrisman, author of the Tales of Chetzemoka series, This Victorian Life, and others.

Victorian Secrets
(Non-fiction)

True Ladies
and 
Proper Gentlemen

This
Victorian
Life
(Non-fiction)

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