I'm glad I live now

I realize I've been quiet here lately. Note to self: do not ever schedule four talks in one week, especially when the second draft for the MacArthur project is due immediately afterwards. But our students have been working hard as well. The shipping box doth overflow each day, filled with goodies for various research projects. I've especially enjoyed browsing through some of the books that have come in for the 19th Century Literature students. Someone just returned A Day in the Life of a Victorian Domestic Servant by Leonore Davidoff and Ruth Hawthorn. I think the book turned out to be unsuitable for a research paper because it's essentially a children's book which tells the story of (presumably fictional) 15-year-old Ellen Hunt, a servant in a large house in Kensington in the 1880s. One of Ellen's tasks for the day is to help "Miss Frances" dress for a grand dinner party. Miss Frances needs help dressing because she can't tie up the laces at the back of her hour-glass shaped corset. All I can say is OUCH.