Mallory James read History and Modern Languages at University College London, before moving to postgraduate study at Queen Mary, University of London. Here she was able to concentrate on her passion for nineteenth century history, writing her dissertation on narrative construction in middle-class women’s memoirs. In particular, she wanted to look at how women represented their own personal histories and situated themselves within their social, cultural and intellectual context.

This interest in individual experiences led to the creation of Behind The Past and the accompanying Nineteenth Century Handbook as a place to explore (in a generally tongue in cheek manner) the social and cultural history of the Regency and Victorian periods. It aims to look at the way people ate, dressed, behaved and navigated the social landscapes (and minefields) in which they lived. The hopeful ideas behind the blog are, firstly, that  behind and beyond the idea of the past, we can still engage with the daily life and lived experiences of the people who were there. And secondly, that history can be fun and engaging…