Dr Evelyn Koch

@evelynkoch

Early modern/19th-cent. English literature, science and literature, landscape in literature, fantasy, horror and weird fiction.

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Dr Evelyn Koch@evelynkoch· 11d

Tying in neatly with my presentation's topic, behold the "vegetable lamb"! This is a creature, half-plant, half-lamb, supposed to live in Southern Russia. This 18thC model resembles the ones already exhibted in the 17thC. It's actually made from fern roots.

An 18th-century model of a "vegetable lamb". It appears to be a brownish creature without facial features but with four legs and a head that makes it resemble a tiny lamb. The material it is made of are fern roots.

Dr Evelyn Koch@evelynkoch· 11d

The reconstructed grave of the Tradescant family is quite something. The Tradescants were a family of 17thC botanists who opened England's first museum open to the public. Today, people are having coffee and tea around this #earlymodern grave. #TombTuesday

The reconstructed grave of the Tradescant family in former St. Mary's Churchyard, Lambeth. Each corner is decorated with a tree relief, and on the front, you can see a hydra (the body of which looks like a dragon with eight snake-dragon-like heads) as well as a large human skull at its feet. In the background you can see the tables of a cafe.

Dr Evelyn Koch@evelynkoch· 11d

Probably only in Dorset there are golf courses that feature actual Bronze Age barrows on their grounds, as seen in the Came Down Golf Club. (We listened to a talk on archaelogy and #ThomasHardy there; I don't play golf.) #TombTuesday

A golf course - the grass is charred by the sun and looks beige - on which there is a small barrow. In the background, there are trees and above you can see a blue sky.

A golf course - the grass is charred by the sun and looks beige - on which there is a larger barrow. In the background, there are trees and above you can see a blue sky.

Dr Evelyn Koch@evelynkoch· 12d

At the Hardy conference I was reminded of the fact that his wife Emma kept a diary called "What I think of my husband". Sadly, Hardy burnt it after her death... #ThomasHardy

Photo of a postcard that shows an 1860-painting of Emma Hardy. You can see a woman with long brown hair wearing a white dress with a flower attached to it. She has a very determined look.

Dr Evelyn Koch@evelynkoch· 13d

Different view of Whitby with added horses.

A view of Whitby - you can see the town from a distance and part of the harbour. In the background, there are forests, fields and meadows. In the front, you can see 2 brown carthorses with white spots.

Dr Evelyn Koch@evelynkoch· 13d

If you're interested, at the moment there's also a fundraiser to open Sylvia Townsend Warner'a archive to the public. It's hosted by Dorset Archives that also host material by Thomas Hardy.

A flyer for a fundraiser to open up the archive of Sylvia Townsend Warner. It includes a QR code and the link to the website www.dorsetarchivetrust.org.

Dr Evelyn Koch@evelynkoch· 13d

At the conference in Hull, I presented on "The EcoGothic Vegetal Double in Rhett Davis' Arborescence". The conference included a trip to Whitby, too.

A view of Whitby Abbey as seen from the graveyard at St. Mary's Church. You can see gravestones and behind that the wall of the graveyard. In the background, the abbey's ruins emerge. Above, a blue sky heavily clouded with white clouds.

Dr Evelyn Koch@evelynkoch· 16d

A very small and unassuming memorial on a street corner in Hull.

A small memorial of Mick Ronson on a brick wall. It's captioned with "turn & face the strange".

Dr Evelyn Koch@evelynkoch· 17d

The sheep are still there, here's one snuggly nestled into one of the hillfort's creases.

A sheep being snuggly nestled in a crease of Maiden Castle.

Dr Evelyn Koch@evelynkoch· 17d

Had a great time at the Thomas Hardy Conference and gave a paper on "Posthumanist Conceptions of Deep Time in Thomas Hardy's Works". There was also a little trip to the archive where we could get a glance of some of Hardy's manuscripts like this unpublished chapter. #ThomasHardy

Two pages from the manuscript of Far from the Madding Crowd. You can see various emmendations that have been made to the text.

Dr Evelyn Koch@evelynkoch· 17d

How the draught has changed the appearance of Maiden Castle. There's almost no green anymore. #HillfortsWednesday

A view of the ramparts of Maiden Castle. Due to the draught, the grass has been scorched to a very beige colour.

Dr Evelyn Koch@evelynkoch· 21d

On top of Maiden Castle, you can see the remains of a Roman temple. #RomanSiteSaturday

Some remains of a Roman temple. You can only see the grounding of the building in form of low stone walls. Around this, there is grass scorched by the sun. Above, a blue sky with some clouds.

Dr Evelyn Koch@evelynkoch· 21d

Well hello!

A rampart of Maiden castle. The grass on it is much more beige than usual due to the drought. Above, a blue sky with some white clouds.

Dr Evelyn Koch@evelynkoch· 21d

I wonder how many archaelogists live here, but I don't want to know what the people at Mithras Close get up to.

A road sign of Vespasian Way. Underneath this, it says:
Leading to
Mithras Close
Powys Close
Thornhill Close
Brutus Close

Dr Evelyn Koch@evelynkoch· 22d

My timeline might be pleased to know that there's now a statue of Sylvia Townsend Warner on Dorchester's high street.

A statue of Sylvia Townsend Warner. The statue sits on a bench holding a book and papers in her hand. There are more books near her feet. Part of the statue is a cat canoodling with the writer's legs and feet.

Dr Evelyn Koch@evelynkoch· Jul 15

Hendrick Avercamp's "Winter Landscape with Ice Skaters" (1608) shows even more ice skating and some mischievous details. #WyrdWednesday

A 17th-century painting depicting ice skating near a Dutch town. Many people are enjoying themselves on the ice.
Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1f/Hendrick_Avercamp_-_Winterlandschap_met_ijsvermaak.jpg/1920px-Hendrick_Avercamp_-_Winterlandschap_met_ijsvermaak.jpg

Dr Evelyn Koch@evelynkoch· Jul 15

Here's a Dutch edition of the 17thC frost fair as painted by Hendrick Avercamp: "Enjoying the Ice near a Town" from 1620. Zoom in for some fabulous winter fashion. #WyrdWednesday

A painting of a Dutch frost fair in the 17th century. You can see various people enjoying themselves on the ice. There are booths on the left side and various horse-drawn sledges. Many people are ice skating.
Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5f/Hendrick_Avercamp_-_IJsvermaak_bij_een_stad.jpg/1920px-Hendrick_Avercamp_-_IJsvermaak_bij_een_stad.jpg

Dr Evelyn Koch@evelynkoch· Jul 15

And if you haven't cooled down yet, why not enjoy a 17thC pamphlet on prophecies of colder weather including "an historical account of several great frosts since the Conquest". All the frosts, past and future! #WyrdWednesday

An early modern pamphlet titled Flemstadts most strange and wonderful prophecy, foretelling what may be the wonderful effects & continuance of this present frost, this month, and the ensuing month of March. With an historical account of the several Great FROSTS since the Conquest.
Beneath, there's an astrological chart.

Dr Evelyn Koch@evelynkoch· Jul 15

Here's an earlier frost fair from 1608 near London Bridge. If you weren't slipping on the ice, you could get a drink and even a shave. #WyrdWednesday

Cover of an early modern pamphlet titled The Great Frost: Cold doings in London, except it be at the lotterie. With newes out of the country. A familiar talk betwene a country-man and a citizen touching this terrible frost and the great lotterie, and the effects of them. The Description of the Thames frozen over.
Beneath there's an illustration of a frost fair on the Thames near London Bridge. You can see various people at different activities, e.g. people having a drink, getting a shave or slipping on the ice.

Dr Evelyn Koch@evelynkoch· Jul 15

During the 17thC, there were winters so cold that frost fairs were held on the River Thames. Here you can see a fair held in the winter of 1683/4. It's worth zooming in to see all the details. Maybe this thread gives you some cooler thoughts. #WyrdWednesday

An early modern broadsheet called Great Britains wonder: or, Londons Admiration. Being a true representation of a prodigious frost, which began about the beginning of Decemb. 1683. and continued till the fourth day of February following. And held on with such violence, that men and beasts, coaches and carts, went as frequently thereon, as boats were wont to pass before. There was also a street of booths built from the Temple to Southwark, where were sold all sorts of goods imaginable, [...] It being the wonder of this present age, and a great consternation to all the spectators. Beneath the title is an illustration in black and white of a frost fair on the Thames in London. You can see merchant's booths in the middle and next to them you can see people at various activities and games. There's also animal baiting. Coaches are drawn across the ice and people even draw a boat across the ice. In the background, you can see The Temple and buildings adjacent.

Dr Evelyn Koch@evelynkoch· Jul 9

Outside the forest, the same agricultural spaces like in the Iron Age are still in use.

A view from a hill across a landscape in North Hesse. You can see the wind sweeping across a wheat field which is cut through by a cycle path. In the background, there are trees and houses, and on the horizon, hills and wind turbines. Above, a cloudy sky.

Dr Evelyn Koch@evelynkoch· Jul 8

There are also spots with lots of periwinkle in the forest around the Altenburg, but I don't know whether there are Iron Age or medieval remains underneath. But it certainly gives a Lord of the Rings feeling, even if it's not Athelas.

A patch of forest floor is densely overgrown with periwinkle, making it look like a green cushion from afar.

Dr Evelyn Koch@evelynkoch· Jul 8

Around the Altenburg, there are still various spots in which you can see the remains of various medieval settlements which indicate that this spot was settled for centuries before the forest reclaimed it.

The remains of a medieval settlement can be seen on the forest floor. A reconstructed wooden gate marks the entrance to the former medieval settlement.

Dr Evelyn Koch@evelynkoch· Jul 8

The Altenburg ('old burrough/castle') near Zimmersrode in North Hesse was an Iron Age hillfort that gave the hill it was bulit on its present name. The ramparts across the hill are easily discernable to the naked eye, but hard to capture on photograph. #HillfortWednesday

A reconstructed wooden tower in the former hillfort's centre. It's partially obscured by tree branches.

An information panel on the Altenburg. It contains an illustration of how the hillfort would've looked like in the Iron Age.

The reconstructed wooden tower seen from below. Around the tower, you can still discern some smaller ramparts.

Two ramparts of the former hillfort. They are completely overgrown with trees and other plants, so they aren't easily discernible on photograph. This is the area of the original southern entrance to the hillfort.

Dr Evelyn Koch@evelynkoch· Jul 5

Saw this curious modern mini replica of Stonehenge near the Altenburg (an Iron Age hillfort) in North Hesse. #StandingStoneSunday

Some smaller stones artificially arranged to look like parts of Stonehenge. They stand in a forest clearing near the site of an Iron Age hillfort.

Dr Evelyn Koch@evelynkoch· Jul 1

#ThomasHardy imbued the Druid Stone with his own kind of folklore in the poem "The Shadow on the Stone" - turning it into a space where his dead wife's shadow may appear. It's a strange kind of foreshadowing when there are actually so many graves in the henge beneath Max Gate. 3/3 #WyrdWednesday

The Shadow of the Stone

I WENT by the Druid stone
That broods in the garden white and lone,
And I stopped and looked at the shifting shadows
That at some moments fall thereon
From the tree hard by with a rhythmic swing,
And they shaped in my imagining
To the shade that a well-known head and shoulders
Threw there when she was gardening.

I thought her behind my back,
Yea, her I long had learned to lack,
And I said: ‘I am sure you are standing behind me,
Though how do you get into this old track?’
And there was no sound but the fall of a leaf
As a sad response; and to keep down grief
I would not turn my head to discover
That there was nothing in my belief.

Yet I wanted to look and see
That nobody stood at the back of me;
But I thought once more: ‘Nay, I’ll not unvision
A shape which, somehow, there may be.’
So I went on softly from the glade,
And left her behind me throwing her shade,
As she were indeed an apparition—
My head unturned lest my dream should fade.

Begun: 1913: finished 1916.

Dr Evelyn Koch@evelynkoch· Jul 1

In 1891, an excavation at Max Gate unearthed this sarsen stone. #ThomasHardy put it in his garden and referred to it as the Druid Stone. It still stands there today. This standing stone is part of a larger henge structure beneath Max Gate. 1/x 📸2024 #WyrdWednesday

A large sarsen standing stone, almost in rectangular shape, at the top, the sides of the stone taper to a point. It is surrounded by green shrubs and weeds. Above, a blue sky.

Dr Evelyn Koch@evelynkoch· Jun 28

Went to see #Pulp last night - this time it was almost 40° C outside (last time it was a few degrees above 0). Jarvis Cocker still wore his suit!

Jarvis Cocker striking a pose on stage whilst being fanned by two large fans. The stage is bathed in pink light.

Dr Evelyn Koch@evelynkoch· Jun 20

Since my name is very frequent, the book club scam emails don't even bother to find the right book matched to the right person. Apparently I wrote Deus Não te Odeia: (eu posso provar) - God Doesn’t Hate You: (I can prove it). 😆😆

Screenshot of a scam email: "My name is Chezzy, and I am the organizer of the Warm and Cozy Online Book Club, a London-based and international community of readers who gather regularly to read literature aloud and reflect on it together.

We recently discovered your book, Deus Não te Odeia: (eu posso provar), and were immediately struck by its compassionate and thoughtful approach to questions of faith, healing, and emotional well-being. The way you bring together theology, psychology, and neuroscience to address spiritual anxiety and religious trauma feels both timely and deeply meaningful."

Dr Evelyn Koch@evelynkoch· Jun 17

The first English depiction of an infinite universe can be found in Thomas Digges' "A Perfit Description of the Celestiall Orbes" (1576) which is attached to his father Leonard Digges' almanac. Note how the fixed stars at the margins aren't contained by an orb anymore. #WyrdWednesday