Queen Victoria was Empress of half the world. She owned palaces and huge armies. Mighty sultans gave her precious jewels. But she didn't have any knickers!
Queen Victoria was Empress of half the world. She owned palaces and huge armies. Mighty sultans gave her precious jewels. But she didn't have any underpants. Includes author's historical note. Suggested level: junior, primary.
It's a busy year for the Queen - she has lots of important events to attend. Meanwhile, a little girl is wondering what knickers Her Majesty will choose to wear on a school visit! Will they be her 'at home' knickers - adorned with corgis - or her 'garden party' knickers, or perhaps her woolly Balmoral ones...? Both children and adults will love this very special and endearing insight into a child's imagination, from the best-selling author-illustrator of Father Christmas Needs A Wee and Jesus' Christmas Party. Recently, the Queen visited a nursery in Norfolk and enjoyed a display based on the book: "...just to make it special, there was one element that was not quite so traditional: pants. These were not just any pants, either. They were the Queen's Knickers, and at Dersingham Infant and Nursery School, in Norfolk, they were put on special display in honour of their royal visitor" ~ Valentine Low, The Times
Set against the backdrop of an uncertain England and with original songs from Chris Cookson, Josh Azouz's play Victoria's Knickers is an irreverent tale of passion and violence told with an anarchic heart and a razor-sharp wit.
Dorian Gray - handsome, hedonistic, narcissistic - sells his soul for eternal beauty. Basil and Henry join him for the ride until it all goes too far, and the hangovers become murderous... Oscar Wilde's only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, was a succès de scandale on its publication in 1891, accused of violating the laws of public morality. It immediately captured the minds of its readers, the spirit of the age, and the soul of a man with nothing to declare but his genius. This thrilling stage adaptation by Phoebe Eclair-Powell and Owen Horsley follows one man's descent from glorious debauchery to epic self-destruction, intertwined with Wilde's own life story, his tragic persecution, and ultimate imprisonment in Reading Gaol. Its first full production premiered at Reading Rep Theatre in October 2021.
For most of human history, the garments women wore under their clothes were hidden. The earliest underwear provided warmth and protection. But eventually, women's undergarments became complex structures designed to shape their bodies to fit the fashion ideals of the time. In the modern era, undergarments are out in the open, from the designer corsets Madonna wore on stage to Beyoncé's pregnancy announcement on Instagram. This feminist exploration of women's underwear reveals the intimate role lingerie plays in defining women's bodies, sexuality, gender identity, and body image. It is a story of control and restraint but also female empowerment and self-expression. You will never look at underwear the same way again.
What is the social merit or purpose of all those bras and panties on perfectly sculpted bodies that we see spread across billboards and magazines? Many women indulge in lingerie to please men. Yet, ever since Antiquity, women have always kept lingerie hidden away under outer garments. Thus, lingerie must be more than erotic bait. Authors Muriel Barbier and Shazia Boucher have researched iconography to explore the relationship of lingerie to society, the economy and the corridors of intimacy. They correlate lingerie with emancipation, querying whether it asserts newfound freedoms or simply adjusts to conform to changing social values. The result is a rigorous scientific rationale spiced with a zest of humour. And the tinier lingerie gets, the more scholarly attention it deserves.
After some forty years on the throne of England to be rehoused on a council estate in the Midlands comes as something of a shock to the Queen. In fact it is a nightmare.