Hard Knocks

I used to think the doorbell was a modern invention. Push the button on the porch and a bell rings in another part of the house entirely. Like switching on a light or answering a telephone call, I assumed it was a modern sensation. But no, the electric doorbell was...

A Tourist in Regency London

Shopping’s pretty good, but the new theatre at Covent Garden sucks and the British Museum is a joke. That’s one tourist’s impression of London in 1810. Louis Simond published the journal of his 1810-11 tour as “An American in Regency England,” but as his name...