ABC, My Grannie Caught a Flea

Spotted in a castle bookshop in Scotland, a gripping insight into the author's grandmother's entomological studies including techniques for acquisition of new specimens.


ABC, My Grannie Caught a Flea

Fleas in Novels

The latest from Lee and the Victorian London website is a searchable index of literature.

Of course the first thing I did with it was to search for fleas. This returned an interesting selection of books with flea references. Here's a sample of the results at the time the query was run

Middlemarch, by George Eliot - "I should stick to it like a flea to a fleece for my own sake"

The Way We Live Now, by Anthony Trollope - "'With a flea in her lug,' suggested the farmer."

Martin Chuzzlewit, by Charles Dickens - "I looks at him tolerable hard. 'Fleas?' says I. 'And more,' says he. 'Wampires?' says I. 'And more,' says he."
also
"Astonishment making him surly, he preferred the latter, and sent her into the toll-house with a flea in her ear."

Antonina, by Wilkie Collins - "It is easier to make a drinking-vessel of the skull of a flea than to make an honest man of such a villainous night-walker as thou art!"

The Mysteries of London, by G.W.M.Reynolds - Chapter 246 - The Party at Ravensworth Hall - "And bid smart onions rise To churn me in my mantling path and give A flea to nerve the thought that I may live To bask in thy blear'd eyes!"

Cometh up as a Flower, by Rhoda Broughton - "I vault from the sofa, as if the spirit of a flea had passed into me, and walk across the room; my legs feel stiff and sore"

After Dark, by Wilkie Collins - "he is among my men and here am I ready to look for a flea or two in his bedstead"

The Water Babies, by Charles Kingsley - "the Queen of all the Fairies, who makes the clouds thunder and the fleas bite"

Adam Bede, by George Eliot - "Aye, it's ill livin' in a hen-roost for them as doesn't like fleas"

Felix Holt, by George Eliot - "the utmost stretch of their ideas will not place them on a level with the intelligent fleas"

Mr Flea - Meister Floh

"Meister Floh - A fairy tale in seven adventures of two friends is a story by ETA Hoffmann. Although conceived as an art fairy tale, the first version appeared in 1822 censored and truncated to two chapters, since it satirical allusions to a case containing the Hoffman previously served as a member of the "Immediate-Commission to determine hochverräterischer compounds and other dangerous machinations" in Prussia to investigate had."



Reference

Wikipedia
Open Library
Haus Arbeiten

A bit odd...

"Ripley's Believe it or not" have just published a new book "Enter If You Dare".

I've checked and there's a good double page spread on flea circuses past and present with lots of photos and pictures. A nice "ask the expert" section covers the topic in detail.

It's available to buy now from the London Odditorium and I'm sure it will appear in bookshops soon too.

For more information, contact RipleyBooks

Visiting Canadians and Bertolotto

Yesterday I had the pleasure to meet with Dr Barton who was visting from Canada. She was in London to visit the British Library and the Natural History Museum for research for a book on fleas she is writing. We had a long chat about all things big and small about fleas including real and "humbug" circuses, the plague, symbolism and famous flea performers from history.



Dr Barton has a copy of a letter sent by L. Bertolotto to a famous author that contains information about his early years and why he moved to Canada. I hope to put more on the site after her book is released. In the mean time it's given me some ideas of new areas to research.

Flea Circus in Detective Fiction

Bart Hardin from the novel Terror on Broadway (1954) a newsroom investigator was written as living above a flea circus in a Times Square tenement by author David Alexander.



From Killer Covers of the Week.

See other references to Flea Circuses in Fiction or in Films.

Bertolotto Books

Whilst researching the History of L. Bertolotto, I've been specifically looking for references to his book, "The History of the Flea with Notes and Observations" and have been using google books to get me a short list of books to track down at the local library.

There are several documents that make reference to the Bertolotto books and confirm the publishing dates of 1834 (French and English Editions), and St. Petersbourg, 1838.

• Verzeichniss der Bücher über Naturgeschichte, 1846
• Bibliotheca entomologica, 1862
• Insects Affecting Domestic Animals, 1896
• Parasitology, 1908

There is also a reference to one of these books being sold at Sotherby in 1975, it would be interesting to know who bought it and what it sold for. The seller is listed as Ganthony (Robert) Bunkum Entertainments.

In addition I've been looking at the printers for the books. The American edition was printed by John Axford of 29 Ann Street, New York 1976. This is interesting because it is right next door to "Barnum's American Museum" which was located on the corner of Ann Street and Broadway. It suggests that Bertolotto may have met with Barnum at some point.

Flea Researcher releases Quirky book

Richard Wiseman who wrote the history of the flea circus article available on Walt Noon's site has brought out a book called Quickology.

"‘Quirkology’ is a term coined by Prof Richard Wiseman to refer to psychological research that is quirky. Much of this work uses mainstream methods to investigate unusual topics, or unusual methods to investigate mainstream topics."

In the flea circus article Richard Wiseman also mentions "Nightmare Alley" a novel by William Lindsay Gresham. If you have a copy of this book and know of the flea connection there then please let me know.