The ladder of women's titles in the 18th century, from mistress to duchess

Girls of the eighteenth century chase after titles. At the very bottom of the ladder lies an ordinary mistress with her bosom bared, unable to rise; one rung above her is a baronet's wife, who has been overtaken by a baroness, above whom looms a viscountess, and higher than all of them has climbed a countess, with a marchioness before her, and at the very top a duchess, who is but one step away from the crown. In short, with a fortunate marriage the prospects are perfectly real!

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September digest: archaeological finds, exhibitions, museums, theatre and the Church

In the finale of the Strugatskys' Roadside Picnic, the Golden Ball is told: "Happiness for everybody, free, and let nobody go away unsatisfied!" I do not promise to offend nobody, but the digest really does come free of charge. So, here is the main business of the

Frederic Leighton

Frederic Leighton. “Daedalus and Icarus”, 1869 Daedalus warns his son not to climb too high: the heat of the sun may melt the wax, but Icarus is already gazing into the distance, and the lamentations of a foolish old man interest him not in the least

The ladder of women's titles in the 18th century, from mistress to duchess

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September digest: archaeological finds, exhibitions, museums, theatre and the Church

Frederic Leighton

Attempts to resolve the problems of many years of uncontrolled mass migration

Characters from Gogol's "Petersburg Tales" on the pedestal of the monument to Nikolai Gogol on Nikitsky Boulevard, photograph of the 1960s