The Poetic Hill by Karen Lyon

a seventh, “Dead as a Duck,” scheduled for publication later this summer. www.colleenshogan.com

Mutton Again?

In 1866, a Cockney named Arthur Orton returned to his native London from Wagga Wagga, New South Wales. Except he arrived not as Orton but as Roger Tichborne, longlost heir to a family fortune who had drowned more than a decade before in a shipwreck. Never mind that there was little resemblance between the two men (Orton weighed 364 pounds to Tichborne’s 140) or that the imposter’s knowledge of Tichborne’s life displayed considerable gaps.

Improbably, Orton was able to garner widespread popular support, holding rallies at which he whipped up mobs with claims of “a vast Jesuit conspiracy” and allusions to secret forces and sordid acts going on behind the scenes. Even his base couldn’t save him, though, and the “slippery scoundrel” went to prison for his lies.

Orton is just one of the “outrageous and fascinating Victorians” whose court case is examined by Tom Zaniello in “Saints and Sinners in Queen Victoria’s Courts: Ten Scandalous Trials.” The trials he presents provide insights into some of the era’s preoccupations—“Catholic-Protestant struggles, architectural extravagances, genealogical obsessions, and inheritance anxiety”—and highlight some of the prominent personalities who were frequently involved in legal wrangles.

Zaniello provides ample background

on the history and culture of the times, but it’s when he delves into the juicy details of the court cases that he really brings the Victorian era to life. Who could resist the story of a nun who refused to leave her order and was punished by, among other indignities, being served mutton every day for two years? “Her meals were always the same disgusting mutton—’lukewarm, then lukewarm and fatty, next lukewarm, fatty, and the leavings of others’ plates,’” as she testi ed.” “Saints and Sinners in Queen Victoria’s Courts” gives us a rare glimpse into the controversies, large and small, that made their way into the courtrooms of 19thcentury Britain and the intriguing, nefarious, and sometimes hapless characters who were caught up in them. Tom Zaniello is a former professor of lit-Tom Zaniello examines ten controversial and scandalous trials erature and lm studies in “Saints and Sinners in Queen who has organized lm Victoria’s Courts.” festivals at the Hill Center as well as for the London and Liverpool Film Festivals. He is the author of numerous essays and books on lm studies, literature, and popular culture, including “The Cinema of the Precariat: The Exploited, Underemployed, and Temp Workers of the World.” Find him on Facebook @tzaniello. ◆

THE POETIC HILL

by Karen Lyon

Michael H. Levin is the author of three poetry collections: “Falcons” (Finishing Line Press, 2020), “Man Overboard” (Finishing Line Press, 2018), and “Watered Colors” (Poetica Publishing, 2014). His work has appeared in Gargoyle Magazine, Adirondack Review, and Crosswinds, among other journals and anthologies. He is also co-author of “Two Pianos: Playing for Life,” a multimedia concert documentary about female Jewish musicians who performed during the Third Reich and the power of music to sustain life and friendship under oppression (https://twopianosplayingforlife.org). Levin works as an environmental lawyer and solar energy developer and lives in Washington, DC. His poem below was published in Rat’s Ass Review in 2020. www.michaellevinpoetry.com

What Is It Dies Today

All laws blown o like leaves cold hate slides down the streets misrule usurps routine gross insults turd up speech no fact seems safe to state bland lies smear every screen mean crowds chant gangster words while children drown in reach

wild anger poisons friends restraint’s gone back to bed the sky turns dark then red the demon claws his prey his minions get their way

what is it dies today