Hotties from History

Hotty from History #41 – Eugen Sandow (1865-1925) At Hotties from History we do not like to make...

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 16:17:00 +0100

Hotty from History #41 – Eugen Sandow (1865-1925)

At Hotties from History we do not like to make big claims (lies), although I can guarantee that my next hotty was simply finest man to ever come from Prussia. Normally, I do not like muscled men, however, I do like men with moustaches and Sandow had the greatest moustache, and a really amazing body. Yes.

Sandow is known today as the father of modern bodybuilding. At the age of 22, after performing in the circus around Europe for three years, he visited London where he became an instant celebrity after he performed in shows where he would lift very heavy things. What followed was Sandow being hailed as one of the first athletic superstars and performers of his age.

However, being a hotty, people of the time became more interested in his body than his ability to perform spectacular superhuman abilities of strength. I can sympathise fully with Sandow, as people always want me for my body and it really gets me down.

From being a super(human)-star, Sandow became one of the first people to be captured by moving film, where a short length clip was displayed around towns, bringing in large queues to watch Sandow flex and bulge. I’m so glad for moving film, and its ability to eternally capture Sandow’s swag.

This is a link to the famous video filmed by Thomas Edison in 1893. You are very welcome.

We have much to owe Sandow for being the creator of the ideal and if it was not for him – there would be no Ryan Gosling, no Channing Tatum gyrating in Magic Mike for us to perspire to.

I can picture myself sitting with Sandow in front a roaring fire, him stroking my hair and speaking to me in a gruff German accented voice. “Now?” He would say as I look back at him “Yes, right now.” I would say back to him whilst he picks me up, swings me other his shoulder and takes me to the bedroom.

Tom x

(click here if you want to see the original photo of Sandow without appropriately placed leaf)

Hottie from History #40 - Peter Jackson (1861-1901) In the dark,...

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 22:23:00 +0000

Hottie from History #40 - Peter Jackson (1861-1901)

In the dark, cold November nights in London, where my student life has forced me to switch my heating off inevitably and instead wear ALL THE JUMPERS, I long to have Peter Jackson in my bed - his thick arms wrapped around me, and being very naked.

Following a move to Australia in his teens, Peter was discovered to be a virtuoso fighter (and orc hunter) - he ruled the decks of the ships of which he worked on, quelling any naughty sailors with a (literal) iron fist.

Peter was brought into the world of boxing, where he went on to win the Australian Heavyweight and the British Commonwealth titles in the 1880s and then went on to be considered as the greatest fighters of the period.

Peter Jackson lived through a period of history that brought with it an extremely exaggerated masculinity - a comeback to what was considered a crisis in male identity throughout the first half of the nineteenth century due to diplomatic and economic turmoil. However, I have no doubt that Peter was the super bad boss of all the weight slinging wannabes. Just look at this, that’s all I’m saying.

Following bouts of illness, Peter passed away in 1901. His grave in Queensland, Australia, was marked with the epigraph “This Was a Man”. unf.

Tom x

(and sorry that we’ve taken a vacation - we’re back for a while now :) )

Hottie from History #39 - Mina Loy (1882 –1966) Mina Loy was a...

Fri, 18 Mar 2011 17:16:11 +0000

Hottie from History #39 - Mina Loy (1882 –1966)

Mina Loy was a poet, painter, playwright, novelist, actress, and, most importantly, a designer of lamps. She wrote erotic, explicit poetry, and is the feminist from history most likely to arouse the masses…aesthete liberals and unashamed fans of objectification, I hope you appreciate Mina, if for her exquisite glamour alone.

Spawn of fantasies
Sifting the appraisable
Pig Cupid his rosy snout
Rooting erotic garbage
“Once upon a time”
Pulls a weed white star-topped
Among wild oats sown in mucous membrane

from Mina’s poem ‘Love Songs’

-Georgia

Hottie from History #38 - Annie Kenney (3rd September 1879 – 9th...

Wed, 02 Mar 2011 02:40:03 +0000

Hottie from History #38 - Annie Kenney (3rd September 1879 – 9th July 1953)

Bloody Hell this woman was a force of nature.

Born in Saddleworth, Manchester to a working class family, from the age of 10 Annie juggled both continuing her schooling and working part time in a cotton Mill. At 13 she had to give up her education to help support her family, working 12 hour shifts as a weaver’s assistant. Mill workers valued child labour in their factories for their small, nimble fingers, able to re-thread broken yarn while the looms were still moving. It was while crouched under the mechanism, furiously entangling when the spindle rattled above her and ripped off one of her fingers.
These being the days before InjuryLawyers4U, Annie couldn’t do anything about it - complaining would mean losing her job. She therefore stayed at the mill (for almost another 15 years) but got involved with the trade union concerned and started a book club with other young women at the mill - many of them illiterate before Annie got her hands on them.
In 1905 Annie Kenney was able to attend a meeting of the Women’s Social and Political Union, with Emmeline Pankhurst speaking. Fired up by their determination for equality with men, Kenney and Christable Pankhurst (daughter of Emmeline and co-leader of the WSPU) sneaked into a Liberal Party rally and interrupted a young Winston Churchill and the then foreign secretary, asking them in front of the thronged crowds “do you believe women should have the vote?”
In a stunned silence the ladies were escorted from the building and thrown in Holloway jail. Their arrest was the first of thousands as Suffragettes followed their lead and used more and more militant tactics over the next decade; smashing windows and chaining themselves to King George V’s coach. Women who showed bravery in their protest, either by suffering violence at the hands of policemen or being force-fed while on hunger strike were awarded medals by the WSPU, and Kenney was one of the most decorated ‘soldiers’.
Kenney’s hard work and determination led to her being made a main leader and organiser of the WSPU, touring England and Wales speaking at rallies on women’s suffrage. She was the only working-class women to attain this level within the hierarchy - an inspiration to other poor women with few or no rights, with little chance of getting out of their meagre circumstances.
It was only in 1918, when women over the age of 30 got the vote, that Annie settled down and married. This woman was 100% committed to whatever she did, she wasn’t going to let a husband get in the way of her activism. Even though she was a total stunner.

Annie Kenney, we doff our caps to you.

Soph.

Hottie from History #37 - Lewis Thornton Powell (22nd April 1844...

Sat, 26 Feb 2011 20:13:46 +0000

Hottie from History #37 - Lewis Thornton Powell (22nd April 1844 – 7th July, 1865)

I’ve been putting off writing this entry for the longest time, because quite frankly I don’t like the man. I’m also a little unfamiliar with some of the events surrounding him because he is a rarity among HFH’s chosen - an American. However it is my duty as a historian and an aesthete to bring him to your notice.

Born the son of an Alabama Baptist minister, Powell grew up in rural Georgia as the youngest of nine siblings. He spent his formative years caring for various stray animals on the family’s land and reading, gaining reputation among his peers as introverted, and the nickname ‘Doc’. However, when he was 13 he received a kick to the face from the family donkey, breaking his already prominent jaw and making it even more chiselled.

*note - HFH in no way condones angering farm animals as a method of plastic surgery

After moving to Florida, Lewis Powell enlisted in the 2nd Florida Infantry, Company 1, aged just 17. He served for two years before being injured at the Battle of Gettysburg and taken as a POW.
A week later, with the help of a young nurse he’d charmed Powell escaped, becoming first a member of the confederate cavalry and later a spy. He broke his cover, showing his *ahem* less liberal side, by beating up a black woman when working in Baltimore.
While in prison, Powell met John Surratt, who introduced him to the men who would become the conspirators in the Lincoln assassination.
As Wilkes-Booth created history, simultaneously Powell turned out to be a bit of a rubbish assassin however, and failed to take out the Secretary of State, William Seward. At the same time George Atzerodt did what any sane person would do under the circumstances, and instead of killing Vice-President Andrew Johnson, he got drunk.
After escaping and hiding out for three days, Powell was arrested, tried and hanged. Reports say he kicked and struggled for over five minutes before finally succumbing to death. He was 21 years old.

I find this image so evocative and almost eerie, how he is staring right into the lens.

A hottie, but a wrong’un.

Soph.

Hotty From History #36 - Gwenllian Ferch Gruffydd...

Mon, 15 Nov 2010 23:00:00 +0000

Hotty From History #36 - Gwenllian Ferch Gruffydd (1097-1136)

I’ve been putting off writing this entry because quite frankly I love this woman, and feel she’s part of my cultural heritage and possibly a distant ancestor, but all the pictures related to her were either horribly dowdy or some D&D player’s wet dream, all chainmail bras and swords with too many spiky bits. So I chose a painting by Charles Keegan, which seemed to fit the bill.

Gwenllian Ferch Gruffudd, hereafter know as Gwen, was born to Prince Gruffydd of Gwynedd, in 1097. At this time Wales was ruled by a number of Princes, who were at war with the English, and Normans after 1066, which as every British schoolgirl and schoolboy knows, was the date of the battle of Hastings (in which King Harold got an arrow in the eye).
At the age of 16, a delegation of Princes from the South visited her father’s court and several of them noticed the young, startlingly beautiful Princess. However, it was the 20-year-old Prince Gruffydd who caught her eye - not content with declarations of love from balconies and duelling with her hankie pinned to his lapel, they cut the courtship short and eloped.
Because The Welsh Princes were at war with pretty much everyone else on the island who had the audacity to come over here, rape, pillage and take their land, and Gruffydd’s princedom was one of the most contested, Gwen’s in-laws spent the next 23 years moving from stronghold to stronghold, hill to fen. Gwen had been brought up a shieldmaiden, and so was a match for her husband and his men, and accompanied them when living in the forests of south Wales and leading a group of soldiers herself for the odd ambush, variously while pregnant or with a small child on her hip. They harrassed the Norman and English colonists and redistributed their wealth and land amongst the local people, whose land had been taken by the colonists.
Historians believe it’s Gwen and Gruff’s reputation that filtered through legend to produce the story of Robin Hood and Maid Marion. She is also believed to be one of the sources for Guinevere in Arthurian Legend and Eówyn in Tolkien’s the Lord of the Rings, and is set to be the subject of a Hollywood film, dubbed “the Female Braveheart”.
In 1136, while her husband was in the North, drumming up support for an attack against a Norman strongpoint, a Norman-English force marched on Gwen’s princedom. She quickly roused and army and led the several thousand-strong force against their attackers at Kidwelly Castle, but was captured and beheaded as a warning to the other Princes, along with two of her sons.
Rather than pacify them, however, Gwen’s death enraged them out of their complacence, and a unified Wales was able to stand up to their Norman invaders. Throughout this “Great Revolt”, and for a further 300 years, the battle-cry of Welshmen was Ddail Achos Gwenllian! - Revenge for Gwenllian!

We at HFH always support women who defied the expectations of women from their time, especially if it involved a sword.

- Sophie.

Hotty from History #35 - Jeanette Jerome AKA Lady Randolph...

Sun, 14 Nov 2010 23:51:49 +0000

Hotty from History #35 - Jeanette Jerome AKA Lady Randolph Churchill (January 9, 1854 – June 9, 1921)

The contributors to this blog, Georgia, Tom and I have spent rather a lot of our spare time over the last summer chancing upon pictures and articles about various historical personalities and filing them under “drafts” after deciding they would be promising future hotties for this blog, only to leave them festering there, un-biographied and forgotten while we trip over our strings of pearls getting into yet another black cab to go to yet another star-studded and champagne-soaked party. Or at least imagining we are, while downing £2.99 Sauvignon Blanc in our pajamas. That is, until Dr Apple Teeth commented on one of our posts and gave us a well deserved kick up the arse.

Lady Randolph Churchill is possibly the most perfect example of a hotty from history. She was a celebrity before the word even existed - an absolute stunner whose life and gossip are now so intertwined it’s difficult to see where one ends and the other starts. So here are the facts. Or the fiction. Believe whichever you want to:

She was born to a rich family of eccentrics in New York in 1854, and was named after a woman her father was having an affair with. She was brought up an extremely competent horse-rider, to the extent that her father built a racetrack on their property, so she could ride and he could indulge in one of his favourite pastimes - gambling.
She had a snake tattooed around her left wrist, which she covered with a bracelet whenever the thing would prove too shocking for her present company. Fashion at the time was for women’s bodies to be almost entirely covered, so several notable upper-class minxes got away with tattoos, as only their lovers would see them. Which is rather saucy, i think.
In 1874 Jerome married Lord Randolph Churchill, a member of the British aristocracy and politician. She gave birth to their first child- Winston - seven months after marrying his father. I know the Victorians are known for being iron-knickered but I think Lady Randolph is a prime example of how that wasn’t true. Queen Victoria had nine children for goodness’ sake!
Her second son, born in 1880, was largely believed to be the son of one of Jerome’s lovers, the Viscount Falmouth. Her other lovers included King Edward VII (whose wife, Queen Alexandria was a close friend of hers, knowing full well about the affair), Prince Karl Kinsky, and according to some stories, more than 198 more! Damn this woman could seduce.
Her ‘friends’ in high places paved the way for her elder son to pursue a career in politics, eventually becoming Prime Minister during the Second World War. Winston Churchill was recently voted “Greatest Briton”, by a BBC survey. I don’t know about you but I like the woman who pulled the strings more.
Her second marriage was to a young Captain in the Scots Guard, a chap 20 years her junior - the same age as her elder son. when he left her for an actress she married a man 24 years younger than her.
When she was 16, a New York journalist described her as “more of the panther than of the woman in her look”. Sorry mate but I think se was more of a cougar. A beautiful Victorian/Edwardian cougar who loosened her corsets for the rich and powerful while she charmed them with her acerbic wit and hidden tattoo.
As the icing on the cake, she died in the most HFH-worth way I’ve ever heard of: Falling down the stairs while trying out a new invention - high heels.

Lady Jenny Jerome-Churchill-Cornwallis-West-Phippen-Porch, we at HFH salute you.

-Sophie.

Hotty from History #34 - Frida Kahlo (July 6, 1907 – July 13,...

Wed, 29 Sep 2010 11:37:13 +0100

Hotty from History #34 - Frida Kahlo (July 6, 1907 – July 13, 1954)

Oh, sweet Frida, how hard it is to do justice to your supreme hottiness in a blog as essentially superficial as this.

Frida painted pain and passion in intense vibrant colours and is noted for her uncompromising depictions of the female experience. Although bed ridden due to a road accident for much of her life, Frida managed to paint with such vivid flair that she attracted the attention of many of her Mexican contempories. She married the rather unattractive muralist Diego Rivera, who was 20 years her senior. Luckily for the bohemian characters of Mexico, Frida had no qualms with adultery, and had numerous affairs, including one with Cabaret goddess Josephine Baker.
She has been described as a ‘tequila slamming, dirty-joke telling smoker’ who ‘hobbled about her bohemian barrio in lavish indigenous dress’. This is an attractive image. If time travel is ever invented, a Frida Kahlo party is going at the top of my list. Apparently Trotsky was a fan. So much so that they seduced each other and had an affair whilst Trotsky was staying at Frida and her husband’s home.
Here are some final facts that elevate her to hotty status: She had a bright blue house. She was openly bisexual in the Golden Age (and beyond), a good time to be fluid with one’s sexuality. She was depicted in film form by Salma Hayek.

I leave you with this gem of a Kahlo quote: “I tried to drown my sorrows, but the bastards learned how to swim, and now I am overwhelmed by this decent and good feeling.”

-Georgia

Hotty from History no.33 James Joyce 1882-1941 Jimmy Joyce was a wonderful modern Irish writer....

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:17:37 +0100

Hotty from History no.33 James Joyce 1882-1941

Jimmy Joyce was a wonderful modern Irish writer. Although not typically handsome, he is included on this list because of his strange enigmatic appeal. He was tall, skinny and very rectangular, and it was only later when he grew a moustache and wore silly glasses that his look became more oddball than Oh my. In this picture he looks very much the good looking genius, and as for his manly pose, I certainly think he could have garnered the odd swoon.
Joyce was already very intelligent as a handsome young lad. He rejected his family’s Catholicism at the age of 16, which strikes me as quite a rebellious and precocious thing to do. At the sweet age of 19 he was already making his mark: a review he wrote of Ibsen’s New Drama actually received a note of thanks from the playwright himself.
He grew to be an appalling drunk, frequently getting into scrapes and arguments and spending a lot of money he could not afford to. As we at HFH have mentioned before, this in itself isn’t exactly an asset, but if your a tortured poet with a nice face, then all is forgiven. After all, Joyce’s drunken anguish generally translated into brilliant prose.
Joyce was dreadful with money. This blogger essentially finds this endearing because it is a quality one can empathize with. He set out on various money making endeavours and failed at them all. Poor Joyce. What he really needed was an understanding lover to forgive him his ineptitude. Shame he was more than half a century or so too early. He was eventually able to focus on writing because he had a lady patron. I imagine his talent wasn’t the only reason she wanted to look after him.
He wrote books. And well.

-Georgia

HFH writer Tom as Dylan Thomas

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 15:51:24 +0100

HFH writer Tom as Dylan Thomas

HFH writer Georgia as Mercedes d’Acosta

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 07:01:51 +0100

HFH writer Georgia as Mercedes d’Acosta

Joan of Arc

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 05:00:46 +0100

Joan of Arc

Our very own Nikola Tesla

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 02:06:48 +0100

Our very own Nikola Tesla

Charlotte Corday

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 01:06:47 +0100

Charlotte Corday

Antoinin Artaud - Hotties from History dinner party edition.

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 00:06:00 +0100

Antoinin Artaud - Hotties from History dinner party edition.

Hotty from History Dinner Party #1 - 1000 followers special! Yesterday we hosted the first ever...

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 17:26:47 +0100

Hotty from History Dinner Party #1 - 1000 followers special!

Yesterday we hosted the first ever hotties from history dinner party, where we were very lucky that Antoinin Artaud, Mercedes d’Acosta, Nikola Tesla, Joan of Arc, Dylan Thomas, Charlotte Corday, Mary II and Gwenllian ferch Gruffydd (future hotty from history) could attend, albeit being rather dusty after years spent in graves (except Joan who was slightly scorched), however looking very attractive nonetheless. Bottles of wine and gin were drunk, the most dramatic game of wink murder was played and the spectacle culminated with Antoinin curled in the corner clucthing his very own shoe. Bravo! Photos will ensue!

You can now contact us, especially if you ever plan on hosting a hotties from history themed party, on our new email address: hottiesfromhistory@gmail.com

Love, Tom x

Hotty from History #32 - Évariste Galois Young, short and tragic...

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 12:00:08 +0100

Hotty from History #32 - Évariste Galois

Young, short and tragic lives are irresistible to any hotty historian, especially if the person in question was French, incredibly handsome and in possession of amazing intellect.

Évariste was born in a small village outside Paris, 22 years after the French revolution, and was brought up during a time of massive upheaval. His father, a strong liberalist and mayor of his hometown influenced Galois’ strong republican views- Galois was said to be seen in the village reading out his witty rhymes scrutinising the Monarchists.

Galois rebelled at school after rumours spread that it was to be handed back to the Jesuits (a powerful and scheming Catholic society). The battle between the Republicans and the Monarchists was still raging at this time, and any influence from the Priests and Jesuits would shift emphasis towards the restoration of the monarchy again, and many pupils were expelled after refusing to comply to the new power within the school. Galois, however was not expelled, yet seeing the expulsion of many of his peers would have reinforced his strong Republican views.

Galois mathematical ability soon outstripped that of his tutors, and he turned to educate himself from books written by the the most accomplished mathematicians of the day, and at the age of 17 he published his first paper in the respected journal Annales de Gergonne.However this would see a departure from a potentially bright mathematical career into a life of dissolution after his father’s tragic suicide following a smear campaign by Jesuits to dishonour his name, writing libelous letters to members of his constitution, and signing them as his father.

Following the death of his father at the hands of those loyal to the monarchy, and teamed with Galois possession of rashness and a quick temper, the following years were spent in anti-monarchist riots, and in jail.

Galois had a fatal affair with Stéphanie-Félicie Poterine du Motel, who was engaged to one of the finest shots in France Pscheux d’Herbinville, when d’Herbinvelle found out about the affair, he challenged Galois to a duel.

On the evening before the confrontation, which Galois believed to be his last, he wrote all his mathematical theories and thoughts onto paper in a desperate attempt to pass on his knowledge which he had accumulated, to be given to all the greatest mathematicians in Europe. The paper, which can be found today, is flooded with desperate remarks and references to a ‘woman’.

On Wednesday 30 May 1832, they fought, and d’Herbinville shot Galois in the stomach and left Galois to die, he was found later by his brother and taken to a hospital, however he died a day later.

Galois’ life was tragic, short and very turbulent, however, throughout this Galois was consistently a hotty. This is a moral for all our readers; you can still fight against the machine; you can avenge your father’s death; you can be a mathematical genius and you can enter an ill-advised affair with the fiancée of one of the best shots in Paris - but, you can still be a hotty.

Tom x

Hotty from History #31 - George Villiers It is really hard to...

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 19:56:00 +0100

Hotty from History #31 - George Villiers

It is really hard to write a post about George Villiers, as each time I researched into him, I was confused as to whether he should be a gay icon or whether he was a scheming schemer who used his good looks in exchange for unlimited power. However, the underlying factor of Villiers was that he was extremely handsome and had an awesome moustache.

George Villiers was King James’ favourite, and it was for this reason that Villiers is considered the most rewarded courtiers in European history, as James bestowed numerous Lordships and titles upon him, much to the envy of the Jacobean court. It is for this reason why it is speculated that George was cunning in his consolidation of power in James’ court, however the relationship shared between Villiers and King James, (however is is deemed controversial, yet by no means ambiguous) was sweet, and little messages exchanged between George and James have survived to this day, showing the couples deep affection for each other, “Christ had John, and I have my George.”, responded by Villiers’ “I desire only to live in the world for your sake”. The thought of these two men sweetly doting on each other is a very pleasing thought.

So, not only did George Villiers have an amazing beard, he was also one of the most attractive men of the Jacobean age. And also very affectionate. Hotty.

Tom x

1000

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 15:32:00 +0100

This is so cool - we have reached 1000 followers! For something that I began at 2 am sometime last year - as an attempt to not do any history homework, I think we have done rather well!

Big thanks to Nikola Tesla, Robert Donat, Mary II, George Hamilton-Gordon, Count Fersen, Elizabeth Siddal, Lord Byron, Dylan Thomas, Mercedes d’Acosta, Charlotte Corday, Kathleen Garman, Joachim Murat, Juliette Récamier, Buster Keaton, John Joseph Merlin, Prince Vladimir Pavlovich Paley, Frederick Douglass, Jehanne d’Arc, Henryk Flame, John Trippe, Alice de Janzé,Evelyn Waugh, Sir Walter Raleigh, Zelda Fitzgerald, Giacomo Girolamo Casanova de Seingalt, Dora de Houghton Carrington, Bosie, Antonin Artaud, Mary Stuart and Jean Rimbaud, for being very attractive, and also thanks to Georgia and Sophie for their awesome posts, and there superb skills of finding the hottest of hotties.

xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx (that is exactly 1,000 kisses.)

Tom x

Hotty from History #31 Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (20...

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 00:32:00 +0100

Hotty from History #31 Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (20 October 1854 – 10 November 1891)

Poor little Rimbaud was abandonded by his daddy and bought up by his mother, a strict Catholic. It does seem to be a hallmark of hotties from history: somewhere down the line they will be betrayed and abandoned.
One of his teachers said about him: He has eyes and a smile which I do not like. He will come to a bad end. In any case, nothing banal will germinate in that head. He will be the genius for good or evil!” Damn, I wish teachers still did school reports as cool as this! Also, his stuffy school teacher Mr Perette might not have liked them, and his lover Verlaine might have discribed them as “disturbing pale blue”, but they are so striking they seem to be a beautiful god given reflection of his artistic brilliance. Like a little divine warning sign: ‘This man has incredible eyes. He is a genius and therefore probably a fuckwit’.
Rimbaud did a lot of running away. He ran away to Paris, Belgium and Brussels. One time he tried to get to Paris without paying the full price and got sent to prison. Oh, to have been the lucky chap who shared his cell! I bet he had supremely interesting conversation. Not to mention, an aesthetically agreeable exterior.
After the Commune broke out in Paris, Rimbaud went a little wild and decided to give in to the ‘disorder of the senses’. Good chap. Apparently he was rude and untidy. It shouldn’t be attractive, but I can imagine seeing him sprawled out drunkenly in some dingy smoke filled Parisian bar, and it is an image I enjoy.
He had an affair with another great French poet, Paul Verlaine. They had a tumultuous relationship, what with Verlaine being married with a child, but I bet they had splendidly interesting conversations. At the height of their relationship, they spent some time living in Soho, London. He later became a bit of an adventurist and did a lot of travelling, but I like to think that our very own Soho was his top spot to be…maybe.
He was shot in the wrist by Verlaine who was in a jealous rage. Our hotties do tend to have particularly dramatic love lives…poets and artists today are probably quite fortunate that pistols and revolvers are not so readily available as they were back then!
He died before the age of fourty…still spendidly handsome, quite isolated, and not particularly well loved. Many, many years later, he was depicted in a film by Leonardo di Caprio. Not my personal idea of a hotty, but, still, pretty impressive.
So there you have it. French, “very handsome of a rustic and wily beauty with an indolently daring attitude”, and not forgetting of course, a very good poet.

-Georgia