Abby Epplett, Historian

Back in July, I visited my friend Jenny who lived near Washington, DC. During our trips around the capital, we toured the National Museum of African American History and Culture located on the National Mall . I had previously talked about the creation of the museum during my book review of A Fool’s Errand by founder Lonnie G. Bunch III , and I had learned more about the collection during the first day of the Smithsonian Education Summit in 2023 . I was excited to visit in person and see what I had long heard about.

When Frodo invited his twenty closest friends to his annual celebration of Bilbo’s birthday, these young hobbits were most likely his cousins from the Took branch of his family, as I cannot imagine a Baggins displaying such ridiculous behavior. By the time of Frodo’s generation and that of his younger cousins, members of the Took clan had married into nearly every other respectable clan in the Shire, bringing their wealth and quirky behavior with them. Besides reviewing the Took family tree and a potential cause of their unusual actions, I will explain how the clothing of wealthy hobbits changed from the time of Bilbo’s 111 st birthday to seventeen years later when Frodo was again visited by Gandalf. Finally, I believe the Took cousins were based upon a group of young people in the Real World who were contemporaries of Tolkien, and I will compare the behaviors of the two cultures.

This post was supposed to launch yesterday, but I spent longer than expected at a delightful Christmas party, so you will get the post today. A quick content warning: the National Museum of Health & Medicine is dedicated to the preservation of human remains for conducting research and to raise public awareness. I have included two images with human remains at the bottom of the article; there is an extra paragraph of text before these pictures, allowing you space to click away if needed. Additionally, I will be describing human remains, injuries, and medical inventions throughout the post. If you do not enjoy this topic, consider reading one of the many other articles on my blog.

Back in July, I took a trip to the Washington, DC area to visit my friend Jenny and see historic sites. I spent a day in Silver Spring, MD, where I visited the National Park Seminary and local religious buildings . During that day, I also hiked the extensive trails connecting Silver Spring to neighboring Chevy Chase. As an aside, this town is named for medieval English folk hero Chevy Chase, who was immortalized in a once-popular ballad . While I did not see any minstrels on my trip, I did cross pedestrian bridges, view historic buildings, and enjoy nature.

I recently read the book How to Be a Victorian: A Dawn-to-Dusk Guide to Victorian Life by Ruth Goodman published in 2014 by Liveright Publishing Corporation . I had previously watched several informational videos hosted by Goodman through the YouTube channel for HistoryExtra , the history magazine of the BBC , and wanted to know if her writing style was similar to her presentation style. I found the book fun, factual, and easy to read, a great way for people first learning about the Victorian era to establish a solid base, and for those knowledgeable about the period to fill in gaps about the lives of everyday people.

On the same day I walked through National Park Seminary , I visited two vastly different religious buildings in Silver Spring, MD. I visited the massive Washington DC Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (formerly called Mormons) and the much smaller Knox Orthodox Presbyterian Church . I enjoyed meeting the people at both locations and comparing the differences between faiths.

On Sunday, November 16 through Friday, November 21, I watched the new six-part, twelve-hour documentary The American Revolution , which played on PBS and can be streamed on its website . The in-depth miniseries was co-produced by Ken Burns , Sarah Botstein, and David Schmidt. The documentary tells a delicately balanced story of the war that led to the establishment of the United States and includes perspectives from famous Founding Fathers, everyday soldiers, and voices that had previously been hidden. While occasionally feeling too long, I believe this is the most comprehensive overview of the war found in an easily accessible video format.

For the second essay in a two-part series on my interpretation of Frodo’s wardrobe, I focus on clothing worn in different types of weather, including coats, hats, boots, early sunglasses, and floral outfits. Besides comparing clothing from the Real World to the version I made for Middle-earth, I examine how technology and culture shaped what people wore.

In July, I visited Washington, DC and saw an astonishing range of historic sites. On the first day in the area, I visited Museum of the Bible, which took an entire day of exploring. The next day, I traveled to Silver Spring, MD, which has many hidden history gems. My first stop was National Park Seminary , a historic district in the village of Forest Glen, to see unique architecture. Despite its name, the site is not associated with the National Park System and has instead been transformed from a resort to a women’s college to an army medical facility to residential housing. With plenty of informational signage and easy walking, this was a pleasant visit.

I recently listened to the audiobook The Bomber Mafia: A Dream, a Temptation, and the Longest Night of the Second World War by Malcolm Gladwell and his production team. The audiobook was published in 2021. I was inspired to listen after finishing his MasterClass, Malcolm Gladwell Teaches Writing , having read most of his other books, and listening to podcasts in his network, Pushkin Industries . (The podcast Cautionary Tales , which I reviewed in 2023 , is part of the network.) I was intrigued by the concept of a book created audio-first, rather than text-first, as it expanded upon material first presented on his podcast, Revisionist History . Listening time was 5 hours and 14 minutes, and I listened to the book for free through the Libby app , available with a public library card. The book also appears in physical and digital text forms at 256 pages in length. Additionally, during the audiobook, Gladwell mentions a 28-page listener’s guide with original photographs of people...