4. Laetitia (Letty) Backman (Norman) and the Royal Theatre

4. Laetitia (Letty) Backman (Norman) and the Royal Theatre

The theatre was a magical place. It was a world like no other. Letty loved the times she was allowed to come with her father to the theatre. Later in life, when she reflected on her happy childhood, there was one memory that stood out. It would have been in 1839 because she remembered that she was almost 12 years old. Her father, the director […]

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The Moving Panoramas

The Moving Panoramas

  Imagine a canvas that is over 4 miles (or 6.4 km) long! In the mid-1800s, a few artists painted landscapes on such long canvases. Of course, if you wanted to do an accurate painting of the Mississippi River for example – or at least 1,000 miles of it – you probably needed a few miles of canvas. Panoramas depicting landscapes and famous battles were […]

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Fritz von Dardel paints Augusta’s lieutenants – and tags them

Fritz von Dardel paints Augusta’s lieutenants – and tags them

I was actually going to write about Augusta’s first love. Then I got curious about all the young men who were interested in her. In 1845, Augusta was 18 and her admirers, who had just started their military careers, were in their late 20s. Augusta and her best friend Lotten Westman met them at balls, theatres, and concerts. After Augusta left Stockholm, Lotten wrote letters […]

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Marie Taglioni, the Swedish ballerina

Marie Taglioni, the Swedish ballerina

In July of 1847, Augusta and her mother visited the opera in Berlin. Berlin, 3 July 1847 After we had left Kroll’s garden, we went to the Opera where we saw the best arranged ballet I have ever seen, and where we had the opportunity to admire Madame Taglioni’s enchanting pas. So what ballet did they see, and who was Madame Taglioni? After a lot […]

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A Tale of the Queen of Navarre

A Tale of the Queen of Navarre

Diaries are different. They are kept to document memories in real time. They are not like letters. Letters are written to let someone know what you have experienced. Diaries are for yourself; letters are for other people. When I read Augusta’s diary, I am sometimes surprised at what she doesn’t describe or discuss. On 10 March 1851, she went to the Royal Theatre (housed in […]

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