Hot Victorians: Meet Your Dream Man from the Past

“Could unfathomable hotness still be found in such stifling social constraints?” asks Radford-Wattley, founder of the Hot Victorians Instagram account, in his quirky debut celebration of historical eye candy. For Radford-Wattley, the answer is undoubtedly yes, as he presents “moody, sepia-toned shots” of potential Victorian dates, ranging from unidentified military men, cowboys, and dentists to famed writers, athletes, scientists, and artists, including J.M. Barrie, Alfred Stieglitz, and even a young Sigmund Freud (“Who could have guessed that young Freud was such a dashing daddy type?”). Divided into categories such as hot dads, hunky jocks, and “original hipsters,” the author pairs these photos with imagined answers from the subjects’ dating profiles. The latter range from entertaining absurdities, like an Ottawa-based photographer’s “intense passion for beavers,” to groan-worthy low-hanging fruit, such as Statue of Liberty designer Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi’s desire for “someone who can hold a torch for me.” The volume also includes fairly serious biographical notes on each man, including several fascinating lesser known figures like Edward Carpenter, “an early advocate for gay and women’s rights”; intersex criminal Bert Martin; and Franklin Howard Packard, “the original tattooed man.” These entries hint that perhaps the Victorian era was not so prim after all, with many thriving subcultures (and dating options). Such tempting historical morsels add depth to this amusing “compendium of cuties.” (Sept.)