The Oval Portrait The Oval Portrait "The Oval Portrait" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe involving the disturbing circumstances surrounding a portrait in a chateau. It is one of his shortest stories, filling only two pages in its initial publication in 1842. The tale begins with an injured narrator (the story offers no further explanation of their impairment) seeking refuge in an abandoned mansion in the Apennines. The narrator spends their time admiring the paintings that decorate the strangely shaped room and perusing a volume, found upon a pillow, that describes them. Upon moving the candle closer to the book, the
Preston Strike of 1842 Preston Strike of 1842 The Preston Strike and Lune Street Riot, which took place in Preston, in Lancashire, England over 12 and 13 August 1842, were part of the 1842 General Strike or ‘Plug Plot Riots’. These strikes and disturbances were prompted by depression in 1841-2 which resulted in wage cuts of over 25%. They were influenced by the Chartist movement and the government’s rejection of the petition for ‘People's Charter of 1838’, signed by over 1 million people who demanded a more democratic political system. Disputes spread throughout the North West of England from late July 1842. Workers in