Gothic Auntie

There’s little a certain sort of reader likes more than feeling like they’ve been drawn into their favourite genre, and Christmas is an ideal time to get them some little nick-nacks and luxuries that will let them feel like a tragic yet valiant gothic heroine. As a bonus everything on this list is either consumable or easily thrifted, minimising waste and our participation in the endless manufacturing to landfill pipeline.

Candlestick/Candelabra

Everyone knows a gothic heroine needs a good gothic candlestick, and while this sounds expensive it doesn’t have to be. I’ve found a selection of antique looking candlesticks, including a full five candle candelabra, from several different charity shops (thrift shops for American readers) over the years — and my perfectly stocking sized pair that I picked up last year cost £2.50 each, making them a surprisingly economical gift. While your chances on finding this kind of thing in a charity/thrift shop vary widely you can find similarly historic looking candlesticks on Vinted for not too much more than that.

Candle Snuffer

Similarly, there’s nothing to make you feel more like a put upon gothic heroine than using an actual candle snuffer to put your candles out, especially if you’ve turned off all the electric lights first. Mine also came from a charity shop, slipped into a Christmas stocking from a very thoughtful partner about a decade ago, but unlike the candlesticks its not something I’ve come across myself. Fortunately they’re quite easy to find online, including genuine vintage ones, for quite reasonable prices.

Loose Leaf Tea

A luxury essential for the 18th and 19th century lady, tea was very important if you were going to entertain other ladies to an appropriate Standard, but it was also very expensive. A nice package of loose leaf tea will allow your gothic heroine to maintain the appearance of respectability when visited by ruthless society ladies, for all that her family’s fortunes lay in ruins, ruins, and its also just a lovely thing to have when curling up with a book (bonus point if you match the blend to something on her tbr).

Floral Bar Soap

Bar soap used to be a pretty upscale purchase, especially if you lived somewhere without olive groves or another ready supply of vegetable oil. Even in the Regency, when technological advances finally allowed for the mass production of bar soaps, it was still an expensive luxury; especially if you wanted the nice kind with added scent and moisturising agents. Those who couldn’t afford it, including even less well off members of the gentry, were forced to rely on the often home made soft soap, a gelatinous brown substance that was quite harsh on the skin. 

A vintage style soap, the kind that comes wrapped in paper and smells of roses or lilies, is exactly the thing to get your heroine into the gothic mindset; whether its as an ingenue, thoughtlessly enjoying the time in which such things are plentiful, or a seasoned victim in the depths of her persecution arc, receiving the kind gift of a wealthy stranger, the scent of which brings her back to happier times.

An Orange

A classic Christmas stocking gift, oranges are in season during the winter. That, combined with the expense of importing them, made them an expensive treat most people far North of the equator would only see around Christmas. While it’s unclear when the tradition of putting an orange in the toe of a Christmas stocking started (possibly Victorian, possibly the Great Depression, or any time in between), it definitely has the vibe of something a gothic heroine might treasure among her gifts.

Leather or Suede Gloves

Showing your naked hands used to be quite an intimate thing, especially for women. Even into the twentieth century no “respectable” woman, (read those who could afford it), would be seen in public without a pair of gloves covering her hands. Nineteenth century ladies would have worn leather gloves, either dyed to match their outfits or in a neutral shade such as white or tan, when outside during the day, and lace, mesh, or a similar light material indoors, often with the fingers cut out to preserve dexterity. 

Though the indoor gloves are unlikely to get much mileage unless you’re purchasing for a cosplayer, re-enactor, or someone with a very specific sense of style (it’s me, I’m someone), a nice leather or suede pair are a lovely and practical gift; especially if, like me, your giftee lives somewhere absolutely freezing for most of the year. I advise wrapping them in tissue paper and then placing them in a thin rectangular cardboard box tied with ribbon to really capture the feeling of a historic gift.

A Folding Fan

These are easily picked up from charity shops and there are also artists who make beautiful hand made ones online. Every gothic heroine needs a nice folding fan, and with global warming they’ve recently become a practical present again even up here in Scotland.