According to Dr Toni Weller, what we now call "the information age" began in Victorian times. She had evidence, including pictures, to support this, explained it all very well.
I've struggled with one point and I can’t decide if I just misunderstood it or if I’m right in my confusion. Dr Weller said that when we see debates about ID cards etc now, we should think back to how this all started. I agree with her that it obviously started long before my time, but I don’t see how knowing about the origins of surveillance and intrusion helps us deal with the problems they pose in the present.
Still, it was good to learn of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's interest in fingerprinting and other records of criminals. I hadn't realised that something we take for granted now - more than in Doyle’s own time - was so vital to his Sherlock Holmes stories. Part of me hopes that I find something something similar to inspire my own work.
Rachel Robson
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