REAL LIFE VICTORIAN

A woman has taken her house back in time - by spending £10,000 to transform it into her Victorian dream home. Quirky spinster Julia Wood, 42, lives her life like a 19th century lady and can often be seen leaving her terraced house wearing ankle length velvet and carrying a parasol. The self confessed "eccentric" has transformed all five rooms of her property in Leicester with late 19th or early 20th century decor. Her lounge, bathroom, bedroom and kitchen are filled with antique furniture, fireplaces and artefacts and even nude portraits complete with lighting from the period. She has a large mahogany mantle piece in her lounge and sips tea from an 1890s crockery set she says she bought for just £10. Her kitchen, which also acts a sitting room, includes an Edwardian day bed, wood burning stove, antique tub chair, pine table and even a black fridge. The author and writer, who has lived in the home for two years, is an avid Oscar Wilde fan and says she lives her life like a character from one of this plays. She said: "I must have a Victorian or Edwardian aura. I was just born in the wrong era. But Downton Abbey has changed things lately. Sales of long gloves have gone up hugely, I understand. All of a sudden I'm in fashion.

Other great stories
100K BARONESS THATCHER COLLECTION

WELCOME to the drawing room that is home to the £100K world’s greatest collection of Margaret Thatcher autographed objects .

HUNGRY CHAMELEON CATCHES DINNER

EXPERTLY camouflaged, this clever panther chameleon knows how to catch its prey by surprise .

NATURE PAPS

NATURE PAPARAZZIS prove you don't have to be Justin Bieber or Cheryl Cole to attract a pack of photographers .

ARTY ELEPHANTS

EXTRAORDINARY elephants create beautiful paintings in Thailand .

BACK TO BASICS HOTEL

CAMPED out in the middle of a forest, these unusual hut hotels take you back to basics .

SUMMER’S OVER! SQUIRREL CLINGS TO UMBRELLA IN THE RAIN

An adorable red squirrel says goodbye to the summer as he shelters from the rain underneath a small blue umbrella .

EVANDER HOLYFIELD

HOTSPOT MEDIA - EVANDER HOLYFIELD VISITS SICK KIDS: Evander Holyfield in Birmingham children's hospital, where he was giving presents to sick kids .

VICTIM SAVES HER RAPIST'S LIFE AFTER HE OVERDOSES FOLLOWING ATTACK

A woman has told how she saved the life of her own rapist after he overdosed on pills shortly after attacking her .

ADORABLE SQUIRREL GETS READY FOR A SNOWBALL FIGHT

ROLLING up snow in its tiny paws, this little squirrel is looking for a snowball fight .

SPECTACULAR SCENERY AT CHILEAN OBSERVATORIES

An Italian photographer travelled to Chile where he visited several star-gazing sites, home to some of the world's most advanced telescopes, located in the spectacular setting of the Atacama desert .

IT'S BEHIND YOU: PHOTOGRAPHER IN WALES IGNORES GIANT WAVES

Southern England, the south-west and west Wales have been warned to expect more wild weather, with heavy rain and high tides possibly leading to coastal flooding and travel disruption over the weekend .

CROHN'S SUFFERER 'ACCUSED OF BEING ANOREXIC' AFTER LOSING 10ST

A Crohn's sufferer has slammed doctors who allegedly accused her of being anorexic after she lost 10st in just three months .