Walking through the National Portrait Gallery gave me a vague sense of familiarity, even though I had never been there before, because it is entirely composed of painting, busts, images, and representations of various people who have been, in large ways and small, part of the creation of Great Britain down through time. Many of the images there are the only known representations available of the people depicted; therefore, reproductions of them are used in books, articles, magazines, and on websites and are already familiar throughout the world. Then there is the opportunity to see an image with which to place familiar names I have heard, but whose faces are unfamiliar — Mrs. Beeton, who wrote a very popular advice book for homemakers during the Victorian era is one of these who comes to mind.

Well worth the trip!