The world of books and art, 1789 – 1914
The artist behind both these paintings - John Everett Millais - was a child art prodigy, and in his late teens co-founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. The PRB was founded at his family home in London - [then] 83 Gower Street, Bloomsbury, London. I worked nearby at 82 Gower Street for about 18 months, and many... Continue Reading →
The Victorian sporting calendar in pictures.
Arguably the Victorians invented modern sport, or at least codified it. Inevitably that enthusiasm was reflected in their art. Fishing, hunting, racing and shooting even had their own schools of painters. Going North, King's Cross Station (1893) by George Earl (English artist, lived 1824–1908). National Railway Museum. This painting shows King's Cross Station (think Harry... Continue Reading →
Danaë and the brazen Tower by Edward Burne-Jones (English artist, lived 1833–1898) is a painting by one of the last Pre-Raphaelites. Burne-Jones was an artist who brought imaginary, historical and mythological worlds to life via the aesthetic dream-world of late Victorian art. The version below was exhibited in 1888. Ashmolean Museum. 38 x 19 cm... Continue Reading →
Book review – The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (1844) “Hatred is blind; rage carries you away; and he who pours out vengeance runs the risk of tasting a bitter draught.” The Count of Monte Cristo is a 1250 page adventure novel by French author Alexandre Dumas (working with a collaborator), originally serialised... Continue Reading →
Book review – Bodysnatchers by Suzie Lennox (2016). Digging up the untold stories of Britain's Resurrection Men This was my Christmas read, and one of the most enjoyable non-fiction books I've read for some time. A bit surprising given the subject matter; corpses, the desecration of graves and dissection of cadavers in Georgian era Britain.... Continue Reading →
4.50 from Paddington by Agatha Christie (1957) Spoiler alert. In this review I describe the early parts of the novel, but do not reveal whodunit. Sherlock Holmes was born about 1854, and by 1927 had retired to Sussex to take up beekeeping. As one great detective left the stage, another one entered. Jane Marple was... Continue Reading →
The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn by Colin Dexter (1977) No human action happens by pure chance unconnected with other happenings, none is incapable of explanation. Warning - this review contains spoilers INTRODUCTION: Colin Dexter and Inspector Morse had a lot in common, I expect they would have enjoyed sharing a few pints of Old... Continue Reading →
Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (1886) O God!' I screamed, and 'O God!' again and again; for there before my eyes--pale and shaken, and half fainting, and groping before him with his hands, like a man restored from death - there stood Henry Jekyll! In an ideal world... Continue Reading →
Book review – Talking about Detective Fiction – P.D. James - originally published in hardback by the Bodleian Library, Oxford in 2009. Six months ago I might have casually told you that the only detective fiction I was familiar with was Sherlock Holmes. When I thought about the genre I tended to think of the... Continue Reading →
The Long Victorian 