I’m currently reading a fascinating book, written by Matthew Champion, about church graffiti of the medieval period. It is all kinds of interesting, not only for the information about witch marks and symbology, but also for the various cultural/historical asides it contains. For example, he explained the medieval – nay, pre-Christian – roots behind the shape of… Read more From Little Acorns Mighty Oaks Grow
On 22 January 1552, Edward Seymour, the eldest brother of Henry VIII’s third queen Jane Seymour and uncle of King Edward VI, was beheaded on Tower Hill. I’m not particularly sorry for him. I’m schooled in postmodernism enough to assume everyone studying history develops partialities whether they admit it or not. One of the people… Read more Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset and Fratricidal Monster
Jane Austen’s novel Emma was first published on 23 December 1815, just in time for Yuletide gift-giving. Emma sold well, and was giving good reviews, including one by Sir Walter Scott. Although Austen famously claimed that the title character, Emma Woodhouse, “handsome, clever, and rich,” was a protagonist that no one but the author “will… Read more Happy Birthday to Emma
Jane Austen came into the world, considerably past her due date, on 16 December 1775 at Steventon Rectory. Her parents had been expecting her arrival for more than three weeks, and since she was the seventh child the stork had bequeathed to the Austen’s, they had been sanguine about their estimation of her appearance and… Read more Happy Birthday Jane Austen!
Dear Bloggess, First, it feels a little weird to address you as The Bloggess when your name is really Jenny Lawson, but I cannot call you Jenny because that is too familiar for a gal from Kentucky and I cannot call you Ms. Lawson because that is too formal a way to talk to someone… Read more An Open Letter to The Bloggess About Mental illness
I recently read a really good book, Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant. It is a follow up to her equally awesome novella, Rolling in the Deep, and it is scary as hell. It takes place above the Mariana Trench, and it involves mermaids. Terrifying mermaids. Jaws meets one of H. P. Lovecraft’s beasties… Read more Dragon’s Triangle; Devil’s Sea
Anglophone authors and Jane Austen fans tend to think of the culture and style of the Regency era as uniquely British. While having the Prince Regent was certainly for the UK alone, the larger sociocultural trends of the Regency were European, part of a dynamic give and take of ideas that flourished in spite of… Read more Frauenroman: Deriding Women’s Romances For Centuries
(Today I am lucky enough to have a guest blog post by Mary Anne Yarde, the fabulous author of the fabulous Du Lac Chronicles. The books are set in the Dark Ages Britain, when politics was still a matter of combat and moistened tarts lobbing swords at you from overly-large ponds, and are great reads!… Read more Guest Post: Henry Tudor and the King Arthur Claim by Mary Anne Yarde
The Colour of Betrayal is the latest whodunit in the popular ‘Sebastian Foxley’ series of medieval murder mysteries by author and historian Toni Mount. Inspired by true stories the series is notable for its accurate historical atmosphere; here Toni shares the basis for some of the main characters in her books. Today, we have a… Read more Guest Post: Author Toni Mount on Foxley Village
English poet, essayist, playwright, and novelist Thomas Love Peacock was born on 18 October 1785 in Weymouth, Dorset, into a lower-middle class family. From there he rose to become both an admired writer and wealthy, “a rare instance of a man improved by prosperity.” While working as a clerk with Ludlow Fraser Company in London,… Read more The Laughing Philosopher, Thomas Love Peacock