This is one of M.R. James’ least pleasant stories. In my opinion. It revolves around children and an old man. I was pleasantly surprised by the TV adaptation below. It’s pretty close to the original story. Even some of the lines are used, verbatim.
Annie Lennox wrote : These are the contents of my head. This song is the story of almost 4o years of marriage to a gobby Scottish Sagittarian empath. Tomorrow we are exactly 3 months away from the RUBY anniversary :o) Sidetracked? Moi? Apparently I’ve suddenly turned into a much nicer person! I’m certain it’s my… Read More New Goose Feather Pillows/Cat/Stephen Fry/Sherlock
Ash:The Secret History. OMG. The very first Mary Gentle book (HUGE LOT OF PAPER) that I read. The blurb caught me. Ash is a warrior in 15th century France. Much in the mould of Jehanne d’Arc. Something about the lost kingdom of Burgundy, Egyptian Pyramids, Days without sun. And The Golems. Moving forward and onward… Read More ASH: A Secret History & The Limehouse Golem
The subject has been a life-long-love of mine. The author ? I’ve always liked him but as we have both aged, my appreciation for Stephen Fry’s erudition has multiplied…multi-pely. Mythos is on my Christmas List :o)
I’ve spent quite a bit of time with Miles this past week whilst hand sewing 12 ft curtains and trying to plug up cold draughts coming through ill-fitting heavy oak external doors and floor to ceiling sash windows. Oh. New knowledge/confirmation of instinct. This house was built in 1839 and regarded as Victorian. But it… Read More The Labours of Hercules and A Missing Story.
And wax cylinders. If y’all don’t know by now, I live in Lincolnshire, England. We have such a rich history here. Even in my little village and slightly larger local market town with a Market Charter going back to 1231. Our biggest claim to fame is Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Dracula? Watch and learn.
OH. I remember now why I’ve always loved RLS’s writing. This short story is featured in Stephen Fry’s latest Ghost Stories book and I listened to it last night. For a Victorian, RLS did not have verbal diarrhea. I knew who the mysterious K was. Very bad man. And the character of Fettes is wonderful.… Read More The Body Snatcher by Robert Louis Stevenson
Eleanour is another woman after my own heart. Fortune has favoured me with more than one First Edition book of hers found for pennies in secondhand bookshops. She was a shy Victorian woman who gave her life to gardening and writing and today I pulled down my copy of Shakespeare’s Wild Flowers, Fairy Lore Gardens,… Read More Eleanour Sinclair Rohde
Last weekend we talking pikeys. HE told me off for being very non-PC. I laughed out loud because he’s the least PC person I know. Anyhoo. Pikeys aka Gypsies. And how I’d lived with the grandparents in a tiny village in North Lincolnshire (twice) Both times long enough to be enrolled in the village school.… Read More Oor Wullie & The Broons
I can’t remember a day in my life that didn’t include a book in hand. A picture book or a colouring book or a cartoon book (Oor Wullie) or Enid Blyton or Peter Rabbit or whatever. Growing up with my mother’s childhood books was such a blessing. Nan had saved them all. Dad destroyed them… Read More A Girl After My Own Heart : Beatrix Potter (?)
Sarah Raven has been a long time favourite gardener of mine. She married the grandson of Vita Sackville-West and spent many years living at Sissinghurst. I know this is Dreaming Big but there is so much to learn from Sissinghurst. Vita was a great friend of Virginia Woolf…and some say lover. Woolf also created a… Read More Vita Sackville-West/Sarah Raven & Sissinghurst
It’s a well-known fact amongst Dorothy Dunnett fans that DD and her husband were close friends with Ian Fleming. He told them that he was writing a novel about a “spy to end all spies.” Dorothy, challenged by her husband, decided to do the same. Whereas Fleming did the man thing – lots of sex… Read More Ian Fleming |James Bond vs Dorothy Dunnett|Lymond of Crawford
Hanging on the tails of Evan’s video about Ten Lies taught in U.S, schools – especially how fiction has morphed into FACT. Top 10 Philosophical Novels by Philosophy Vibes. This one stuns me for many reasons. Being a fiction writer myself, I KNOW how to craft an idea/personal truth/point of view into a story. When… Read More Fiction & Philosophy
I’m reading a novel at the moment that’s tickled me pink :o) It’s set mainly in Edinburgh, deals with a modern girl who comes from a Scottish family of Seers steeped in far-sight. It’s of the “historical time-slip” genre. The historical bit is the ancestor. Thomas Erskine who was sent, by his father, to join… Read More H.M.S. Tartar & Harrison’s Marine Chronometer : Longitude
This is the title of a book by Carl Gustav Jung. It resonates with my psyche. Think of E.T. The eternal child wanting to Go Home. Or Paul – the film with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost and their strange ALIEN grey new friend who smokes super-strong weed, has no filter and swears like a… Read More Flying Saucers : The Myth of Things Seen in the Sky
I love and adore and love the Lovejoy TV series with Ian McShane. My son bought me the entire boxset years ago when there was just me and he here for my birthday. Ian La Frenais wrote the original adaptations of Jonathan Gash’s books. He made a handful of characters unforgettable. Lovejoy. Lady Jane. Tinker… Read More Jonathan Gash/Lovejoy/Suffolk
I love Marina Warner’s books. The past few days I’ve been re-reading Phantasmagoria and suddenly had an epiphany about the Cult of the Black Virgins. But that’s for another time. The book : Phantasmagoria explores ideas of spirit and soul since the Enlightenment; it traces metaphors that have traditionally conveyed the presence of immaterial forces,… Read More Phantasmagoria by Marina Warner
If I ever opened up another shop (unlikely but bear with me) I’d call it At The Bells & Motley. I love the idea of motley. Such a variety of disparate stuff all together in one place. Oh. Much like this blog ? As for Bells…who doesn’t love the Campanile or the local church campanologists… Read More At The Bells & Motley
What’s in a name? Oooh. This is interesting. A topic I’ve skirted around/dipped into/debunked and held on to for decades. Future Research – Several Hours with Great Courses’ course on King Arthur. It’s the Never-Ending Story that search for The Holy Grail. And as we are on POETS day, Sir Thomas Malory and Winchester Cathedral… Read More She Says Morgause : I Say Morgan le Fey
It’s time for me to retire from the internet and stick with my books. FFS. So I googled Harlequin. Why? Because I’m re-reading/listening to The Mysterious Mr Quin. Agatha Christie’s character, Harley Quin is strange. But the other character he “plays” with is wonderful. Mr Satterthwaite. Satterthwaite is in his 60’s. A bachelor. Sexless. Art… Read More Harlequin
There have been a few adverts on TV Robert Galbraith’s new book Ink Black Heart. So, I asked a stupid question: D’you know who Galbraith really is? Answer : I don’t care but you’re gonna tell me anyway. Of course :o) But then he one-upped-me with : Note to Self : Don’t try to be… Read More Robert Galbraith
Starting with a favourite novel – one of a very few fantasy, alternate history books that I love. ASH – A Secret History. Amongst many other topics, Mary Gentle used Ash’s story to highlight the loss of a once great empire/nation. Burgundy. For me, Burgundy means just one thing – Jehanne d’Arc. Jehanne connects with… Read More Magic, Murder & The Loss of the Empire of Burgundy
There is no need to make up BS about History such as free energy, mud flood, Tartaria Everys Wheres, Masonic Shenanigans, Founders vs Finders and all that jazz. When you know quite a bit about history, you can weave a seamless pattern. History is part propaganda, part myth and legend, part fantasy, part wannabe, part… Read More The Seamless Tapestry of History
If this be madness, there’s method in’t – as Polonius said. MOOT is a wonderful word. Used often in debates and court. I’ve been up a step ladder (eek) to arrange some of my oldest novels on the very top shelf in the library/study and came across one of my favourite teenage reads. Green Darkness… Read More Moot : A Scottish Moat?
Crow-sitting, cooking, painting, cleaning, chilling for a minute with an audiobook on the TV. A Lodging For The Night by Robert Louis Stevenson from Gates of Imagination YouTube channel. I’ve always loved how RLS publicly gave credit to The Brownies for his stories. Dreams. Oh no. MacWoodFleet song incoming.
I love both these books. One was written by a Dutch woman. One by an English Herefordshire man. Both describe the place in my life right now and those I can tolerate. Explanation later. Hella Haasse This novel exemplifies historical fiction at its best; the author’s meticulous research and polished style bring the medieval world… Read More In A Dark Wood Wandering vs The Old Straight Track
A new Hamish Macbeth. The Highlander who HATES liars.
After over a month with no means of escape, this new freedom is a bit overwhelming. Choices. Places. Where? D’oh. I end up about 2 minutes drive away in the garden centre looking at plants. Yay…? All I bought was a tiny Tradescantia plant. Something I used to grow and tend and adore many years… Read More Strange Blooms & Freedom
This book has been on my various bookshelves in various homes for over 30 years and – OMG – how much vitriol it has produced out of the blue. So many times a man has read the title and then tackled me. It’s been a quite amusing. Written in 1791 by Mary Wollstonecraft, this is… Read More A Vindication of the Rights of Women : Mary Wollstonecraft
The late M.C. Beaton was very disappointed when she sold the rights of her Hamish Macbeth books to TV. In the books Hamish is a well over 6ft tall, gangly Highlander with flaming red hair… and they cast the 5ft 7inch Glaswegian, Robert Carlyle in the role. Not that I have anything against Robert Carlyle.… Read More Sutherland/The South Land of the Vikings : Hamish Macbeth
What day is it today? This week has flown away in a flurry of Classics. My tasks are all done with an audiobook on in the background and it’s The Labours of Hercules. By Agatha Christie. Only I’ve listened to them backwards and today came to the first of his 12 labours. Which is OK.… Read More The Nemean Lion vs The Lions of Nemea
Anyone who has ever read a Phil Rickman novel will know about her seminal book – The Folklore of Herefordshire. Look, see. A fictional novelist can have immense power via their Historical Research Sources. Hands Up, Fair Cop. I’d probably never have come across her without Mr Rickman. Old story but true – we were… Read More She Who Saved The Stories- The Life Of Ella Mary Leather
I had such fun writing this character into a novel. Buckingham…aaah! When writing a scene with him, I’d stare for ages at the Rubens portrait and, over time, this flippant, arrogant, charming, suspicious, intriguing (!!) man emerged. Buckingham’s favourite spy was a young man called Walter Montagu. He was 19 and just out of university… Read More George Villiers, First Duke of Buckingham
OMG. I’ve had John Aylward on in the background most of the morning. I quite like these Murderer in the Family (or whatever they are called) ones. Pretty low key and “for entertainment purposes only” maybe but sometimes interesting. This one about Christina Collins came on and my brain cell went AHA! that sounds very… Read More The Wench Is Dead : Familiar Story ?
I’m old enough to’ve lived through PUNK. JeebsLoueebs – love it :o) I’m also a fan of Steampunk although it’s not something I do. I’m just a bystander/admirer. One of my favourite modern authors is Mary Gentle. Her White Crow anthology is stunning. It is six stories in one book. We have fantasy/alt history/steampunk and… Read More Stay Punk vs SteamPunk
The library/study is under renovation right now. The picture above is about one eighth of the books in the room. Look at the door on the far left of the image… The tallest of us is 6ft 6inches high and he can go through the doors without bending. Above the door is the picture rail.… Read More Books Outta The Wazoooo!
Alexander Waugh uploads once in a blue moon but it’s worth the wait. Way back in the mists of time, when researching my novel, one avenue and many shelves of books concerned 16th/17th century poets, playwrights, actors and theatres. So. Enter Ben Jonson. A man of The Few. P.S. Beware from whom you choose to… Read More Back to Shakespeare : With Ben Jonson
What is the point of deleting a ton of stuff just to sub to another load of stuff? Oh. Yes. Out With the OLD, In With the New. Though a long time consumer of Cinzia’s videos, I’ve never actually subbed to her. Pourquoi? Shrug. Maybe I now have room after clutter-clearing :o) She’s a girl… Read More Lady of The Library
I have almost every single Agatha Christie book downloaded on my ipad. Some nights, especially after a fraught day, I go to just one voice to soothe me as I fall asleep. It’s a voice that blocks out all negative thoughts gathered that day. Hugh Fraser. He’s an actor best known as Captain Hastings in… Read More Voices & Agatha Christie
My Parents’ Daughter! Mum loved Historical novels. Dad read true crime but also Dennis Wheatley. When my brothers and I cleared our Dad’s flat after he’d died, I only took two things away. His Royal Marine Commando Zippo (which my youngest son now has) and a very strange brass Asian statue, small enough to fit… Read More The False Prophet & The Devil’s Daughter
It’s been a while :o) Piss Off Early Tomorrow is Saturday. In the UK we have P.O.E.T.S Day. Many places let their employees go home an hour early. My husband is due home now. 3pm GMT. But he’s on E.R. so that may or may not happen. I’m nothing special. In fact I’m a bit… Read More POETS Day
Oscar needs no introduction. Kit (Christopher) is probably less well known. He wrote The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus in the 16th century. Both of these writers explored the phenomenon of “selling your soul to the devil.” Wilde’s book is of it’s time. Fin de siècle. End of the century. Most… Read More Kit Marlowe vs Oscar Wilde
Said it before. Saying it again – MY sense of history ends with the ’45. 1745. Scotland. Jacobite Rising. I’m not so good on the era of this book. Though – I know – Karl Marx is buried in Highgate Cemetery in London. I remember having a long conversation with Aunty Christine’s Dad in Kinghorn,… Read More Animal Farm & Not MY Era of History
I bought this book for my brother-in-law – so far back in time that he he gave me an anti-AIDS kiss. His palm on my mouth. For a time we were fooled! WTF? Maybrick? Who?When?How?Why?Where?WTFluff? The greatest thing to come out of this International HOAX is the knowledge that Florence Maybrick helped change UK Law.… Read More Tricksters Rule the World : The Diary of Jack the Ripper
I have almost 400 audiobooks on my ipad. I’ve listened to them all – some several times. Bored! Boring! Bored! I needed new words so downloaded The Floating Admiral. I already have Six Against the Yard but hadn’t fully appreciated it until I went detecting The Detection Club. OK. Awesome. The Floating Admiral had 13… Read More The Detection Club
Uncontrolled Historian 