Author Archives: carolinemmurray

‘Books and Dirtiness, the Usual Appendages of Learning’

Posted on 07/05/2015 by carolinemmurray

I had long promised myself the treat of tackling Letters Written by Eminent Persons in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, To Which Are Added, Hearne’s Journeys to Reading, and to Whaddon Hall, the Seat of Browne Willis, Esq., and Lives … Continue reading →

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Retirement: 6 Weeks In

Posted on 05/05/2015 by carolinemmurray

Well, I’ve just been sternly admonished by a friend for describing myself on my Twitter account as an ‘Old Lady’. ‘Lady of Leisure’ has been suggested, but I’ve rarely been so busy. ‘Lady in Retirement’? But that’s reminiscent of the … Continue reading →

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An Afternoon at the V&A

Posted on 20/04/2015 by carolinemmurray

… was preceded by half a morning at the Natural History Museum. I was at the latter on business, but had the great pleasure of admiring Sophie the Stegosaurus, and also of viewing the stunning Audubon birds, which I later … Continue reading →

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Nature’s Engraver

Posted on 17/04/2015 by carolinemmurray

The book I have most enjoyed reading so far in 2015 was published in 2007, and I should have got to it long since, as it was written by one of my favourite authors, Jenny Uglow, whose latest work, In … Continue reading →

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Defining Beauty

Posted on 14/04/2015 by carolinemmurray

Well, the BBC did a bit to justify the licence fee last Wednesday night. First on BBC 4 TV, the amiable Quizeum (silly name, superficial content, Griff Rhys Jones trying too hard, but none the less quite fun), then a … Continue reading →

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Retirement: Three Weeks In

Posted on 09/04/2015 by carolinemmurray

Well, so far on this voyage of discovery, I have learned that:

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Painting Paradise

Posted on 06/04/2015 by carolinemmurray

If you do nothing else in London between now and 11 October, make sure you go to this lovely exhibition at the Queen’s Gallery in London. This is my opinion, at any rate: that of Richard Dorment in Friday’s Telegraph … Continue reading →

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The Rubens Effect

Posted on 02/04/2015 by carolinemmurray

I didn’t think I liked Rubens – melodrama, Counter-Reformation, acres of female flesh – until I visited his house in Antwerp. This was achieved after a horrendous journey by car from Brussels: Belgian drivers are even worse than the French … Continue reading →

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Arthur Young, Agriculturalist

Posted on 31/03/2015 by carolinemmurray

I first came across Arthur Young (1741–1820) a very long time ago when I was involved in the production of Cambridge’s Agrarian History of England and Wales, volumes 5 and 6. The works used Arthur Young’s remarkable surveys of British … Continue reading →

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Virtual Unwrappings

Posted on 29/03/2015 by carolinemmurray

Last Friday, to the British Museum, pausing en route from King’s Cross only to snap the plaque on the house of Sir Samuel Romilly. I was meeting Him Indoors to see the ‘Ancient Lives, New Discoveries’ exhibition before it closes … Continue reading →

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