Category Archives: Literature

Songs of the Nativity Revisited

Posted on 19/12/2020 by carolinemmurray

A few weekends ago, I was multi-tasking between Christmas cakes and reshelving books, with the Advent Service from St John’s on the radio, when I picked up William Henry Husk’s Songs of the Nativity, the cover of which is one … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Bibliography, History, Italy, Literature, Printing and Publishing | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Lepanto

Posted on 07/10/2020 by carolinemmurray

On 7 October every year, I remind my faithful Twitter followers of the anniversary of the battle of Lepanto in 1571, at which the Ottoman Turkish fleet was comprehensively defeated by the combined forces of the Holy League – the … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Biography, History, Italy, Literature, Museums and Galleries, Venice | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

The Unhappy Countess

Posted on 07/08/2020 by carolinemmurray

I was lured into reading about the melodramatic and unhappy life of Mary Eleanor Bowes (1749–1800), by the National Trust, who said, on its website on Gibside, one of her many homes, that she was a botanist. Further investigation revealed … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Biography, Botany, Gardens, History, Literature, London, Museums and Galleries | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Ruskin Relics

Posted on 24/06/2020 by carolinemmurray

I came across a reference to this 1903 book last week, and was fortunate enough to find a copy (on Abebooks), which arrived a few days ago. It was presented by ‘Miss Hutchinson’ to Alexandra Hall in 1905. Alexandra Hall … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Bibliography, Biography, History, Italy, Literature, Museums and Galleries, Printing and Publishing | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

A Secret Garden

Posted on 15/09/2019 by carolinemmurray

Of course, a great many gardens in Venice are secret – that is, invisible to the normal passer-by in the calle. But the garden of Palazzo Soranzo Cappello is probably the most famous secret garden in the city (with the … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Botany, Gardens, History, Italy, Literature, Natural history, Printing and Publishing, Venice | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

The Blackbird

Posted on 30/05/2019 by carolinemmurray

Has there ever been a spring/summer like this for blackbird song? (Except, obviously, the year in which, in late June, Edward Thomas’s train stopped unexpectedly at Adlestrop?) I’m especially fortunate in that I have two competing to outdo each other … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, History, Literature, Museums and Galleries, Natural history | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Object of the Month: February 2019

Posted on 20/02/2019 by carolinemmurray

I first came across William de Morgan in the second-hand bookshop in the stables at Wimpole Hall, an alarming number of years ago. His novel, Alice-for-Short (published 1907), was available for 50p, and I availed myself, drawn mostly by the … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Biography, Cambridge, Literature, London, Museums and Galleries | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A Bizarre Story

Posted on 30/11/2018 by carolinemmurray

Thompson Cooper (1837–1904) was the son of Charles Henry Cooper (1808–66), the distinguished Town Clerk of Cambridge, whose historical and biographical works on the city are still a major source of information. From 1842 to 1853 he published four volumes … Continue reading →

Posted in Bibliography, Biography, Cambridge, History, Italy, Literature, London, Museums and Galleries, Printing and Publishing, Venice | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Aqila and Prisila

Posted on 11/10/2018 by carolinemmurray

I have mentioned before the excitement of spotting something new in the display cases at the Fitzwilliam Museum (either because of a change-around, or simply because I’d never observed it before). The other day I noticed this ceramic dish showing … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Biography, Cambridge, History, Literature, Museums and Galleries, Printing and Publishing | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Small-Coals and Concerts

Posted on 30/09/2018 by carolinemmurray

Looking something up in the ODNB, it’s terrifyingly easy to get distracted. Who could resist the siren call of this entry heading: ‘Britton, Thomas (1644–1714), concert promoter, book collector, and coal merchant’? And, as you read on, the story of … Continue reading →

Posted in Biography, History, Literature, London, Music, Printing and Publishing | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment