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Category Archives: English Men of Letters
Mr Chitqua, an Ingenious Chinese Artist
I can state with absolute conviction that until 10 a.m. or so on the morning of Friday 26 September 2014, I had never heard of Chitqua. Then I received a tweet from the ODNB (@odnb) announcing that one of the … Continue reading
Posted in Art and architecture, Biography, English Men of Letters, History, Travel and Exploration
Tagged China, Chitqua, Royal Academy, sculpture, Zoffany
5 Comments
A List of Books by Scots
On this momentous day, I thought it appropriate to list some of our Scots authors, who, whether published north or south of the border, have contributed so much to the intellectual life of Great Britain.
The Young Wordsworth
I mentioned back in the spring that we were soon to reissue Christopher Wordsworth’s biography of his uncle, the poet (and Poet Laureate) William. It has now arrived, and is a very good read, not least because the author quotes … Continue reading
The London Greek Committee
‘A Committee is a group of the unfit, appointed by the unwilling to do the unnecessary’ (USA, author unknown, 1952). Before the age of universal cynicism, committees were often thought to be a good thing, and a great number of … Continue reading
Posted in Biography, English Men of Letters, History
Tagged Edward Blaquiere, John Bowring, London Greek Committee, Lord Byron
3 Comments
The Vampyre Man
It was a pretty astonishing coincidence, even by the standards of the Cambridge Library Collection. Last Friday we received (among other good things) the first copy of The Diary of Dr John William Polidori, 1816, Relating to Byron, Shelley, Etc. … Continue reading
