The Very Short Introduction Series is published by the Oxford University Press and consists of an ever-increasing number of pocket-sized (11mmx17mm) introductions to a range of philosophic, scientific, literary, political, theological, historical, sociological and other subjects. The main practical joy of the books is their size: they are absolutely ideal for carrying in a pocket and being read …
Category: books
November Miscellany
Overall November has been another good month despite some bad days at the end compounded by a resurgence of back trouble. This month's miscellany is dominated by television (and quite a bit of it bad television at that!) but that is partly because I have hived off comments on other forms to separate blogs ('Three …
On The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
Powell and Pressburger's Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, with which I have opened my PandP retrospective, is my favourite film. I do not make this claim lightly or easily. and recognise that there are times when I would advance the claims of other contenders for this title. It is, however, the only contender which is also, …
Scott’s Tales of a Scottish Grandfather
Walter Scott's Tales of a Scottish Grandfather takes as a paratext the idea that he is explaining Scottish history to his grandson. In fact the degree to which Scott remembers this varies - he certainly slips in the odd reference to 'your grandfather' or 'your grandfather's grandfather', but for the majority of the time it is clear that …
A Brief Introduction to Alexander Herzen
I have been reading over the past few months Alexander Herzen's My Past and Thoughts - or, more accurately, an abridgement of My Past and Thoughts. It is a book about which I could, and probably will, write at inordinate length. Herzen is a companion for life. But I wanted to start by attempting to explain why I …
Crabbe – Tale 10: The Lover’s Journey
The Lover's Journey, in contrast to the three Tales which preceded it, is most definitely not part of any group in terms of its subject or theme. It is a poem which could very easily be taken out of the context of The Tales. It is also in many ways a sunny, happy poem and thus …
October Miscellany (2009)
Continuing with Caryl Churchill I reached Light Shining in Buckinghamshire (1977). I thought from the title that this was likely to be among my favourite of Churchill's plays and so it proved. Using her ensemble techniques she covers the radicalization, and then the confrontation with and suppression of the radicals, which occurred during the course of …
Berlin on Turgenev
In 1970 Isaiah Berlin delivered the Romanes Lecture in Oxford under the title 'Fathers and Children - Turgenev and the Liberal Predicament' ; the text is contained in the 1975 Penguin edition of Fathers and Sons. It is deeply fascinating not only for the insights which it gives into Turgenev, a man whom Berlin found …
Trollope – Short Stories – City and Country
On the renamed Trollope 19thC Studies list (see right for link) we have embarked on a year long project of reading the complete Short Stories. We have read some 13 stories so far and the main - and very obvious - conclusions I would draw are... That the quality of the stories varies wildly; some are little …
Continue reading Trollope – Short Stories – City and Country
Very Very Late August Miscellany
I have not written about the big D., my mood or what has been happening in my life for some months now. I was just preparing to do so at the very end of August and was ready to comment on how excellent July and August had been - the best August since my 'mood records' began …
Moving Toyshop 