I first published this article on line about four years ago. Whilst my relationship to the real life characters mentioned is tenuous after so many generations, the story may appeal to any new readers with an interest in history and classical literature. The Story of the Lee Penny Truth, Myth and Fiction ‘ “Stay, let …
2020 is here!
I would like to wish my readers success and happiness during the next twelve months. A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL! *
In Black And White [4]
Genesis of the Piano (Cristofori, Maffei and others) by Andrew G Lockhart Credit for inventing the piano belongs to an Italian, Bartolomeo Cristofori, who was born in Padua in 1655. Little is known of his early life but he must have trained as a craftsman and technician. By the beginning of the 1690s, he had …
Ivanhoe
by Sir Walter Scott A Review ‘Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? Fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer, as a Christian?’ What, you …
The Family
by Louise Jensen A Review 'I am still wrestling to be free as I am dragged, my feet scraping the ground, but I'm losing the fight ..... I know they'll never let us leave here now. Not alive anyway.' Not to be confused with Mario Puzo's splendid novel with the same title, Louise Jensen's fifth …
His Dark Materials
Ongoing Thoughts on the TV Show A couple of weeks ago, I prefaced my review of Philip Pullman's The Secret Commonwealth with a few comments on His Dark Materials, the drama currently being shown on the BBC. Even without seeing the final episode of Series 1, I can say that nothing the writer and producers …
Before It’s Too Late
by Jane Isaac A Review 'A wet sponge touched my nose. I threw my eyes open. It was not a sponge. I shuddered, darted back. A rat.' It is always good to read a novel set in places one knows quite well. Before It's Too Late is one such story, a police procedural thriller based …
