Richard Lawrence
For the 30th of January I am drawn to two candidates for my post. They are Adolph Hitler, who took office as Chancellor of Germany on this day in 1933, and Richard Lawrence who in 1835 made the first assassination attempt against a President of the United States when...
Antipope Christopher
Usually I am spoilt for choice and I have to check that I haven’t written about the subject before. However the 29th of January offers me only two topics in the pre-1600 category. Sergios III came out of retirement to be elected pope from the deposed antipope...
Speeding
Looking for subjects to write about today, I can hardly believe that I am going to pass over the publication of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice in favour of Walter Arnold of East Peckham. Don’t tell my wife, Claire, or I’ll be in trouble. I’ll make it up to Jane...
Dante
On the 27th of January, 1302, Dante Alighieri was condemned in absentia and exiled from Florence. Dante Alighieri (c. 1265–1321) is one of the towering figures of Western literature, a poet whose life of political turmoil, exile, and intellectual ambition gave rise to...
Battle of Ula
The Battle of Ula was fought on the 26th of January, 1564, between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and (guess who) Russia. Guess who won, (spoiler alert) Lithuania. It was one of the most important Lithuanian victories over Tsardom of Muscovy in the sixteenth century....
Nellie Bly
On the 25th of January, 1890, Nellie Bly completed her round-the-world journey in 72 days. Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne was published in 1872, and Nellie was trying to emulate the hero, Phileas Fogg. I have posted about Sir Francis Drake’s...
History
It can’t have escaped the attention of visitors to my website that I write historical fiction. Since discovering my ancestor, the Elizabethan spy, Sir Anthony Standen, I have become a bit of an amateur historian. My formal education in history ended after the third...
King Henry VIII
I have posted about the Tudor period many times, not least anything concerning my ancestor, the Elizabethan spy Sir Anthony Standen. I have written about a few of his wives: Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Catherine of Aragon, and Catherine Parr, but I have not, until now,...
Rorke’s Drift
On the 23rd of January, 1879, the Battle of Rorke’s Drift ended. It is depicted in the classic 1964 film Zulu, directed by Cy Endfield, and starring Michael Cane, Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobssen and many others. The Battle of Rorke’s Drift, fought on the...
Richard Lawrence
For the 30th of January I am drawn to two candidates for my post. They are Adolph Hitler, who took office as Chancellor of Germany on this day in 1933, and Richard Lawrence who in 1835 made the first assassination attempt against a President of the United States when...
Antipope Christopher
Usually I am spoilt for choice and I have to check that I haven’t written about the subject before. However the 29th of January offers me only two topics in the pre-1600 category. Sergios III came out of retirement to be elected pope from the deposed antipope...
Speeding
Looking for subjects to write about today, I can hardly believe that I am going to pass over the publication of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice in favour of Walter Arnold of East Peckham. Don’t tell my wife, Claire, or I’ll be in trouble. I’ll make it up to Jane...
Dante
On the 27th of January, 1302, Dante Alighieri was condemned in absentia and exiled from Florence. Dante Alighieri (c. 1265–1321) is one of the towering figures of Western literature, a poet whose life of political turmoil, exile, and intellectual ambition gave rise to...
Battle of Ula
The Battle of Ula was fought on the 26th of January, 1564, between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and (guess who) Russia. Guess who won, (spoiler alert) Lithuania. It was one of the most important Lithuanian victories over Tsardom of Muscovy in the sixteenth century....
Nellie Bly
On the 25th of January, 1890, Nellie Bly completed her round-the-world journey in 72 days. Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne was published in 1872, and Nellie was trying to emulate the hero, Phileas Fogg. I have posted about Sir Francis Drake’s...
History
It can’t have escaped the attention of visitors to my website that I write historical fiction. Since discovering my ancestor, the Elizabethan spy, Sir Anthony Standen, I have become a bit of an amateur historian. My formal education in history ended after the third...
King Henry VIII
I have posted about the Tudor period many times, not least anything concerning my ancestor, the Elizabethan spy Sir Anthony Standen. I have written about a few of his wives: Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Catherine of Aragon, and Catherine Parr, but I have not, until now,...
Rorke’s Drift
On the 23rd of January, 1879, the Battle of Rorke’s Drift ended. It is depicted in the classic 1964 film Zulu, directed by Cy Endfield, and starring Michael Cane, Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobssen and many others. The Battle of Rorke’s Drift, fought on the...