Enigma
I have long been fascinated by codes and cyphers, as readers of my Sir Anthony Standen Adventures will be aware. So today’s post is about Enigma. On the 30th of October, 1942, Lieutenant Francis Anthony Blair Fasson was drowned together with Able Seaman Colin Grazier...
Palestine
On the 29th of October, 1941, over 10,000 Jews were massacred by German soldiers at the Ninth Fort in Kaunas, Lithuania. The holocaust was already well underway. In the wake of the holocaust it is virtually impossible to deny the right of the Jewish people to a...
Siege of La Rochelle
The siege of La Rochelle ended on the 28th of October, 1628, after fourteen months. It falls beyond the span of my work in progress, The Favourite Murder, the fifth book in the Sir Anthony Standen Adventures. However it does introduce Cardinal Richelieu, a key figure...
Michael Servetus
On the 27th of October, 1553, Michael Servetus was burnt alive on a pyre of his own books. He features in Called to Account, the fourth book in the Sir Anthony Standen Adventures. A key character, Manuel, is a doctor of medicine. The main theme of the book is racism...
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
The gunfight at the O.K. Corral was fought on the 26th of October, 1881. My father loved Westerns, and they were pretty much the only books he would read. So I rather grew up watching a lot of westerns, although my reading was much more varied. The gunfight at the...
Saint Crispin
The 25th of October is Saint Crispin’s Day. Crispin and Crispinian, also known as Saints Crispin and Crispinian, were twin brothers who became revered figures in Christian hagiography, celebrated as the patron saints of cobblers, tanners, and leather workers. Their...
The Peace of Westphalia
The Peace of Westphalia was signed on the 24th of October, 1648, bringing to an end both the Thirty Years’ War and the Eighty Years’ War. Regular readers will know that the Eighty Years’ War was my ancestor, Sir Anthony Standen’s war. He spied for Walsingham against...
Auld Alliance
On the 23rd of October, 1295, the first treaty forming the Auld Alliance between Scotland and France against England was signed in Paris. Origins and Formation The origins of the Auld Alliance lie in the complex power dynamics of late 13th-century Europe. England,...
Sam Houston
On the 22nd of October, 1836, Sam Houston was inaugurated as the first President of the Republic of Texas. I confess that I know little about Sam Houston other than that John Wayne and Richard Widmark were waiting for him to arrive with an army and relieve the siege...
Enigma
I have long been fascinated by codes and cyphers, as readers of my Sir Anthony Standen Adventures will be aware. So today’s post is about Enigma. On the 30th of October, 1942, Lieutenant Francis Anthony Blair Fasson was drowned together with Able Seaman Colin Grazier...
Palestine
On the 29th of October, 1941, over 10,000 Jews were massacred by German soldiers at the Ninth Fort in Kaunas, Lithuania. The holocaust was already well underway. In the wake of the holocaust it is virtually impossible to deny the right of the Jewish people to a...
Siege of La Rochelle
The siege of La Rochelle ended on the 28th of October, 1628, after fourteen months. It falls beyond the span of my work in progress, The Favourite Murder, the fifth book in the Sir Anthony Standen Adventures. However it does introduce Cardinal Richelieu, a key figure...
Michael Servetus
On the 27th of October, 1553, Michael Servetus was burnt alive on a pyre of his own books. He features in Called to Account, the fourth book in the Sir Anthony Standen Adventures. A key character, Manuel, is a doctor of medicine. The main theme of the book is racism...
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
The gunfight at the O.K. Corral was fought on the 26th of October, 1881. My father loved Westerns, and they were pretty much the only books he would read. So I rather grew up watching a lot of westerns, although my reading was much more varied. The gunfight at the...
Saint Crispin
The 25th of October is Saint Crispin’s Day. Crispin and Crispinian, also known as Saints Crispin and Crispinian, were twin brothers who became revered figures in Christian hagiography, celebrated as the patron saints of cobblers, tanners, and leather workers. Their...
The Peace of Westphalia
The Peace of Westphalia was signed on the 24th of October, 1648, bringing to an end both the Thirty Years’ War and the Eighty Years’ War. Regular readers will know that the Eighty Years’ War was my ancestor, Sir Anthony Standen’s war. He spied for Walsingham against...
Auld Alliance
On the 23rd of October, 1295, the first treaty forming the Auld Alliance between Scotland and France against England was signed in Paris. Origins and Formation The origins of the Auld Alliance lie in the complex power dynamics of late 13th-century Europe. England,...
Sam Houston
On the 22nd of October, 1836, Sam Houston was inaugurated as the first President of the Republic of Texas. I confess that I know little about Sam Houston other than that John Wayne and Richard Widmark were waiting for him to arrive with an army and relieve the siege...