Research, Power, and Propaganda

Research, Power, and Propaganda

I will get to propaganda, but first a progress update. I’ve carried out a lot of research, but I feel I should actually be writing book 5 of the Sir Anthony Standen Adventures. I have read biographies of Louis XIII, Cardinal Richelieu and Marie de Medici. The term...

read more
The Babington Plot

The Babington Plot

Mary Queen of Scots sent a coded reply, on this day in 1586, to a letter she had received from Anthony Babington a week earlier. In her reply she ordered Babington and his co-conspirators to assassinate her cousin Queen Elizabeth I. Unfortunately for her, Francis...

read more
Martin Luther

Martin Luther

Martin Luther debated with Johann Eck at Pleissenburg Castle in Leipzig on this day in 1519. During the debate Luther denied the divine right of the pope. Luther challenged the teachings and practices of the Catholic Church, particularly its sale of indulgences. He...

read more
Language of Espionage

Language of Espionage

Yesterday I posted about John Le Carré. Today I turned the final page of A Legacy of Spies. What a wonderful book it is, I doff my cap to the master. I also mentioned the author’s pro-European, anti-Brexit views. He expresses his pro Europe belief through George...

read more
A Legacy of Spies

A Legacy of Spies

I am reading A Legacy of Spies by John Le Carré. Viking published it in 2017 and then Penguin published it in 2018. This book is gripping. I’m only putting it down to write my blog, it’s been a few days since my last post. It is written in the first person, with Peter...

read more
Sea Beggars and the the Gorkum Martyrs

Sea Beggars and the the Gorkum Martyrs

On this day in 1572 Admiral William de la Marck ordered the execution of nineteen Catholic priests in the Dutch town of Brielle. Prince William of Orange had issued an order that priests were not to be molested, but de la Marck ignored this instruction. They became...

read more
Sedgemoor, Errol Flynn, Spies, and Robinson Crusoe

Sedgemoor, Errol Flynn, Spies, and Robinson Crusoe

On this day in 1685, James II’s army defeated the Duke of Monmouth’s forces, at the Battle of Sedgemoor. Monmouth's rebel army, largely comprised of discontented peasants and Protestant supporters, faced off against the well-trained and disciplined forces of King...

read more
The Carew family and Antony House

The Carew family and Antony House

Today we visited Antony House, the home of the Carew family. There is a painting of Charles I at his trial displayed in the main hall. John Carew was one of the 59 men who signed King Charles I’s death warrant. When Charles II took the throne, he vowed to execute all...

read more
Earl of Essex

Earl of Essex

I use the onthisday.com website to inspire many of my posts. Sometimes I see something on my travels which gives me an idea. Yesterday my walk to Plymouth Hoe triggered my post about the Spanish Armada. I explained that there were three armadas, and that Sir Anthony...

read more
Research, Power, and Propaganda

Research, Power, and Propaganda

I will get to propaganda, but first a progress update. I’ve carried out a lot of research, but I feel I should actually be writing book 5 of the Sir Anthony Standen Adventures. I have read biographies of Louis XIII, Cardinal Richelieu and Marie de Medici. The term...

read more
The Babington Plot

The Babington Plot

Mary Queen of Scots sent a coded reply, on this day in 1586, to a letter she had received from Anthony Babington a week earlier. In her reply she ordered Babington and his co-conspirators to assassinate her cousin Queen Elizabeth I. Unfortunately for her, Francis...

read more
Martin Luther

Martin Luther

Martin Luther debated with Johann Eck at Pleissenburg Castle in Leipzig on this day in 1519. During the debate Luther denied the divine right of the pope. Luther challenged the teachings and practices of the Catholic Church, particularly its sale of indulgences. He...

read more
Language of Espionage

Language of Espionage

Yesterday I posted about John Le Carré. Today I turned the final page of A Legacy of Spies. What a wonderful book it is, I doff my cap to the master. I also mentioned the author’s pro-European, anti-Brexit views. He expresses his pro Europe belief through George...

read more
A Legacy of Spies

A Legacy of Spies

I am reading A Legacy of Spies by John Le Carré. Viking published it in 2017 and then Penguin published it in 2018. This book is gripping. I’m only putting it down to write my blog, it’s been a few days since my last post. It is written in the first person, with Peter...

read more
Sea Beggars and the the Gorkum Martyrs

Sea Beggars and the the Gorkum Martyrs

On this day in 1572 Admiral William de la Marck ordered the execution of nineteen Catholic priests in the Dutch town of Brielle. Prince William of Orange had issued an order that priests were not to be molested, but de la Marck ignored this instruction. They became...

read more
Sedgemoor, Errol Flynn, Spies, and Robinson Crusoe

Sedgemoor, Errol Flynn, Spies, and Robinson Crusoe

On this day in 1685, James II’s army defeated the Duke of Monmouth’s forces, at the Battle of Sedgemoor. Monmouth's rebel army, largely comprised of discontented peasants and Protestant supporters, faced off against the well-trained and disciplined forces of King...

read more
The Carew family and Antony House

The Carew family and Antony House

Today we visited Antony House, the home of the Carew family. There is a painting of Charles I at his trial displayed in the main hall. John Carew was one of the 59 men who signed King Charles I’s death warrant. When Charles II took the throne, he vowed to execute all...

read more
Earl of Essex

Earl of Essex

I use the onthisday.com website to inspire many of my posts. Sometimes I see something on my travels which gives me an idea. Yesterday my walk to Plymouth Hoe triggered my post about the Spanish Armada. I explained that there were three armadas, and that Sir Anthony...

read more