Inspiration
On the 20th November 1886 Arthur Conan Doyle sold A Study in Scarlet, the first Sherlock Holmes Story to the publisher Ward and Lock for £25. Doyle’s inspiration for the character of Sherlock Holmes came largely from his former university professor, Dr. Joseph Bell, a...
Tennyson
On the 19th November 1850 Tennyson became Poet Laureate. I’ve posted about Gutenberg and his printing press, and also William Caxton, but presses need writers as much as writers need presses. One of my favourite poets is Tennyson. Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892) was...
William Caxton
I posted a few days ago about Gutenberg and the invention of the printing press. Well, on the 18th of November 1477 William Caxton printed the first English dated printed book, "Dictes & Sayengis of the Phylosophers” in London. William Caxton (c. 1422–1491) was a...
Elizabeth I
On the 17th of November 1558 Elizabeth became England’s queen, aged 25, following the death of her half-sister Queen Mary I. My 10th great-grandfather Edmund Standen would have been nine at the time, and his elder brother Anthony just a few years older. Elizabeth came...
Ronald Knox
Today I had the horrible feeling that in The Favourite Murder, my work in progress and the fifth book of the Sir Anthony Standen Adventures, I might have broken one of Ronald Knox’s famous Ten Commandments of Detective Fiction. I checked them, and I’m happy to say...
Henrietta Maria
The French state funeral for Henrietta Maria Princess of France took place on 16th November 1669. She is a child in my work in progress, The Favourite Murder, the fifth book in The Sir Anthony Standen Adventures. Her elder sister Elizabeth has just been married off to...
Cuzco
On 15th November 1533 Cuzco was captured. Francisco Pizarro, a Spanish conquistador, is best known for his conquest of the Inca Empire and the capture of its capital, Cuzco, in 1533. His journey was driven by ambitions of wealth, power, and spreading Christianity,...
Blood Transfusion
I’ve posted previously about donating blood, and on 14th November 1666 Samuel Pepys wrote in his diary about a blood transfusion between dogs, performed by the British physician Richard Lower. The first recorded blood transfusion to a human was performed in 1667 by...
Hypnotism
I attended an exhibition by a stage hypnotist at the Oxford Union when I was a student, and what he was able to do was astonishing. It made a great impression on me. I’ve even tried a hypnosis app to improve my golf. There’s still some way to go. James Braid...
Inspiration
On the 20th November 1886 Arthur Conan Doyle sold A Study in Scarlet, the first Sherlock Holmes Story to the publisher Ward and Lock for £25. Doyle’s inspiration for the character of Sherlock Holmes came largely from his former university professor, Dr. Joseph Bell, a...
Tennyson
On the 19th November 1850 Tennyson became Poet Laureate. I’ve posted about Gutenberg and his printing press, and also William Caxton, but presses need writers as much as writers need presses. One of my favourite poets is Tennyson. Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892) was...
William Caxton
I posted a few days ago about Gutenberg and the invention of the printing press. Well, on the 18th of November 1477 William Caxton printed the first English dated printed book, "Dictes & Sayengis of the Phylosophers” in London. William Caxton (c. 1422–1491) was a...
Elizabeth I
On the 17th of November 1558 Elizabeth became England’s queen, aged 25, following the death of her half-sister Queen Mary I. My 10th great-grandfather Edmund Standen would have been nine at the time, and his elder brother Anthony just a few years older. Elizabeth came...
Ronald Knox
Today I had the horrible feeling that in The Favourite Murder, my work in progress and the fifth book of the Sir Anthony Standen Adventures, I might have broken one of Ronald Knox’s famous Ten Commandments of Detective Fiction. I checked them, and I’m happy to say...
Henrietta Maria
The French state funeral for Henrietta Maria Princess of France took place on 16th November 1669. She is a child in my work in progress, The Favourite Murder, the fifth book in The Sir Anthony Standen Adventures. Her elder sister Elizabeth has just been married off to...
Cuzco
On 15th November 1533 Cuzco was captured. Francisco Pizarro, a Spanish conquistador, is best known for his conquest of the Inca Empire and the capture of its capital, Cuzco, in 1533. His journey was driven by ambitions of wealth, power, and spreading Christianity,...
Blood Transfusion
I’ve posted previously about donating blood, and on 14th November 1666 Samuel Pepys wrote in his diary about a blood transfusion between dogs, performed by the British physician Richard Lower. The first recorded blood transfusion to a human was performed in 1667 by...
Hypnotism
I attended an exhibition by a stage hypnotist at the Oxford Union when I was a student, and what he was able to do was astonishing. It made a great impression on me. I’ve even tried a hypnosis app to improve my golf. There’s still some way to go. James Braid...