The 23rd of April is St. George’s Day here in England. There is something inherently romantic in the many artistic depictions of St. George. He is often in full armour, brandishing a weapon, and on the verge of killing a dragon. Later on in this post, I hope to convey the importance of St. George in the history… Read on
Once again, Audible delivered the goods. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this excellent lecture series by Professor Alan Charles Kors. For those of you who study philosophy, the content may not bring anything new to the table, but for the rest of us I found it immensely enlightening. Some other reviewers have been overly harsh about Professor Kors’s delivery and… Read on
Two Sundays ago (my how time flies!), I attended the 8am Easter Sunday service at the iconic Basilica di San Marco by the Piazza San Marco, Venezia, Italy. In this, the first of a series of articles from my recent trip to Venice, I would like to briefly cover a fraction of the history of this building and… Read on
Good day to you! Today we have Art Historian Alison Lodge as our guest writer on The Seventeenth Century Lady! I’ve known Alison for several years now on Twitter, where she mainly tweets about 18th-century topics. Today, however, she’s in our century with a wonderful, fact-filled post on George Jamesone: The Scottish Van Dyck! George Jamesone: The ‘Scottish Van Dyck’… Read on
I am very pleased to have Pamela J. Womack’s company today on The Seventeenth Century Lady. I was privileged to read an Advanced Review Copy of her exquisitely crafted novel about the Duke of Buckingham – The Darling of Kings, and her love of the 17th-century shines through all of her work. The reluctant bride: A Jacobean Tragedy… Read on
Although the Battle of Blenheim took place in the 18th Century, the historical persons involved were extremely important in Late 17th-century European history. This book, published in 2005, was the second work by historian Charles Spencer that I have read, the first being his Killers of the King: The Men Who Dared to Kill Charles I, published last year… Read on
Earlier today, I went to the 2:30pm performance of John Ford’s The Broken Heart. John Ford (1586-1639) wrote this tragic play during the Caroline era (reign of Charles I). I thought it was superb and I can honestly say I have rarely had such an amazing time in a theatre. This was my first time inside the relatively… Read on
In honour of World Poetry Day, I’ve chosen John Donne’s poem, The Flea. Why? Well, what’s not to like about this classic erotic metaphysical poem? The Flea by JOHN DONNE Mark but this flea, and mark in this, How little that which thou deniest me is; It sucked me first, and now sucks thee, And in this flea our… Read on