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Month: March 2010

Death and the Virgin by Chris Skidmore

I mentioned this book in a “Sunday Short Takes”, but it was kind of buried so I thought I would move it to its own post and update the info now that it is available at the US Amazon.

This is the article that I linked to in the previous post – from the Times Online:

FOR more than four centuries it has been one of the great unsolved deaths of the Tudor age. Did Amy, wife of Elizabeth I

Connected Histories search engine

This sounds pretty cool –

From the BBC:

Search engine collects historical resources

A search engine is being created to help historians find useful sources.

The Connected History project will link up currently separate databases of source materials.
Once complete, it will give academics or members of the public a single site that lets them search all the collections.

Once completed the search engine will index digitised books, newspapers, manuscripts, genealogical records, maps and images that date from 1500-1900.

“There are a number of electronic resources that have been created by universities and by commercial providers,” said Professor Robert Shoemaker from the University of Sheffield which is heading the project. “They are all available, and all separate and some require subscriptions.”

“What we are trying to do is join them up to create an integrated search facility so you do not have to conduct more searches than necessary,” Professor Shoemaker told BBC News.

Full article

Here’s the project page from the Institute for Historical Research:
http://www.history.ac.uk/connectedhistories

And their blog:
http://connectedhistories.wordpress.com/

Update on blog migration

I never got around to posting an update, but it looks like all of the comments did eventually find their way over to the proper places, this blog included.

And anyone who has seen the old blog will probably note that I updated the design to a new Blogger template. I may change it more in the future, but I kind of like this one. 🙂

[Comments are closed on older posts. If you wish to make a comment, please contact Lara via the link in the sidebar.]

Stewarts get stamp of approval

I know, *groan*, but I couldn’t resist.

From the BBC:

First Mary Queen of Scots stamp issued
The first stamp featuring Mary Queen of Scots has been unveiled by Royal Mail.

t is part of a new set celebrating the royal dynasty of the Stewarts, who ruled Scotland until 1603.

TV historian and archaeologist Neil Oliver launched the stamp series at Stirling Castle, the historical home of the Stewarts.

Full article

You can get first day covers and other collectible items at the Royal Mail website.

Six Dead Queens & an Inflatable Henry

Now this looks like fun – the Piccolo Theatre in Illinois has an upcoming play called Six Dead Queens & an Inflatable Henry! which will run from mid-April to early June.

Created by The Foursight Theatre Company in Wolverhampton, England in 1999, “Six Dead Queens and an Inflatable Henry!” is a devised theatre piece packed with intrigue, rowdy good humor, and duels of words. The action takes place in eternity where Henry’s consorts are forced to spend their days and nights vaulting over each other for the top spot and the answer to the question: Who is the true Queen?

The cast members have also been humorously blogging at Six Dead Queens during their research.

Sunday short takes

A few more links that I hadn’t gotten around to posting yet:

The UK National Archives has a page on Flickr which includes, among other interesting images, the infamous “Culpepper Letter” of Kathryn Howard.

Last But Not Least: The Enduring Fascination of Katherine Parr – Guest post by Linda Porter for The Anne Boleyn Files

Leith restages its biggest ever drama 450 years on

London museums: four new openings – including the opening of Discover Greenwich which among other things, will have some displays on and artifacts from the Tudor palace.

Hilary Mantel and Wolf Hall news

Catching up with more on Wolf Hall (and yes, I know I still owe everyone a review, although at this point I’m not sure there is much my voice can add):

Last week, Wolf Hall picked up another prize, the National Book Critics Circle Award. Here’s an article from the LA Times: National Book Critics Circle Awards announced

And there was an interesting interview with Hilary Mantel in the Telegraph a few weeks ago where among other things, she does mention her work on Wolf Hall‘s sequel The Mirror and the Light: Hilary Mantel interview

And I think I forgot to post that the book is now available in paperback in the UK, but won’t be out in paperback in the US until August. Usual Amazon links below:

Round-up of links about Lady Jane Grey

Two of these come from the very excellent Lady Jane Grey Reference Guide Blog which I’m sure most of you also read, but just in case you don’t I’d like to highlight some recent posts.

In a previous post reminding people about the Delaroche exhibition and Leanda de Lisle’s talk there, I asked for anyone to let me know if they got a chance to go. Here’s a write-up from the Lady Jane Grey blog: Death Becomes Her: The Life and Afterlife of Lady Jane Grey – Lecture by Leanda de Lisle

And on a related note, here is a link to a guest post by Ms. de Lisle: DEATH BECOMES HER – BY LEANDA DE LISLE And similarly related, here is an article from The Express also by Ms. de Lisle: THE TRUTH ABOUT THE QUEEN FOR NINE DAYS

Imagined Lives: Mystery Portraits 1520-1640

From a National Portrait Gallery press release:

IMAGINED LIVES: MYSTERY PORTRAITS 1520-1640
17 March 2010-October 2011
The National Trust’s Montacute House, near Yeovil, Somerset

A new National Portrait Gallery display of unseen paintings of 16th and 17th-century mystery figures opens at one of its regional partners, the National Trust’s Montacute House, on 17 March 2010. Over the last 450 years, the identities of the sitters featured in the portraits on display have been either lost or mistaken. This will be the first opportunity to see these portraits, which have either been recently restored or not exhibited for over half a century.

Inspired by the mystery that surrounds the unknown sitters, the Gallery has invited writers John Banville, Tracy Chevalier, Julian Fellowes, Sir Terry Pratchett, Sarah Singleton, Joanna Trollope and Minette Walters to contribute short imaginative stories on what their lives might have been like. These fantasy character sketches and fictional biographies accompany the portraits in the display and help bring the sitters to life.

New research undertaken by History of Art MA students at the University of Bristol, working with Dr Tatiana String – and supervised by the Gallery’s 16th Century Curator Dr Tarnya Cooper – has meant that they can now be brought back into full view with a clearer understanding of their past.

The display features portraits of men and women whose identities are no longer known. They appear to depict courtiers, musicians, writers, soldiers and others who hoped to preserve their memory by sitting for a portrait. They were purchased by the National Portrait Gallery from 1858 to 1971. When the identity of these portraits was disproved or disputed, the paintings were often removed from display or lent to other collections. Recent conservation work and new research has meant that some portraits can now be re-identified.

Link to full text of press release

Excerpts from the stories published by the Times Online

Update: I meant to add a link about the work done to identify one of these previously un-or-mis-identified portraits. The portrait subject of the story written by Tracy Chevalier is now thought to be Sir Robert Dudley, the illegitimate son of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Here is a news release from the University of Bristol about the students who made the identification.

“Hoax” Shakespeare play may be the real deal after all

From Discovery News:

LOST SHAKESPEARE PLAY: FOUND?
An academic claims that an 18th century play, called “Double Falsehood,” was based on a work by William Shakespeare.

Is this love’s labor no longer lost? A scholar says a play written in the 18th-century is very likely based on a missing work by William Shakespeare.

After years of literary investigation, a professor at the University of Nottingham said Tuesday he’s certain “Double Falsehood, or the Distressed Lovers” was born out of “Cardenio,” a play Shakespeare scholars believe existed.

Some scholars believe Lewis Theobald’s “Double Falsehood,” first performed in London’s West End in December 1727, was based substantially on the Bard’s “Cardenio.”

“There is definitely Shakespearean DNA,” said English literature professor Brean Hammond, who has worked since 2002 to determine if “Double Falsehood” has Shakespearean roots. Arden Shakespeare, an authoritative publisher of the Bard’s works, has released an edition of the play edited by Hammond — a decision the publisher acknowledges is controversial.

Arden’s general editor, Shakespeare scholar Richard Proudfoot, agrees with Hammond and says there is no absolute way of knowing if “Double Falsehood” is based on Shakespeare’s work, but he argues it is a “sufficiently sustainable position” that it represents the play in some form.

“My position is one of fairly confident — but cautious — acceptance,” he said.

Full article

And a few more news links for this story:

The Guardian: ‘Shakespeare’s lost play’ no hoax, says expert

The Telegraph: Why William Shakespeare’s lost play is not a forgery

And also from The Telegraph: William Shakespeare’s lost play Double Falsehood: a synopsis

An Old Sea Dog

From The BBC:

Dog skeleton from Mary Rose displayed in Portsmouth

A dog which sailed aboard the Mary Rose ship 465 years ago is to take up residence in the Mary Rose Museum at the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.

The animal’s skeleton, which has been reconstructed by staff at the Mary Rose Trust, will go on display from Friday 26 March.

The dog was discovered trapped in the sliding door of the carpenter’s cabin of the Mary Rose, which sank in 1545.

The dog, named Hatch by museum staff, was probably used as a ratter.

Full article

Lots of photos of the skeleton (and other things Mary Rose) are at the MaryRose500 photostream on Flickr.

And other articles:

* From the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard website: Lost dog returns home

5 years!

While I was checking my calendar to make sure I wasn’t forgetting anything that needed to get done this weekend (besides losing an hour of sleep – blargh…) I noticed it was the 5th birthday of this blog! A blog-like thing existed on the site from 1997 (hence the “archive posts”), but I moved to an official blog 5 years ago. I still wonder what took me to long to see that it was the obvious things to replace the old “news and events” page with!

And just a little personal update – I know I have been really spotty with stuff lately (in particular the last two weeks) but I should be able to get back on top of thing soon. I was really busy at work two weeks ago and then had to work last Saturday, which of course meant that it was even harder to catch up. And then last week I was at a science meeting for four days, so not much was done during that either. But this upcoming week is Spring Break here and I’m taking it off to decompress, catch up and of course enjoy some of the craziness that explodes in my hometown this time of the year. (One of these years I’m going to be able to afford to get a badge and attend everything! I usually only end up at the public and free events.)

Oh, and totally off topic – Happy Pi Day and Happy Birthday to Albert Einstein. 🙂