Kristine Hughes's Blog, page 76

A MESSAGE FROM THE QUEEN

A MESSAGE FROM THE QUEEN
To the citizens of the United States of America from Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth IIIn light of your failure in recent years to nominate competent candidates for President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately. (You should look up 'revocation' in the Oxford English Dictionary.)Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths, and territories (except North Dakota, which she does not fancy).Your new Prime Minister, David Cameron, will appoint a Governor for America without the need for further elections.Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire may be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed.To aid in the transition to a British Crown dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:-----------------------1. The letter 'U' will be reinstated in words such as 'colour,' 'favour,' 'labour' and 'neighbour.' Likewise, you will learn to spell 'doughnut' without skipping half the letters, and the suffix '-ize' will be replaced by the suffix '-ise.' Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. (look up 'vocabulary').------------------------2. Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as ''like' and 'you know' is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. There is no such thing as U.S. English. We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take into account the reinstated letter 'u'' and the elimination of '-ize.'-------------------3. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday.-----------------4. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers, or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you're not quite ready to be independent. Guns should only be used for shooting grouse. If you can't sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist, then you're not ready to shoot grouse.----------------------5. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. Although a permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.----------------------6. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left side with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables. Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour.--------------------7. The former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been calling gasoline) of roughly $10/US gallon. Get used to it.-------------------8. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut, fried in animal fat, and dressed not with catsup but with vinegar.-------------------9. The cold, tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to as beer, and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as Lager. South African beer is also acceptable, as they are pound for pound the greatest sporting nation on earth and it can only be due to the beer. They are also part of the British Commonwealth - see what it did for them. American brands will be referred to as Near-Frozen Gnat's Urine, so that all can be sold without risk of further confusion.---------------------10. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as good guys. Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors to play English characters. Watching Andie Macdowell attempt English dialect in Four Weddings and a Funeral was an experience akin to having one's ears removed with a cheese grater.---------------------11. You will cease playing American football. There is only one kind of proper football; you call it soccer. Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American football, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies).---------------------12. Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the World Series for a game which is not played outside of America. Since only 2.1% of you are aware there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. You will learn cricket, and we will let you face the South Africans first to take the sting out of their deliveries.--------------------13.. You must tell us who killed JFK. It's been driving us mad.-----------------14. An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from Her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all monies due (backdated to 1776).---------------15. Daily Tea Time begins promptly at 4 p.m. with proper cups, with saucers, and never mugs, with high quality biscuits (cookies) and cakes; plus strawberries (with cream) when in season.

God Save the Queen!

Note: We found this again on our Facebook page. We've no idea who to give credit to - if you do, please let us know and we will edit and attribute accordingly. 

LOOSE IN LONDON: A NIGHT ON THE TOWN

Always looking for a new London adventure, one night Victoria and I took Diane and her sister, Marilyn, to Mr. Foggs in Mayfair for a drink. Hidden away on Bruton Lane, there's no outward sign that an establishment of any sort is housed behind the Victorian facades that line the street. Up a few steps to the door, one has to knock in order to summon the door keep to slide the peep hole back. It's at this point that one is tempted to say something suitably snarky, such as "Rick sent me" or "Let us in, we'e got a fresh body for ye" or even "The password is Brummell." None of these are necessary as, unless one looks truly iffy, the door is typically opened to admit you into another world - the world of Victorian London and the townhouse of Around the World in 80 Days adventurer Phinneas Fog. 




Here a review of the place from The Nudge -



Picture the scene.You’ve instructed your date to meet you on Conduit Street in Mayfair.They’re excited. And happy.You stroll together through Mayfair, past restaurants and designer boutiques; past jewellers and art galleries. There’s a spring in their step, and a smile on their face…….until you direct them down a dingy back alleyway - menacingly encased on every side by concrete, shadows and high-rise office buildings - which they intuitively believe can only lead in one direction: towards their brutal and untimely death. But just around the corner relief sets in, as they spot Victorian lanterns hanging outside the immaculate exterior of a truly glimmering beacon of peculiarity: the fictional home of Mr. Phileas Fogg… which you can call “Mr. Fogg’s”.Because that’s its name.After climbing the steps to Fogg’s abode - having possibly just manoeuvred yourself around a horse and carriage in the street, depending on which night you go - you’ll enter the madcap home of one of fiction’s most eccentric adventurers, which overflows with artifacts and trinkets collected from his travels. Stuffed Indian tiger heads, whole crocodiles and umbrella stands made from elephants’ feet; portraits of Fogg’s ancestors; wall-mounted busts of the man’s favourite pets; annotated maps and pictures from his travels; birdcages, bicycles and one large penny-farthing swinging from the ceiling, alongside the very hot air balloon in which he travelled the world for 80 days.






Expect to see staff clad in military uniforms - coloured according to their seniority within the household - serving up absinthe aperitifs, sazeracs and stirrup cups. Expect to enjoy live sing-alongs around the piano; expect monthly visits from Mr.Fogg himself, who will regale you with tales from his most recent travels……and expect your date to be excited.  And happy.




And happy we were, as you can see by the photo below - drinks in a Victorian parlor, served up by attractive men in period uniforms . . . . . . bliss.




Period details abounded and were arranged around the walls - and floors, and ceiling - as far as the eye could see. In fact, period details were also found in the ladies loo.







From here we took a cab to Soho for dinner - stay tuned for that adventure, coming soon!

WATERLOO WEDNESDAY: WATERLOO POP-UP PUB

Go back to 1815 with the National Army Museum’s pop-up pub. Marking the 200-year anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June 2015 the National Army Museum is launching a touring pub, aptly named the Duke of Wellington, to educate and entertain families and budding historians around the country.
The pop-up pub will be starting its journey at Waterloo Station on 1 May 2015, where Napoleonic soldiers will serve commuters pints of history. The pub will then travel across the country - serving up Waterloo facts to the nation. The Duke of Wellington pop-up pub will be visiting the following locations:
•       Halifax: Woolshops Shopping Centre (9 May)•       Taunton: Castle Green (16 May)•       Liverpool: Paradise Place (28 May)•       Royal Norfolk County Show (1 and 2 July)  Inside this family-friendly pub are also a number of fun activities; each designed to teach a little more about Waterloo.
•       Meet the publican, bar maid, soldier and civilian and hear them recount their stories from the time of Waterloo•       See if the styles of the time would have suited you by dressing up in period clothing•       Take the place of one of Wellington’s soldiers at the fun photoboard•       Play an iPad game offering brave souls the chance to try their luck on the Battlefield, and work their way up the ranks•       Pick up a ‘pint of information’ and a Waterloo medal sticker








New research released early this month from the National Army Museum revealed that three-quarters of Brits have little or no knowledge about the Battle of Waterloo. Just half of Brits know Wellington led the British Army at Waterloo and it showed that young people associate Waterloo with the London station, ABBA song and BBC’s Waterloo Road over the Battle.
The National Army Museum’s pop-up pub is the perfect way to ensure you know your Waterloo history in time for the bicentenary. Designed to replicate pubs from the early 19th Century, visitors will be greeted by one of a number of period characters all with their own Waterloo tales to tell. Find out what Waterloo was like for those who affected by the Battle. Meet Private Edward Dooley, a returning solider, whose battalion was very inexperienced and known for recruiting underage soldiers into their ranks.  Or John Harrison, a 19th Century farm labourer who refused to join the army a year before the Battle. Visitors may even come across the Joseph Hill, the publican and ex solider, or his barmaid Elizabeth McMullen, whose husband was badly wounded at the Battle.
All newly qualified Waterloo experts will be served up a ‘pint of information’ and given a Waterloo Medal sticker to take away with them. Furthermore, for one lucky gamer there’s even a chance to win a trip for four people to stay on the battle ground at Hougoumont, Belgium, courtesy of The Landmark Trust and Eurostar.
The Battle of Waterloo was the first time soldiers were awarded with a medal and pension. Upon returning home, a number of soldiers used their pensions to open their own pubs. These publicans named their pubs after Waterloo related events - ever drunk in The Calvary Arms, The Cannon or The Wellington? - these are all nods to Waterloo.
The Duke of Wellington Pop-Up Pub tour is a part of the Waterloo Lives programme from the National Army Museum, offering a number of entertaining and educational events across the country, including exhibitions, art displays and lectures.







The Battle of Waterloo took place on 18 June 1815, when the British and Prussian forces, under the command of Duke of Wellington, halted the advance of French Army in Belgium. The bloody battle claimed the lives of 65,000 of the 200,000 men that took part, and saw the defeat of Napoleon, ending his reign as Emperor of France and ushering in a period of peace following years of war in Europe.
The National Army Museum is commemorating the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo with a this with a nationwide programme of events, activities and displays, under the theme ‘Waterloo Lives’. This stream of events aims to bring Waterloo to life through the stories of those who fought in the Battle. Through family-friendly and captivating activities NAM hopes to educate Britons of all ages about the importance of Waterloo. The events include a number of Pop Up activities and regimental museum exhibitions.
For more information about the National Army Museum’s Waterloo Lives programme, or to learn more about the Battle through digital gallery of 200 objects please visit  www.waterloo200.org
The Pop-Up Pub activity and Waterloo Lives programme is part of the National Army Museum’s ‘Building for the Future’ project, which has been generously funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. 




About the National Army Museum:Founded in 1960 by Royal Charter, the National Army Museum was established for the purpose of collecting, preserving and exhibiting objects and records relating to the Land Forces of the British Crown.The Museum seeks to tell the story of the British Army and the personal experiences of the soldiers who have served in it. Working to inspire, challenge and educate, the Museum aims to connect the British public and its Army, demonstrating how the role of the Army and its actions are still relevant today. HM The Queen opened the National Army Museum in 1970 but a major transformation, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund means the Museum’s site in Chelsea is currently closed until 2016.  In the meantime, visit:  www.nam.ac.uk  for a wealth of British Army history, research tools, learning facilities and details of outreach events around the country.
The Museum is now closed for preparatory activity for the project, set to reopen in 2016. For more information and updates on Building for the Future visit  www.nam.ac.uk/future.
About Heritage Lottery FundUsing money raised through the National Lottery, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) aims to make a lasting difference for heritage, people and communities across the UK and help build a resilient heritage economy. HLF has supported 36,000 projects with £6bn across the UK. www.hlf.org.uk @heritagelottery

WHAT JANE SAW: JANINE BARCHAS ON BUILDING THE WEBSITE

Wouldn't we rejoice if we could see London, Hampshire -- ANYTHING -- through Jane Austen's eyes?

What Jane SawPrint by Rowlandson, 1796
Of course we can, all due to Austen Scholar and University of Texas professor Janine Barchas and her students.  They have recreated digitally the exhibition of 1814 which Jane Austen atttended at the British Institution, 52 Pall Mall, and you can visit too. Just click on the caption above and you will arrive ready to see the display.

U. of Texas Professor Barchas
And how about the plays Jane Austen saw in London, Bath, or even in the barn at the Austen family home in Steventon?  We had a taste of these too at the Chicago Spring Gala, presented by William Phillips and the Terra Mysterium Theatre group featuring Debra Ann Miller.
William Phillips

Terra Mysterium Theater Ensemble
First, the art Jane saw.  The exhibition we see was a first for London: a one-man show, in fact a retrospective of paintings by Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792), the first president of the Royal Academy.  Jane Austen wrote of visiting several galleries in May of 1814, mentioning this one in particular. But how do we know what she saw?


George III, 1781, Royal Academy, Number 1 in the exhibition 
Professor Barchas discovered a catalogue from the exhibition, numbering the pictures and providing the room numbers, sizes, and walls, though not the arrangement of pictures. Next she had to locate the contemporary location of each picture.  Some were well-known, beloved and easy to find, such as the renowned portrait below.
Mrs. Siddons as The Tragic Muse, 1784, Huntington Art Gallery
A few paintings could not be located and may have been lost in fires or other disasters. But I think every observer will agree it is an amazing feat to have reconstructed the exhibition. The full story can be found here. 
Though the building is London is long gone, two additional paintings of the British Institution gave the team some clues to its appearance.
John Scarlett Davis (1804-1845), Interior of British Institution, 1929Yale Center for British Art
Alfred Joseph Woolmer (1805-1892) Interior of the British Institution Yale Center for British Art
The two paintings above also show the interior with its arches, center stairway, and in the lower picture, a fireplace, which turned out to be rather important for the arrangement of the pictures.
Professor Barchas's team built the interactive website starting with a Google Sketch-up program and went from there. I can understand HOW they did it and WHY, but could I do it?  Assuredly not.  However, even non-tekky me has no trouble negotiating the website and learning about the exhibition, the building, the pictures -- all of it. You can too, for it is truly user-friendly. All of the students and faculty are listed here, if you just scroll down.

The British Institution, 53 Pall Mall, as it appeared in 1851The building was designed by George Dance the Younger and built in 1788 for the Boydell Shakespeare Gallery.

The UT team has not rested upon its laurels.  They are deep into a new project recreating the Shakespeare Gallery as it appeared about 1796 at the same set of rooms that later became the British Institution.  On these premises John Boydell (1752-1817) created a gallery of paintings from Shakespeare's plays. 
Hogarth's Richard III

Using some of the same template as What Jane Saw, the University of Texas team led by Professor Barchas is recreating a version of the Boydell Shakespeare Gallery which operated from 1789 to the early years of the 19th century.


Puck, by Sir Joshua Reynolds, appears in both virtual galleries

In addition to charging for admission to the Shakespeare Gallery, Boydell also planned to earn his investment and a profit from selling a book of engravings of the paintings. It was for enjoyment at home, an early "coffee-table" book. Though the gallery ultimately failed as a business venture, the images of Shakespeare's plays and how they were performed were very popular and influenced the way we see the Bard even today.
However, many of the paintings, when sold, were too large to be exhibited in buyer's houses and many of them were cut up, as shown below.  Some of the fragments can be located and thus the colors and the original sizes can be ascertained from the black and white engravings, which were all about the same size in the folios.
Engraving of Miranda, Prospero, and Calibanfrom Boydell's folio


Only remaining fragment:  ProsperoYork Museums Trust

Henry Fuseli (1741-1825)  Prospero, Miranda and Caliban, 1803

The above three images represent how the pictures have been recreated when only fragments remain, as a combination of good research, detective work , and technological skill.

from Troilus and Cressida, Lady Hamilton as Cassandrafragment in private collection

This is only one of the myriad problems to be solved in creating the website. In addition, further technological advances and experiments are planned with such things as 3-D goggles and more.

The Shakespeare Gallery from Professor Barchas and her team will debut on the net in December, 2015, to celebrate 2016's 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death. A further exhibition will be mounted at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington D. C. in the Fall of 2016.  Entitled "Will and Jane: Shakespeare, Austen, and the Cult of Celebrity," it is co-curated by Professor Janine Barchas of the University of Texas, and theater historian Kristin Straub of Carnegie Mellon University.  The exhibit will examine the way Shakespeare's work was presented and celebrated in Jane Austen's Day, and it will compare the memorabilia and marketing of that day with the way Jane Austen is marketed today.
After a delicious luncheon, William Phillips presented a talk on "What Jane Saw at the Theatre."
 Contrary to the opinion that Jane Austen was anti-theatrical, Philips explained how she enjoyed family productions in her childhood and wrote some fragmentary (and somewhat silly) plays that can be found among her juvenilia.

The enthusiastic response to Phillips' talk and the tidbits performed capped a delightful day at JASNA-GCR (Greater Chicago Region).

Program Chair Debra Ann Miller and GCR Coordinator Jeffrey Nigro
Victoria Hinshaw and Janine Barchas

Thanks to everyone involved for a great program.

WHAT KRISTINE SAW FROM THE WINDOWS: OSTERLEY PARK

ARCHITECTURAL DETAIL: OSTERLEY PARK

THE ALICE LOOK AT THE MUSEUM OF CHILDHOOD

The Alice Look 2 May – 1 November 2015 
2015 marks the 150th anniversary of the first publication of one of Britain’s best-known and most-loved children’s books, Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. To mark the anniversary, the V&A Museum of Childhood’s display The Alice Look will bring together garments, photographs, rare editions and illustrations to show Alice as both a follower of fashion and a trendsetter.

Using photographs by Annie Leibovitz, book cover designs by Vivienne Westwood and Japanese Lolita clothing, The Alice Look will show how Alice has always embraced contemporary style. The display will also show how she has strongly influenced the way people dress and inspired designers and stylists the world over. The display culminates with a new commission by Josie Smith, pattern-cutter for Roksanda Ilincic, who will make fashion literally out of fiction, producing a 3-D version of Alice’s Wonderland outfit using fabric printed with text from the book.

The display will be divided into four parts: Beginnings will twin early editions of the Alice books with children’s garments from the Victorian period. Sir John Tenniel’s illustrations will be brought to life alongside the distinctive trademark elements of the original Alice look - striped stockings, apron, full-skirted dress and T-bar shoes from the V and A’s collections.

Follower of Fashion will show how illustrators have kept Alice relevant and up-to-date for contemporary audiences through a selection of 20th-century editions of Wonderland.

Inspiration will use magazines, photographs, posters and fabrics, as well as a compilation of films and still shots, to show how a vast array of people dress like Alice or wear clothes adorned with her image. A series of photographs that Annie Liebovitz shot for US Vogue featuring Natalia Vodianova and styled by Grace Coddington will sit alongside images of Lizzy Jagger in GQ. A selection of fabrics and supporting artwork from the Liberty Spring Summer 2015 Alice-themed fabric collection will demonstrate how Carroll’s work continues to excite and inspire. There will also be a film showing clips of pop videos and catwalk shows inspired by Alice, featuring Gwen Stefani, Avril Lavigne and Aerosmith among others.

Global Alice will combine costume and text to show how Alice’s appearance alters according to her location: Provençal Alice wears tropézienne sandals and a sundress, whilst a Swahili Alice dispenses with crinoline and opts for a local kanga. A complete Lolita-style outfit from the 1980s will show the pervasive influence of Alice on Japanese sub-culture.

On Saturday 9 May 2015 a one-day conference will be held at the Museum exploring Alice as both follower of fashion and trend-setter, with papers spanning the century and half since the publication of Wonderland. It will look closely at what Alice wears and what this can tell us about her, and at some of the diverse practices of dressing as Alice in different parts of the world. It will also explore the extent of and reasons for the profound influence of the Alice books on the world of fashion. Confirmed speakers will include Will Brooker, Aneesh Barai, Shahidha Bari, Ellen Kirkpatrick, Emma Mawston, Clare Rose, Mark Richards, Josephine Rout and Kiera Vaclavik.

You can visit the Museum of Childhood's website here.

LOOSE IN LONDON: BELOW STAIRS AT OSTERLEY PARK

Kristine here, picking up at Osterley Park where Victoria left off. We took the train out to Osterley and walked to the estate from the station. It was a glorious walk and seeing the grounds from different viewpoints was indeed special.

MAP OF ESTATE, CROPPED

As we began our walk towards the house, we noticed horses loose in the paddock and, of course, we were compelled to speak to them, to pet them and to take about 718 photos of them.





As you can see by the photos, the horses were quite friendly. I was a tad surprised to see a Palomino in England, but then, why shouldn't there be?




Further up the drive, we spotted a pair playing table tennis. 

At last, we reached the house, as you are well aware after Victoria's fabulous photos that ran in last Friday's post. The house was just stunning and I spent much of our time there taking pictures of the architectural details and of the views from various windows, all of which I'll be sharing here soon.
Osterley's downstairs is as fabulous as its upstairs as the domestic areas in the basement remain relatively in their original state - and there are so many of them, more than can be seen in other stately homes.




I apologize for the shaky photos, but they may still go a ways towards showing you how well turned out some of the "servants" rooms were. Above is the game keepers room, the house keepers salon below. 





You can tell that the servants were valued at Osterley Park - they actually had windows to provide light, fresh air and a view. 



Here is the wine room - barrels of wine and beer would have been fitted into each compartment. 


More wine! And champagne! Sadly, there was no tasting on this tour. 



Even the Osterley horses were well regarded, as evidenced by the grand stable block above, now fitted out with a gift shop and tea room.  
As you can see by the photos below, Victoria and I stopped by the Osterley farm stand on our way back to the station.  The fruit and veg were simply gorgeous and Victoria and I snapped away with our cameras until I had a laughing fit. 
"What's so funny," Victoria asked as I doubled over with laughter.
"We're taking a hundred pictures of cabbage," I said, tears running down my face.
"So?" Victoria replied, snap snapping away with her camera.
"Oh, God," I said, "Veg! We're photographing veg. Would you take pictures of cabbage and potatoes if we were in the produce section at Publix?"
Victoria finally saw the humour and began laughing herself. "But it's British veg."
"I know! That's what's so funny. If anyone saw us, they'd think we were from some third world country where onions are a luxury. Thank God no one else is here - they'd think we were mad."
"Now you're worried about that? It's too late. People who know us already think we're mad."







More Loose in London Coming Soon!

WATERLOO WEDNESDAY: SEAN BEAN TO STAR IN WATERLOO DOCUMENTARY

Actor Sean Bean has been spotted filming at Chatham's Fort Amherst. The star joined dozens of re-enactors at the Napoleonic fort to make a Battle of Waterloo documentary.


Fort Amherst was used extensively during the filming of acclaimed television series Sharpe in the 1990s, which starred Sean Bean as Richard Sharpe, a fictional British soldier in the Napoleonic Wars.



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Actor and director Sean Bean


He was back at the Fort in Dock Road to front the two-hour show to be aired on History UK.
Through the analysis of present-day military experts and the use of historical eyewitness accounts, the programme is planning to provide a ground-level perspective on the events of June 18, 1815.
It will air on the 200th anniversary of the battle in June this year.


Sean spent the day working with a team of soldiers and experts, testing the weapons and tactics that shaped the outcome of the battle. Guns and cannons were fired throughout the day. He said: "I am excited to be following the footsteps of Sharpe and those who fought in the Battle of Waterloo to tell the story of this iconic battle on History."


Guns and cannons were fired throughout the day and could be heard all around Chatham during the filming on Sunday. Chairman of Fort Amherst Trust Les Snowdon said: "It was freezing cold but everyone stayed in great spirits all day, including Sean who arrived at 9.15am and didn't leave until about 6pm."




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The Fort was filled with re-enactors. Picture: Colin Davis




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      The filming at Fort Amherst. Picture: Colin Davis


Edmund Gulvin, a trustee and a Napoleonic re-enactor, enjoyed the day from start to finish.
He said: "It was amazing to see the artillery being used surrounded by so many uniformed soldiers.
"It really brought history alive - and as that’s one of our main objectives here at Fort Amherst we’re very grateful to the documentary makers for choosing our site for filming."


Executive producer Patrick McGrady said: "We are excited to be embarking on a partnership with History to tell the story of Waterloo. "His interest in this period makes Sean Bean the perfect choice to present this special program."










From the website The Mighty Bean:


Actor Sean Bean is to present a two-hour documentary marking the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo for pay-TV broadcaster History.

The A+E Networks UK channel has commissioned Wavelength Films, which produced BBC4’s Stephen Fry And The Gutenberg Press and Suggs’ Italian Job for Sky Arts, to make The Battle Of Waterloo Presented By Sean Bean (w/t).

It will air in June 2015 around the anniversary of the epic battle, in which Napoleon’s French Army was defeated in Belgium. Game Of Thrones star Bean will be familiar with the story, having played Richard Sharpe in ITV’s Napoleonic War drama Sharpe, based on Bernard Cornwell’s novels about a fictional soldier.

History and H2 director of programming Rachel Job said Bean was top of the list of talent to front the documentary. “We didn’t go after him in a massive way because we thought he’s really busy and really famous, and then Wavelength came to us with him and the idea about Waterloo,” she said. “It’s about picking the subject matter that the talent wants to do, and he’s always been interested in Waterloo and the Napoleonic War.”

The Battle Of Waterloo Presented By Sean Bean will use evidence from eyewitness accounts alongside present-day military experts to tell the story of the battle. Bean will work with these experts to test the weapons and tactics that shaped the outcome of the conflict and compare them with modern strategies.

Job said the commission highlights History’s strategy of presenting traditional documentaries “through a different lens” and follows Bannockburn, a graphic novel-style film produced by Sky Vision and Arcadia Content.


The Battle Of Waterloo Presented By Sean Bean has also been prebought by History’s sister channels in Germany, Latin America, Italy, Iberia, Australia and New Zealand. Job said although it is a UK commission, these deals will help boost the show’s budget. “As soon as I mentioned it to the other channels, they jumped on it. Game Of Thrones is massive around the world,” she added. The doc begins filming in the UK and Belgium this month. It will be executive produced by Wavelength Films’ Patrick McGrady.

HAPPY 200TH BIRTHDAY TO ANTHONY TROLLOPE

Anthony Trollope (24 April 1815 – 6 December 1882) was a remarkable man. After an unhappy childhood, and an unpromising start to his career, he went on to write 47 novels and rise to the top of his profession as a senior civil servant in the Post Office. Visit The Trollope Society here.





Victoria here, marveling at the achievements of a prolific author whose work is familiar to me more from the television adaptations than from the novels themselves. Shame on me. But I excuse myself on the grounds that a year of Dickens, Elliott, Hardy, et. al.  in a college English Victorian lit class filled my head with so many characters I dared not take on Trollope.  So now is the time for all those novels, a delightful prospect ahead.





The Pallisers was filmed over 13 months and shown in 1974 in 26 episodes.  It is available wherever BBC CDs are sold or streamed. Many of your favorite British stars are featured: Susan Hampshire, Derek Jacobi, Penelope Keith, Anthony Andrews, Anna Massey, and Jeremy Irons.,






The Barchester Chronicles was broadcast in 1982, also by the BBC. It combined several of Trollope's novels set in Barsetshire: The Warden, Barchester Towers, and others.

I was surprised to see that many consider the series to be Alan Rickman's break-out role.  He plays Rev. Obadiah Slope, an oily character who duels verbally with Mrs. Proudie, the Bishop's wife.
In the series, Geraldine McEwan plays Mrs. Proudie, with other stars such as Donald Pleasence, Susan Hampshire, and Nigel Hawthorne in starring roles.

To watch an excerpt here, click on the arrow on the BBC site.  Clive Swift appears as Bishop Proudie, Geraldine McEwan as Mrs. Proudie, and Alan Rickman as Obadiah Slope.
In the above illustrated set, Barchester Chronicles is combined with two additional Trolloppe stories produced by the BBC, both scripted by Andrew Davies.The Way We Live Now :Trollope's story of power, greed and corruption set in the political and financial world of London is startlingly contemporary, with many parallels to recent city scandals. Its four episodes won the BAFTA for Best Drama Serial in 2002, and featured David Suchet.

He Knew He Was Right  2004, was also scripted by Andrew Davies and had four episodes


Trollope wrote every day from 5-8 am before going to his job in the Post Office. this is an example I would dearly love to emulate. Alas, I have too little self-discipline!

Trollope traveled the world in his capacity as an inspector for the post office.  He also instituted the use of the famous pillar box in 1853, familiar to all travelers in the UK.

One of many varied styles of Royal Mail Pillar Boxes

Anthony Trollope's mother, Frances Milton Trollope (1779 – 1863) was an English novelist and travel writer. She took her children to America to live in a utopian community, but their fortunes fared no better there than in England.


Fanny Trollope by Auguste Hervieu c. 1832

After their return to England, she wrote Domestic Manners of the Americans (1832), which sold well. Subsequent novels were also moderately successful and she is cited as an influence on the anti-slavery movement. Her novels generally dealt with social issues, though she was also well known for her travel writings; her books number over a hundred. She spent most of her later life in Florence where she died and is buried.

The contemporary British novelist Joanna Trollope (b. 1943) is an indirect descendant of Anthony Trollope.  She has written almost twenty novels and received an OBE from the Queen in 19996.

Joanna Trollope, 2011

She is the author of last year's re-working of Jane Austens Sense and Sensibility, part of a project to have illustrious modern writers re-do the famous plots and characters of the Austen novels after 200 years. Her website is here.



Angela Thirkell ia not in anyway related to Anthony Trollope, but she is a popular writer who has used his imaginary Barsetshire as the setting for many of her novels.

Angela Thirkell by John Collier, 1914

Her novels are witty and often ironic examinations of county and parish life in 1930's, 1940's and post-war England. Educated in London and Paris, she moved to Australia with her second husband. Never happy there, she returned to England in 1929 and stayed. High Rising, her second novel, published in 1933, was the first of many set in upper middle class circles.Getting to know here work is a delight.  I am a proud member of The Angela Thirkell Society; click here to learn more.

Pomfret Towers by Angela Thirkell, a good place to start if you are not familiar with her work
To return to our birthday boy, I am sure it will be easy to find a readers group pursuing a deeper knowledge of Anthony Trollope in this bicentennial year.  Want to join me?

Royal Mail Stamp to be issued soon
It seems only fitting that the Royal Mail will issues a stamp honoring Trollope on his bicentennial, After alll, he was one of their own.  For more information, click here,