Category Archive: Non-Fiction
The Peninsular War
Further undermining Wellington's faith in the Spanish - Battle of Castalla (by Jean-Charles Langlois)
(by Charles Esdale) We can be thankful that Napoleon, like that chap Hitler, ridiculously over-extended himself. Exhibit ‘A’ is the seven year war on the Iberian Peninsula, which ruined Spain (and Portugal) for decades and created a schism there that lingers today. It also, fortunately, hived off necessary men, arms and resources that weakened the French Emperor’s efforts to subjugate the continent. This comprehensive book, based on old as well as up-to-date and diverse sources, offers a complete overview of the bloody campaign, the struggles of the various Fields Marshal and in particular the intricate politics. It is dense but…
Continue Reading →Richard Wagner and the Modern British Novel
"Let's see what he makes of this brief..."
(by John Louis Di Gaetani) (1978) When P brought this obscure little tome at the Paradise Bookshop, L asked, not unreasonably, “What has Wagner to do with the modern British novel?” Oh ye of little faith and so many brains! Well, let’s see…. In this book, Dr Di Gaetani mounts the case that the operatic works of Wagner, and in particular the poetry and prose in his librettos, had a vital galvanising effect on five major British novelists maturing (if not all necessarily in their prime) during the Edwardian Age: Joseph Conrad, D.H. Lawrence, E.M. Forster, Virginia Woolf and James Joyce. P read this…
Continue Reading →The Road to Character
Hogarth's Character Caricatures
(By David Brooks) (2015) SBS Australia used to broadcast the Friday editions of Newshour on PBS (the American public broadcaster). That edition has a weekly political wrap-up, usually with Mark Shields and David Brooks. Whilst syndicated columnist Shields is the old-fashioned Big Democrat, Brooks takes on the aura of a Progressive Republican, less comfortable at the country club than, say, at a kaffeeklatsch. What makes their discussions valuable in particular to us (The Varnished Culture are hardly political scientists or well versed in the ins-and-outs of American politics and policy) is the refreshing and rare civility in their discourse; their mutual willingness to actually…
Continue Reading →Egypt and Nubia
(Written by William Brockedon, lithographs by Louis Haghe, from drawings made on the spot by David Roberts RA) (1847) It may not be the most propitious time to visit Egypt or indeed the Sudan. Cheaper and safer to buy this sumptuous single volume Folio edition with the remarkable plates of David Roberts, a Member of the Royal Academy and a high master of in situ painting and (back at the studio, obviously) lithography. and today…
Continue Reading →The Masterpieces of the Early Flemish
Jerome Bosch
(F. Hanfstaengl) (1905) One of those great little guides, blocked in gold, crammed with plates and a table of particulars – no commentary required. The early Flemish painters were conventional in subject, usually involving Christian imagery, but were radical in their eclectic rendering. Some examples will illuminate:
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