humour
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A caricature is putting the face of a joke on the body of a truth–Joseph Conrad If Joseph Conrad was correct (and I believe he was), whatever could someone in the late 15th c have been trying to tell us about Henry VII in this amusing manuscript doodle? Especially as it came from the Archbishop’s…
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Dismal Sewage
“Lambert Simnel”, “The Last White Rose”, alleged homosexuality, Charles II, Croyland, de la Pole family, Defoe, Desmond Seward, Eleanor of Aquitaine, howlers, Jacobites, Lord Derwentwater, misogyny, Moll Flanders, More, Nell Gwynne, religious persecution, Richard I, Richard III, spell check, von PoppelauThey say every writer should find a niche. Unfortunately, certain ‘popular historians’ seem to have leapt onto ‘gimmicks’ than a niche and write all or most of their books in similar vein, often to the detriment of their work and a growing lack of credibility with each further tome. A trend amongst several notable authors…
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In the late 1930s it became fashionable for railways to “streamline” steam locomotives. The Great Western Railway could not be bothered to do a proper job, but as a gesture towards the trend modified one of their existing locomotives to the incredibly ugly condition seen above. The engine chosen? King Henry VII. Clearly someone…
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No words are needed, I think! Except to say that I doubt if Starkey and Schama ever see themselves in this light!
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A ‘new’ late 16th century portrait of Richard III has recently emerged and gone on display at Hever Castle, home of the Boleyn family–and with it appeared the not-so-cuddly figure of the perennially grumpy and bombastic Tudor historian, David Starkey. Since he is not an art expert, the reason why he was commenting is slightly…
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It would seem that, according to the Daily Mail (third feature), a certain most humble and lovable Tudor historian, has gone ahead and had a pricey and painful hair transplant. He announced this at the ‘Bad Sex in Fiction’ Awards. (Mind-boggling but also makes me wonder- why don’t we have the ‘Bad Gaffes in Historical…
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I always thought Starkey was a waspish prig (his public opinion of those who support Richard III is just as derogatory!) but having read this article, I think he’s slap-dash as well. Certainly he can’t be checking what goes out to herald the latest of his lectures – this one will no doubt manage…
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When it comes to deer and the medieval period, we always think of the poor things being hunted for their venison and everything else. But it seems that they were sometimes kept in the house! Not just a casual break-in as in the image above, but actually being there all the time. Hard to imagine…
The New Murrey and Blue blog 