Marie-Henri Beyle (1783 – 1842), better known by his pen-name Stendhal, wrote this novel at a pointless period in his life, during fifty-three days late in 1838. He was serving at the time as a minor French official in Italy – the Consul at Civitavecchia. Beyle was a veteran of several Napoleonic campaigns and was one of the survivors […]
The Charterhouse of Parma by Stendhal Read More »
John and Laura Baxter are recovering from the death of their daughter Christine from meningitis in the 1950s when they take a trip to Venice. At a restaurant table they encounter a pair of Scottish spinster twins. One of these, Heather, is a seer and informs Laura that a little girl has been sitting alongside
Don’t Look Now by Daphne du Maurier Read More »
Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) (https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/schopenhauer/) was scornful of those who could not look at the fundamentals of the human situation squarely. By this he meant the pervasive presence of dissatisfactoriness, suffering and death. Instead, humans manufacture a myriad of avoidance techniques. His view was that if we dare to peer over the perimeter fence of our
The Conspiracy against the Human Race by Thomas Ligotti Read More »
In a statement made in 1939 about what role the Soviet Union might play in The Second World War Winston Churchill said : “I cannot forecast to you the action of Russia. It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma, but perhaps there is a key”. Eighty five years later the Western world
Russia: A History edited by Gregory L. Freeze Read More »
In 2002 Sarah Waters (Sarah Waters | Hachette UK) offered us Fingersmith, a neo-Victorian novel. The setting is London, 1862. Sue Trinder, orphaned at birth, grows up among petty thieves – ‘fingersmiths’ – under the rough but loving care of Mrs Sucksby and her ‘family’. But from the moment she draws breath, Sue’s fate is
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters Read More »
Ann Wroe (Ann Wroe – Economist) is an English author and columnist who has been the obituaries editor of The Economist since 2003. Her non-fiction books include biographies of Pontius Pilate, Percy Shelley and Perkin Warbeck. Lifescapes is a dazzlingly original blend of memoir, biography, observation and poetry. Wroe reflects on the art and impossibility of fully capturing
Lifescapes by Ann Wroe Read More »
Jim Ness, a local historian and archaeologist in Biggar, has produced a fine historical guide to the Clydesdale town. Packed with detail and historical photographs this book reveals the architectural development of the High Street and refers to many of the characters and business owners who have populated the town throughout the decades stretching back
Historical Guide to Biggar High Street by Jim Ness Read More »
George Monbiot (George Monbiot) is a British journalist, author, environmental and political activist. He writes a regular column for The Guardian. Peter Hutchison is a critically acclaimed filmmaker, New York Times bestselling author, educator and activist. In this book the authors argue that we live under an ideology that dominates every aspect of our lives: our education and our
The Invisible Doctrine by George Monbiot and Peter Hutchison Read More »
James Robertson (A life in writing: James Robertson | Books | The Guardian) has a special connection to Clydesdale. From 1993 to 1995 he was the first writer in residence at Hugh MacDiarmid’s house at Brownsbank, Candymill near Biggar. Robertson has gone on to publish several novels, short stories and poetry collections. He was born in Sevenoaks, Kent
And the Land Lay Still by James Robertson Read More »
