Ulysses by Alfred, Lord Tennyson
And this gray spirit yearning in desire To follow knowledge like a sinking star, Beyond the utmost bound of human thought. ~o~O~o~ Much of Tennyson’s finest poetry is informed by … Continue reading
1517: Martin Luther and the Invention of the Reformation – Peter Marshall
Preserved in the royal archives in Sweden is a letter addressed to Albrecht, Archbishop of Mainz and dated the 31st of October 1517. It was written by a young priest … Continue reading
Whither Vulpes Libris?
Ten Years of the Book Foxes, and where we go next … When, in the late summer/early autumn of 2007, Leena Heino first sent out the round-robin emails to her … Continue reading
The General in Winter – by Frances Harris
There’s a fascinating painting hanging in the Drawing Room at Drumlanrig Castle in south-west Scotland, which most of the summer visitors – distracted by the bigger, shinier and more valuable … Continue reading
This week on Vulpes Libris …
Here in south-west Scotland, the leaves are just beginning to turn, the whooper swans are starting to arrive from Iceland and there’s an unmistakable chill in the misty morning air … Continue reading
The Ring of Words by Peter Gilliver, Jeremy Marshall and Edmund Weiner
Tolkien and the Oxford English Dictionary In his magisterial overview of the history of the Oxford English Dictionary Peter Gilliver touched briefly and tantalizingly on the part J R R … Continue reading
Coming up on Vulpes Libris …
Ta-dah! We’re back, all bright-eyed, bushy-tailed and raring to go. Oh, all RIGHT, we’ve dragged ourselves unwillingly back into the Den and are currently hurling recriminations at each other over … Continue reading
We’re all going on a Summer Holiday …
That’s it for now. We’re off on our hols for the summer, but will be back in August, refreshed, renewed, and ready to celebrate the tenth anniversary, in October, of … Continue reading
Footprints in time …
My mother was born in a two-up, two-down, end-of-terrace house in the pretty market town of Ampthill in Bedfordshire. The money for the rent, the gas meter and the milkman … Continue reading
Celtic Mythology by Philip Freeman
In a 1937 letter to Stanley Unwin, J R R Tolkien said he felt a certain distaste for Celtic myths ‘largely for their fundamental unreason. They have bright colour, but … Continue reading
Coming up on Vulpes Libris:
The Great British Summer is well and truly installed and living up to its ‘three fine days and a thunderstorm’ reputation. In the moments when the sun DOES appear it’s … Continue reading
A Bright Particular Star – The extraordinary life of ‘Kitty’ Queensberry.
To one side of the fireplace in the White Bedroom at Drumlanrig Castle in Dumfries & Galloway hangs a portrait in an ornate gilded frame. It’s of a simply dressed … Continue reading
Fell by Jenn Ashworth
Alluring, ephemeral and deadly, Morecambe Bay dominates the coastal areas of south Cumbria and north west Lancashire. No-one who has ever travelled by train between Oxenholme and Lancaster can forget … Continue reading
The Incident of the Poem at the Festival
It wasn’t my fault. I was eight years old, a natural mimic and I always did as I was told. The only thing I remember about the whole affair is the … Continue reading
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