Oui, je l’aime Brahms….

From the brothels of Hamburg to a place amongst the musical Gods, Mahlerman tells the story of Johannes Brahms... In 1854 the now-obscure composer Peter Cornelius coined the phrase The Three B's by way of describing, for him, the so-called 'Holy Trinity' of composers comprising J S Bach, Beethoven and Hector ... Read More...

Phantom Libraries – Part 3: The Sealed Museum of Sir Thomas Browne

Having reviewed comical imaginary libraries from Swift to The Sims, Jonathan Law turns to stranger, more dreamlike worlds, for 'large are the treasures of oblivion'... So far, this has been mostly for laughs. The libraries invented by Rabelais, Donne, Joyce, and Swift were all uproarious things, even where the humour seemed to be laced with something ... Read More...

David Karp: The revival starts here

Steerforth discovers David Karp, a cerebral novelist whose name has unaccountably vanished from the literary canon... Until I found this novel in the cavernous basement of Camilla's Bookshop in Eastbourne, I had never heard of David Karp. I can't remember why One caught my eye, but as soon as I read ... Read More...

Lord Berners – The man who left Lesbos

Steerforth remembers one of the more flamboyant dabblers of the 20th century... One of the most colourful and unjustly forgotten characters of the last century is Lord Berners. Born Gerald Hugh Tyrwhitt-Wilson in 1883, Berners went to Eton and worked as a diplomat until he inherited his title. For the remainder of ... Read More...

Christopher Lee and The Benefits of Being Undead

Gaw uncovers one of the secrets of a good obit: stick around, keep working... Christopher Lee died a knight, lauded for a film career that extended from propping up a very poorly British industry to featuring in some of the most profitable film franchises in Hollywood history. I don't want to knock ... Read More...