Bath: In the footsteps of Jane Austen and Mary Shelley : At first glance, it’s hard to imagine two women more different than Jane Austen and Mary Shelley. Jane Austen, born 250 years ago, in 1775, never married. She did accept Continue Reading →
The Grand Canyon and the American West: « Skeleton Man» by Tony Hillerman : Almost thirty-seven years between the two trips. In the summer of 1988, we were traveling in a recreational vehicle with my two brothers and my parents, who were showing us Continue Reading →
Malta: “Ironfire” by David Ball : It had been a long time since Malta, lost in the middle of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily but on the same latitude as Tunisia, attracted me. I’ve just spent Continue Reading →
The Chesapeake Bay: “Chesapeake” by James A. Michener : My economics history professor was telling us about settlers “in the Chesapeake Bay”. I had just arrived from Europe, was studying in Chicago and had no idea what place he Continue Reading →

Category Archives: Europe

Italian frescoes: “The Princess of Mantua » by Marie Ferranti and « A Month in Siena » by Hisham Matar

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I believe there are two ways, more complementary than contradictory, to be seduced or moved by a painting. Either it is the composition, the perfection of the drawing or the Continue Reading →

Oxford: « The Jewel That Was Ours” by Colin Dexter, “Brideshead Revisited” by Evelyn Waugh, and « The Last Enchantments » by Charles Finch.

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I often travel to Oxford for an academic conference and I take this opportunity to visit some of the colleges. Saint Catherine’s, where the conference is organized and where I Continue Reading →