“If you do not tell the truth about yourself, you cannot tell it about other people.” – Virginia Woolf Virginia Woolf Basics Virginia Woolf was undoubtedly one of the most important English writers of the 20th Century. In a BBC poll of 82 non-British critics, two of...
“Have a heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts.” – Charles Dickens (Hard Times) Dickens Basics Charles Dickens is, in the view of many, the greatest Victorian novelist. He’s certainly the most popular and widely read. Adaptations of...
“Come forth into the light of things, Let Nature be your teacher.” – William Wordsworth (The Tables Turned) The English Lake District is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The citation reads: Famous for its scenic landscape of mountains, lakes, houses, gardens and parks, the Lake District...
“All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players .” – William Shakespeare (As You Like It) Shakespeare Basics William Shakespeare is an almost mythical figure, about whom we know remarkably little. What we do know, however, is what defines him as the...
“The person ...
“It is difficult for a woman to define her feelings in language which is chiefly made by men to express theirs.” – Thomas Hardy The County of Dorset I have always been fond of Dorset, one of England’s smallest counties. It’s a special area of rolling countryside,...
“There are mysteries which men can only guess at, which age by age they may solve only in part.” – Bram Stoker Literary Whitby It can be argued whether or not Abraham (Bram) Stoker is a major figure in the history of English literature, despite the extraordinary...
“Truth is always strange, stranger than fiction.” – Lord Byron The Ultimate Romantic Byron was the world’s first pop star. He was also “mad, bad and dangerous to know”, according to Lady Caroline Lamb. She should know since she was one of Byron’s most ardent lovers. Their...
“Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity, or registering wrongs.” – Charlotte Brontë The day Judy and I visited the Brontë Parsonage could have come from the pages of Wuthering Heights. The wind was howling. Rain was beating against the windows....
“Time … is only a mode of thought” – Agatha Christie Agatha and Torquay Visiting Agatha Christie’s country home, Greenway, was a sort of pilgrimage for me. I’m a huge fan of the “Queen of Mystery” and her memorable characters, especially the inimitable Hercule Poirot and Miss...