A favorite quote on reading, from Francis Bacon (1561-1626): Crafty men condemn studies; simple men admire them; and wise men use them: for they teach not their own use: but…
Manchester's A World Lit Only by Fire is brilliant, gripping, and startlingly vivid view of the late Middle Ages and Renaissance that uses Magellan's circumnavigation of the globe as a a hook.…
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy is a romping good story, and was the first novel to feature a fop who is a hero in disguise. That makes Sir Percival Blakeney…
After reading some of my favorite modern mystery writers (Lee Child, Dick Francis, et al.), I have trouble slowing down to the pace of Dickens and other 19th-century novelists ... but it's always…
If you know me from Facebook or ForgottenDelights.com, or have read my books or heard me lecture, you have a good idea of the type of art I like. This blog is…