The Flower Book

I've taken an unexpected and rather prolonged blogging break! Things got rather busy all of a sudden - some of it planned but most of it unexpected. I thought I ought to pop by with a post, albeit a small one, just to keep things ticking over here...

A couple of weeks ago, I finished reading a biography of Edward Burne-Jones called The Last Pre-Raphaelite by Fiona McCarthy. As you may know from one of my posts a while ago, Burne-Jones is one of my favourite artists and so I thought it was worth sitting down and finding up a bit more about him.

The book mentioned this series of small paintings he did for The Flower Book, begun in 1882. He did the watercolours for his own enjoyment, rather than as a commission, using the common names of flowers as the inspiration for each scene. This concept definitely spoke to my imagination and, thanks to the wonders of the internet, I was able to find all the images when I got home from reading in the park.

So I thought I would share just a few of them here in a post. It seemed appropriate with spring having arrived, with flowers and trees all coming back to life, and with Easter just around the corner. As well, it's a harbinger of next weekend, when I'm off to see Burne-Jones' Briar Rose series at Buscot Park in Oxfordshire with a couple of my best friends. I've wanted to see those paintings for quite some time so I'm very excited! Expect to read about it all soon...

A Bookish Character

I only realised late yesterday evening that today was World Book Day, which, in the school-going world, often involves dressing up as your favourite character from a book for the day. I was rather annoyed at myself for not clocking this earlier, as I would have dressed up as my favourite character for the office, if only I'd had a little more time to think and plot and plan. Fancy dressing for the office is frequently more of a challenge than for recreational fancy dress, as you have to strike a balance between respectability and fun (as experienced here and here). So I really needed more time to work something out. But as I started conjuring up ideas belatedly this evening, I realised just how endless the possibilities are... 

Image source

Image source

Image source
(I urge you to follow that link - a fascinating
progression of covers for Alice over the years)

Image source
(Again, follow that link!)

Image source

Image source

Image source

Do you think I could go as a character from The Wind in the Willows? Obviously I wouldn't paint on whiskers or wear ears, so it would just be Edwardian country gentlemen's clothes really.

Image source

Of course, it doesn't have to be only children's books that I draw from. But considering how many ideas I came up with just from that section of the library of the world's books, there doesn't seem to be the need to go elsewhere. And the concept is derived from an idea for children, after all. Hm, it would be somewhat ironic if I went as, say, The Naughtiest Girl in the School, wearing my take on a school uniform - exactly what the kids of the world are getting out of wearing on that very same day.

Anyway, I'll put in my diary for next year and plan ahead - not just a costume for myself but maybe a nice little event with my workmates and/or friends revolving around favourite books. Watch this space!

And happy reading!

Das ist Wunderbar

Recently, I was on the hunt for a birthday present for my mum and found myself at Spitalfields Market. I don't tend to shop in there because I still remember its glory days, before it was tarted up, and the present incarnation is a mere, sad shadow of what it once was. But, I had a quick walk through and came across a stall selling second-hand books. This one caught my eye... for myself, not my mum...

I have to admit right here and now that I am something of a Germanophile. And so my heart obviously skipped a beat when I caught sight of this 1950s young adults' book, complete with a stylish teen on the cover.

Now, I'm trying to cut back on my possessions this year so, after delightedly flipping through the book, I put it back on the shelf despite the excellent price pencilled on the front page. And then I walked away...

But then I found myself walking back, by now utterly distracted from my original mission. I picked it up again, and flipped through it again. 'Well', I began thinking, 'another aim this year is to start learning German again and this would be a rather good incentive'. But would buying the book really focus me, or would it just end up untouched on my shelf? I put it back down and walked away again.

But still I couldn't shake the book from my head, so I walked back once again. "Make a decision, love", the man at the stall teased me. "We're about to close up." Well, when you go back to look at something not once but twice, I think you've already decided, haven't you?

So now I have to push on with my German so I can work out what's actually going on in this lovely book:

Oooh, "eine Sensation"! Can't wait to hear what it is!
(Speaking of sensations, that dress is certainly one.)

Mmm, a Mona Lisa, with milk, cream, egg, banana and... what the "Flip" is
Sanddornvollfrucht?? (It ain't in my dictionary - or on Google - so I may have to
live in eternal wonder...)

Why is Rita telling her father he's "the best Dad in the world!"
Is she trying to butter  him up? I'll tell you when I've translated the rest of it!

Oh no, Rita's got something on her chin - how embarrassing! 

Not sure what's happening but check out Fred's teddy boy bow tie

Whatever dramas I'm yet to translate end happily ever after with dancing,
I'm guessing?

Imagine if I could get my mitts on all these titles!

These are pretty much all the illustrations in the book so, to get the most out of it, I'm really going to have to learn to read it. I feel like reading teen story books is probably a great way to learn to read a language actually - naturally written, but not at too high a level of complexity. I certainly have better hopes of getting my head around this than Goethe or Nietzsche or Heidegger...

Is there any language you desperately wish you could speak and understand? Any foreign country you want to elope to one day (apart from the past, that is...)?

In three days...

My thesis is due in three days...

Once it's handed in, I'm actually, believe it or not, going to keep reading about bishops' palaces, the topic of my thesis.  Incredibly, I'm still finding them interesting and want to know more and more.  So, I'm going to return to books I've strategically dipped into and take time to enjoy them cover to cover.

But, this time, it might be in the bath or curled up in bed, instead of with paper and pen or computer at hand for note-taking.  That way I can fully appreciate the wonderful early twentieth-century prose, such as this dramatic snippet:

"... in 1640 the Long Parliament fixed its fascinating gaze on the unfortunate bishop and so paralyzed him with fears of imprisonment and confiscation that he withered up and died with little or no sickness."

They just don't write 'em like they used to, do they?

Love Letter to Abe

I just have to take a moment to sing high praises of Abe Books.  They've been on the internet scene for ages so you've probably come across them before but I just wanted to remind everyone how brilliant they are, especially if you're after anything vaguely obscure.  

Selection from feature on '30 Old Books Worth Buying for the Cover Alone'

I'm just gushing right now because I've managed to pick up two books that are really useful for my research for less than £15 combined, including postage.  One of them I've referenced at the British Library but the other I've not been able to see because there was some problem when I tried to order it up.  Now, because of this wonderful online shop, I can have both volumes of this pair, dating to 1910 and 1911, at home to consult at my leisure.

Selection from feature on 'Britain in Pictures'

So, hurrah for Abe Books!  I urge you to check them as your first port of call when you're shopping online.  You can get books, many out of print or obscure, for an absolute song more often than not.  You can also pick up massively expensive, rare antiques if you fancy it and have money to spare...  Even if you don't, it's lovely looking through the frequent compilations they feature on the site.  I love that they have a bit of a wicked sense of humour too, with themes such as 'Depressing Russian Literature'.

The other great thing about the site is that it brings together a collection of lots of independent sellers, rather than being one massive superstore, so you're supporting little guys by buying from there.  Of course, it still doesn't beat the pleasure of browsing through a real-world second-hand bookshop, inhaling the unmistakable smell of old books and stumbling accidentally across hidden delights...  But then again, I doubt I would have found those two specific books I was after if I'd just been browsing in a local bookshop so, for that purpose, it is practically unbeatable.

Note!  This is not an affiliate or sponsored post, despite sounding like a total sales pitch!  I'm not benefitting at all from promoting Abe Books.  I just think they're awesome, pure and simple.  And when I'm not at work these days, I'm holed up at home with my thesis writing so I'm going just a wee bit book crazy...