Jane Austen writes a novel
On this day in 1813 Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice was published. Like all her work, it was read aloud to her family most evenings as she was writing it. The themes of all... Read More
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On This Day
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Mozart meets Marie Antoinette
On this day in 1756 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg. His loving father quickly realised that Wolfgang and his sister were exceptionally talented at music, and as early as 1762 (when his son... Read More
Thomas Lovell Beddoes’ obsession with death
On this day in 1849 the English poet Thomas Lovell Beddoes poisoned himself in Basel, Switzerland, aged 45. Beddoes grew up in Bristol and was a brilliant scholar, becoming a doctor of medicine. He became... Read More
Poetry Blog
Poetry Therapy for the Inner Child
When Paul Gauguin painted his famous masterpiece ‘D’où Venons Nous / Que Sommes Nous / Où Allons Nous’ (Where Do We Come From, What... Read More
William Dalrymple, Historian, Presenter and Chronicler of Djinns, Jains and Jesus (and so much more)
The genial yet commanding figure of William Dalrymple has been a regular feature of the wonderfully unique Beyond Borders International Festival at Traquair House, Innerleithen... Read More
The Rapid Growth of Addiction
When did addiction start and is it a problem that is still increasing? To answer that fully, we need to look back four hundred years... Read More