Paul Gauguin, stockbroker extraordinaire
On this day in 1848 the French painter Paul Gauguin was born in Paris. Gauguin’s family moved to Peru a year later and he did... Read More
Sartre, De Beauvoir and “Hell is other people”
On this day in 1980 Jean Paul Sartre, philosopher and Existentialist, died in Paris. He refused the 1964 Nobel Prize for Literature saying that he... Read More
George Simenon’s shady private life
On this day in 1903 the Belgian writer Georges Simenon was born. Simenon will always be remembered for his creation, Commissaire Maigret, the cerebral and... Read More
Bernadette Soubirous, humble saint of Lourdes
On this day in 1858 Bernadette Soubirous, aged 14, saw the first of a series of visions at Lourdes. Bernadette, her sister and a friend... Read More
Sir John Suckling’s card scam
On this day in 1609 the Cavalier poet Sir John Suckling was born. A soldier as well as a poet, he is famous as the... Read More
Gustave Flaubert’s caged bird
On this day in 1821 the French writer Gustave Flaubert was born. His reputation really comes from Madame Bovary, his amazing debut novel that tells... Read More