Category Archives: Personal commentary

The 150th anniversary of a very remarkable man

One hundred and fifty years ago today, early in the morning, Clara Calderon (aged thirty-two) gave birth to George Leslie Calderon at 9 Marlborough Place, St John’s Wood. If not present at the actual birth, his father the Victorian painter … Continue reading

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First biography of Gallipoli war hero

Weep, you may weep, for you may touch them not. Wilfred Owen Although at 45 well over-age, George Calderon was determined in 1914 to get to the Front. He signed up on 4 August 1914 and went with the Blues … Continue reading

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The War Is Over

I went to attend the Armistice commemoration on Sunday in my home town of Sandwich, whence my grandfather set out for Gallipoli in 1915 and whither he fortunately returned from Ypres in 1918. This was the programme: As you can … Continue reading

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‘Bugles calling for them…’

It is a source of sorrow to me that for unforeseeable reasons I have not been able to honour my acceptance two years ago of an extremely kind invitation from the Wilfred Owen Association (France) to attend the commemoration today … Continue reading

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Who are ‘war heroes’?

  Subscribers to Calderonia are probably unaware that the wording of the sales post below, which has been up since publication day on 7 September, has actually changed several times as we were obliged to re-target our marketing by theme … Continue reading

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Thank you, Blackwell’s of Oxford!

One day, perhaps, I will describe how my whole post-7 September marketing strategy was upset and I had to re-focus immediately on my potential Russianist readership worldwide… Thank you to ALL Russianists everywhere who have responded magnificently! I know there … Continue reading

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FIRST BIOGRAPHY OF THE MAN WHO BROUGHT CHEKHOV TO BRITAIN!

This book, the first full-length biography of the significant Edwardian literary and political figure George Calderon, who lived in Russia 1895-97, was an expert on Russian folklore and literature, premiered Chekhov in Britain, wrote the best seller Tahiti, and was killed … Continue reading

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The War, chronotopia and commemoration

Many people deny the existence of a ‘national mood’ and ‘national consciousness’. I certainly don’t believe in the latter, any more than I accept the idea of a collective soul (the ‘Russian Soul’ etc). But I think there is a … Continue reading

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23 August 1915

On this day in 1915, probably in response to appeals put out by Kittie and by Gertrude Bell at the Red Cross in London, a Captain Frank J. Martin of the Royal Worcestershire Regiment appeared at the office of a … Continue reading

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Guest post: Alison Miles, ‘Ravilious & Co: The Pattern of Friendship’ by Andy Friend

This superbly illustrated book was published in 2017 by Thames & Hudson in association with the Towner Gallery, Eastbourne, where Andy Friend is a curator. It starts with an introduction by Alan Powers (another Ravilious expert) entitled ‘A Star in … Continue reading

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Countdown

It is only four weeks to publication day. A mind-focussing fact. On the day, 7 September, I shall have a post announcing publication, displaying the cover with its centenary bellyband, giving details of how to buy the book, and quoting … Continue reading

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Guest post: John Dewey reviews the life of Rosa Newmarch

Rosa Newmarch (1857-1940) was an extraordinary woman of many talents – ‘une femme inoubliable’ as Sibelius once called her, a phrase adopted by Lewis Stevens as the title of this fascinating biography published by Matador in 2011.  She achieved considerable … Continue reading

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Biography’s unheard dimension

Biography is words. Personally, I hear words when I am writing rather than being focussed on their soundless written form — which is probably why I am less than 100% consistent in my presentation of the hieroglyphs on paper. I … Continue reading

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Guest post: Sam2 on… ‘How to Typeset a Book’ (Part 2)

“Pages… Pages EVERYWHERE!” ————— In the previous entry I went over some fundamentals of self typesetting. I want to point out that those techniques were merely what I had used myself…that is, how it appeared logical to me to do … Continue reading

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Guest post: Sam2 on… ‘How to Typeset a Book’ (Part 1)

She shuffled forward. “I would…” “Speak up!” “I would like you to…” “Yeeeeeesssss?” “I would like you to typeset this.” A messy wad of pages; some in different colours, some upside down, some not in any recognisable language. “You would … Continue reading

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Does computer typesetting produce a ‘chaotic system’?

Like me, I expect you have wondered why a modern commercially published book that is to all appearances superbly produced can neverthless have typographical garbage and weird other phenomena in it, or why odd entries in its Index are consistently … Continue reading

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