Mystery Girl on the Train

The Daughter of Time - Josephine Tey

2014-01-07T21:16:00.000+00:00

Anyone who knows me would not accuse me of doting on a king. ‘Royalist’ is not the term that comes to mine when people think of me. It may therefore come as a surprise that I found this book by Josephine Tey so compelling a read. I think it must be the historian in me. I just like a good ‘review of the evidence’ and evaluation.

The Daughter of Time looks at the way history has remembered King Richard III, and investigates the justification for this. This task is performed by a policeman who is whiling away his time recovering in hospital.

The blurb says:

Inspector Alan Grant of Scotland Yard, recuperating from a broken leg, becomes fascinated with a contemporary portrait of Richard III that bears no resemblance to the Wicked Uncle of history. Could such a sensitive, noble face actually belong to one of the world’s most heinous villains – a venomous hunchback to may have killed his brother’s children to make his crown secure? Or could Richard have been the victim, turned into a monster by the usurpers of England’s throne? Grant determines to find out once and for all, with the help of the British Museum and an American scholar, what kind of man Richard Plantagenet really was and who killed the Princes in the Tower.

That pretty much sums it up. It provides an interesting and comprehensive review of the evidence. I found it particularly interesting as I have been following the ‘King in the Car Park’ stories surrounding the discovery of the body of Richard III in a Leicester Car Park in 2013.

The Richard II Society has been doing what it can to publicise how history has been written by the victor of the battle of Bosworth, Henry Tudor, and perpetuated into prosperity by Shakespeare. However, it is still commonly misunderstood by the public that Richard III killed the Princes in the Tower, and often sloppily reported. Someone told me at work recently that they answered a pub quiz question on which king killed the Princes in the Tower, with the answer being Richard III!

** Spoiler Alert **

A favourite part of mine in the book is where Alan Grant writes up his findings in ‘police fashion’.

“CASE: Disappearance of two boys (Edward, Prince of Wales; Richard, Duke of York) from the Tower of London, 1485 or thereabouts.

RICHARD III

Previous Record:

Good. Has excellent record in public service, and a good reputation in private life. Salient characteristic as indicated by his actions: good sense.

In the matter of the presumed crime:

(a) He did not stand to benefit; there were nine other heirs to the house of York, including three males.

(b) There is no contemporary accusation.

(c) The boys’ mother continued on friendly terms with him until his death, and her daughters attended Palace festivities.

(d) He showed no fear of the other heirs of York, providing generously for their upkeep and granting all of them royal state.

(e) His own right to the crown was unassailable, approved by Act of Parliament and public acclamation; the boys were out of the succession and no danger to him.

(f) If he had been nervous about disaffection then the person to have got rid of was not the two boys, but the person who really was next in succession to him: young Warwick. Whom he publically created his heir when his own son died. [In preference to his illegitimate son.]

HENRY VII

Previous Record:

An adventurer, living at foreign courts. Son of an ambitious mother. Nothing known against his private life. No public office or employment. Salient characteristic as indicated by his actions: subtlety.

In the matter of the presumed crime:

(a) It was of great importance to him that the boys should not continue to live. By repealing the Act acknowledging the children’s illegitimacy [Titulus Regius], he made the elder boy King of England, and the younger boy the next heir.

(b) In the Act which he brought before parliament for the attainting of Richard he accused Richard of the conventional tyranny and cruelty but made no mention of the two young Princes. The conclusion is inevitable that at the time the two boys were alive and their whereabouts known.

(c) The boys’ mother was deprived of her living and consigned to a nunnery eighteen months after his succession [and despite him having married her daughter.]

(d) He took immediate steps to secure the persons of all the other heirs to the crown, and kept them in close arrest until he could with the minimum of scandal get rid of them.

(e) He had no right whatever to the throne. Since the death of Richard, young Warwick was the de jure King of England.”

Despite my sympathies to the misaligned, I think it seems silly for people to argue over where the remains should be buried. I agree that it is evidenced that Richard III was well loved in York, however I do not see how burying him there in particular will serve any extra purpose. Richard cannot care about it now. What difference does it really make? Let Leicester have its day. York already has a lot of exciting Viking history to claim. J

Reputation and morality in history is a difficult business. As Tey says, “It was the settled and considered policy of the Tudors to rid themselves of all rivals to the throne, more especially those heirs of York who remained alive on the succession of Henry VII, In this they were successful although it was left to Henry VIII to get rid of the last of them. {Alan] stared at this bald announcement, This placid acceptance of wholesale murder. This simple acknowledgement of a process of family elimination.

Richard III had been credited with the elimination of two nephews, and his name was a synonym for evil. But Henry VII, whose ‘settled and considered policy was to eliminate a whole family was regarded as a shrewd and far-seeing monarch.”

This statement makes Alan feel as though he’ll never understand history and historians. It just makes me think that is why we always need people studying history and researching it. People who don’t just accept what they are told but constantly search, challenge and investigate.

Death and the Alma Mater - G. M. Malliet

2013-09-08T20:04:00.000+01:00

Death and the Alma Mater

- by G. M. Malliet

This book was bought for me as a gift, to fuel my mystery book addiction. I liked the Cambridge references; it being a favourite place of mine. It was full of rowing, river and the usual 'Master', 'Dean' and 'Burser'.

The story did feel a little familiar, with comparisons to the Morse series set in Oxford, and with P.D. James' Adam Dalgliesh as the central detective character, also a strong character and clever type, pining over his love life.

I always like stories which come accompanied with diagrams to allow you to imagine the scene, so this book did not disappoint in that respect. However, I was a little lost imagining a college that had it's boat house so close to the main college. I cannot really imagine where the fictional college of St Michael's could 'fit' into Cambridge.

I found that I guessed 'whodunnit' but was waiting for a twist. I didn't really find the twist in the story was shocking enough, which left me somewhat wanting.

There was a mix of characters in the book, with a femme fatale, aristocratic horsey type, resentful teenager, American dot com millionaire, quiet but successful banker, pious academic, proud master, and scatty Reverend.

The storyline kept pace and there were some nice descriptions of the characters. I have a feeling that as I have been reading a lot of Gladys Mitchell recently I have found more ordered books less complicated a read. Mitchell's works are often cluttered with side stories and items that are deliberately pointed out as if they have great importance but are then not referred to again.

All in all a fun read with some great local connections. :)

Dangerous Liaisons

2013-06-30T18:02:00.001+01:00

When I started reading this book I felt sympathetic towards the Marquise de Merteuil; she was acting in a way to readdress the power between genders. Society forced women to act with reserve and great virtue and 'make a good match in marriage' if they wanted to be accepted. Men, like Valmont and Prevan, could have love affairs and escape with a reputation that may be marked but they would still be accepted in society, however, the women they bed would be ruined, forced to hide themselves from the public snubs.

I read the Marquise de Merteuil's letters and thought that although she may be a touch harsh in her judgements, it was perhaps, understandable how her upbringing had caused that. As the book progressed, it becomes more apparent how cruel the Marquise can be. Not only does she have no sympathies for her fellow women, she also torments her past-lover and confident, the Vicomte de Valmont. In the end she pushes people too far and realises the consequences. I wonder if, when this happens, she remembers writing to Valmont:

If my revenge misses the mark, I agree to taking the consequences. Thus, I am quite prepared for you to try everything you can: I even invite you to do so, and promise not to be annoyed when you succeed, if you succeed. I am so easy on this score, that I shall press the point no further. Let us talk of other things.

I started feeling rather sorry for Valmont and the others she had abused. At first I did not warm to Valmont, as he was an extravagant playboy who cared not for the women he used. After seeing his thoughts and views change towards the Présidente de Tourvel, I pitied him. I did, rather cruelly, not feel sorry for Prevan; who I thought deserved the treatment he encountered from the Marquise.

There are plenty of wonderful phrases and expressions of love in these letters. I fully expect to receive something as eloquent from my boyfriend - hopefully without the devious undertone and scheming. ;)

Poor Cécile is a pawn in a game for Valmont and the Marquise; as is the Chevalier Danceny. A young couple, who had fallen in love and taken the wrong confidants. But it is not only this scheming pair that Cécile has to be wary of. At the start of the novel Cécile is brought out of her convent school as her mother has arranged her marriage to the much older Comte de Gercourt. She falls in love with Dancency but is confused as to whether it would be sinful or imprudent to allow their love to grow if she is already in an arranged engagement.

Within the book, there was also a rather piquant letter written to end a relationship:

One is soon bored with everything, my angel; it is a law of nature. It is not my fault.
If therefore I am now bored with an adventure which has claimed my attention for four mortal months, it is not my fault.
If, that is to say, my love was equal to your virtue - and that is certainly saying a great deal - it is not surprising that the one came to an end at the same time as the other. It is not my fault.
It follows that for some time I have been deceiving you, but then your relentless tenderness forced me in some sort to do so! It is not my fault.
A woman that I love madly now insists that I give you up for her sake. It is not my fault.
I quite realise that this is the perfect opportunity to accuse me of perjury: but if, where nature has gifted men with no more than constancy, she has given women obstinacy, it is not my fault.
Believe me, you should take another lover, as I take another mistress. This is good, very good advice: if you find it bad, it is not my fault.
Good bye, my angel. I took you with pleasure: I leave you without regret. I shall come back perhaps. Such is life. It is not my fault.

I found these Spark Notes interesting after I read the book. I even liked the quiz at the end, where some of the false answers made me laugh. :) I think this is also a great review of the book.

Blogging Break

2013-06-30T17:57:00.003+01:00

Oops! I have not been blogging for a while. Although I have been remiss in my blogging, I have still been keeping up my reading. I will work on typing up my back catalogue until I get up to speed. :)

The Rising of the Moon - Gladys Mitchell

2013-04-11T20:32:00.001+01:00

I began to be assailed by doubts... we had no proof that [they]intended to kill us. I was still in a state of suspended panic, but the fairy-gold logic of childhood was reasserting itself, with ultimate hope of victory, in my mind.

The Rising of the Moon has become one of my favourite Mrs. Bradley novels. I had the added novelty of reading this over the Easter period, when the series of murders begins! The story is written as a first person narrative of Master Simon Innes. Mrs Bradley does not enter the story until part way through, which means that a lot of the detective work is carried out by Simon and Keith Innes (13 and 11 years old respectively), brothers who find themselves involved in a mysterious case of serial murders in their small village. The first murder takes place at the Circus, much to the dismay of the boys:

"Heared about the Ripper?" asked Fred. "There won't be any circus this afternoon."

Up to that time it was the most terrible news I had ever heard, for we were too young to have been told outright about the deaths of our parents. We had found that news out gradually, and by putting two and two together; but this was a bolt from the blue.

I think Mitchell is very good at writing tales that include children, possibly because she worked as a teacher. She has an excellent ability to understand and explain children's logic. She employs this well in the book in parts where Simon and Keith explain some of their seemingly erratic behaviour. Such as their illegal activities provoked by their loyalty to family and their need to be seen to be 'brave'.

The book is very atmospheric and includes many eerie descriptions of movements at night time in the light of the full moon, by the deserted river side:

The moon put black shadows in the hedges, and a mist rose out of the river and over the fields. We walked in the middle of the road, Keith holding his pistol by the barrel and I with my sabre at the ready. We did not talk. We kept watch on the treacherous roadside for the murderer. It was not a pleasant walk.

There are lots of twists in this story, which really keep you guessing. I had a suspicion of who the murderer was from early on but as the story progressed I become uncertain and assumed that it must be someone else. I was then surprised to find that the murderer was the person I first suspected after all! When the story ended I still felt that there were things that had happened that I didn't understand. As Simon was narrating the story you only get his impressions of what has happened and therefore the things he doesn't experience or get told about must be missed out. Despite this, I found the novel really kept my attention and was very entertaining.

The Pastor of Vejlbye - Steen Steensen Blicher

2013-04-06T15:26:00.002+01:00

Illustration by Povl Christensen (1909 - 1977)

I wanted to read this short-story as part of my mission to read more early mystery literature. The Pastor of Vejlbye was published in 1829 and subtitled 'A Crime Story'. It is often referred to as one of the first mystery novels.

I enjoyed the story and found myself wanting to intervene to help certain characters. It was a good quick read and worth the trouble to find the book. I did not find it easy to get hold of an English translation of this short-story; I got it as part of a collection of short-stories in the end. If you don't want to struggle to get a physical copy of the book you can find a pdf version here.

The author, Steen Steensen Blicher, was one of Denmark's great Golden Age poets and short-story writers; he was much influenced by Scottish and English literature but never visited these countries.

The story is written in the form of a diary in two parts. The first part of the story is provided by Erik Sørensen, district sheriff, and the second part provided by the pastor of AAlsøe.

It is based upon (although does not follow exactly) a real event in 1626 when pastor Søren Qvist of Vejlbye (near Grenå) was sentenced to death, for the murder of his coachman in 1607, based on circumstantial evidence.

Searching for a body in the pastor's garden (Christensen)

Following the pastor's execution one of his sons investigates further into the events leading to his conviction. This leads to a new trial in 1634 when it is discovered that a number of the witnesses had committed perjury; both were then sentenced to death.

Blicher's short-story deviates from the authentic account of the case. He changes characters and adds a number of twists, including an interesting psychological aspect in respect to Søren Qvist's personality and beliefs. I won't give away the twists or the ending in order to preserve the suspense. :)

The Woman in White continued...

2013-03-25T15:05:00.000+00:00

Harper's Weekly, 31 December 1859, Vol.III, No.157, p.841.
Illustrations by John McLenan
Weekly Part 6.

The woman in white took me so long to read that I thought it deserved two posts (it's a substantial book).

I really enjoyed the story. I thought that the story progression in the first epoch was rather slow so it took me a while to get into the book. It sets out lots of unanswered questions. You see the questions mounting and foresee the numerous permutations of possible distasters without clue to which one will really happen, and you start to think that you might not get any answers. However, in the second epoch there is a lot more action and the final epoch does satisfy your questions (whether the outcome is to your liking is another matter).

My favourite bit is Miss Halcombe’s diary. Marian is my favourite character in the book. She’s a wonderfully strong female character, especially for the period. Here are a few of my favourite lines relating to Marian:

"I... saw a lady standing at [the window], with her back turned towards me. The instant my eyes rested on her, I was struck by the rare beauty of her form, and by the unaffected grace of her attitude... She turned towards me immediately. The easy elegance of every movement of her limbs and body as soon as she began to advance from the far end of the room, set me in a flutter of expectation to see her face clearly. She left the window - and I said to myself, The lady is dark. She moved forward a few steps - and I said to myself, The lady is young. She approached nearer - and I said to myself (with a sense of surprise which words fail me to express), The lady is ugly!"

- Walter meeting Marian for the first time and noticing her masculine features at odds with the more conventional feminine graces she possessed. He described the feeling he got on discovering this as:

"akin to the helpless discomfort familiar to us all in sleep, when we recognise yet cannot reconcile the anomalies and contradictions of a dream."

Marian is described (and describes herself) at many points as possessing 'masculine' qualities both in her appearance and her character. She is confident, forceful, forthright, intelligent and passionate. A balance of weakness and strength.

"I only answered by drawing her close to me again. I was afraid of crying if I spoke. My tears do not flow so easily as they ought - they come almost like men's tears, with sobs that seem to tear me in to pieces, and that frighten every one about me."

- Marian consoling her sister, Laura

"Are you to break your heart to set his mind at ease? No man under heaven deserves these sacrifices from us women. Men! They are the enemies of our innocence and our peace - they drag us away from our parents' love and our sisters' friendship - they take us body and soul to themselves, and fasten our helpless lives to theirs as they chain up a dog to his kennel."

- Marian to Laura, discussing her husband and his behaviour.

"The bare anticipation of seeing that dear face and hearing that well-known voice tomorrow, keeps me in a perpetual fever of excitement. If I only had the privileges of a man, I would order out Sir Percival's best horse instantly, and tear away on a night gallop, eastward to meet the rising sun - a long, hard, heavy, ceaseless gallop of hours and hours, like the famous highwayman's ride to York."

- Marian restlessly looking forward to her sister's return.

There are a lot of striking and strong characters in the novel. Count Fosco is a terrifying character who is both enormously overweight and yet graceful and refined. His wife, Madame Fosco is a cold reserved woman but holds a jealous passion for her husband. Mrs Catherick is a woman convinced of her own beauty and power over men in her youth but now with a strict need to be accepted as possessing high moral status in her old age. Mr Fairlie, a selfish hypochondriac, will do anything for an easy life. Professor Pesca is an excitable, enigmatic Italian who embraces English life. With such interesting characters our lovers Walter Hartright and Laura Fairlie could get lost amongst them, but it is their love that is the central strand of the story, as Walter says: "This is the story of what a Woman's patience can endure, and what a Man's resolution can achieve."

The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins

2013-03-25T13:29:00.001+00:00

Harper's Weekly, 26 November 1859, Vol.III, No.152, p.753.
Illustrations by John McLenan
Weekly Part 1.

"[The Woman in White is] often singled out as the foundation text of "sensation fiction" – a genre distinguished by its electrifying, suspenseful, and sometimes horrific plots, as well as its unsavoury themes of intrigue, jealousy, murder, adultery, and the like..." The Guardian

The Woman in White was first serialised in Charles Dickens' weekly literary magazine, All the Year Round, between 1859–1860. Therefore celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2009. The story was later published as a book in 1860, first in three books, and then in one volume. The three book divisions serve as chapters (or epochs) in the single book version.

The initial format of small weekly articles can be seen to result in a long book. It is also the reason for the multitude of 'cliff-hangers' dotted throughout the narrative (carefully positioned at the end of each weekly publication), which give rise to the reputation for suspense the novel has accrued. To experience it as it's first Victorian audience did, the story can be read in its original weekly parts thanks to the 150th anniversary project. The story was published simultaneously in New York in Harper's Weekly, you can see the accompanying illustrations by John McLenan on the project site too.

The story is told in an epistolary format with testaments given by various characters, letters and other relevant text is also shared. The character narratives are given in the following order:

Epoch 1

Walter Hartright - Drawing Master
Vincent Gilmore - Solicitor
Marian Halcombe - Sister to Laura Fairlie

Epoch 2

Continued by Marian Halcombe (Postscript by Count Fosco - Uncle by marriage to Laura Fairlie - see full title below)
Eliza Michelson - Housekeeper at Blackwater Park
Hester Pinhorn - Cook in the service of Count Fosco
Alfred Goodricke - Doctor
Jane Gould - Assistant to Mr Goodricke
Walter Hartright

Epoch 3

Continued by Walter Hartright
Mrs Catherick
Walter Hartright
Isidor, Ottavio, Baldassare Fosco - Count of the Holy Roman Empire, Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Brazen Crown, Perpetual Arch-Master of the Rosicrucian Masons of Mesopotamia; Attached (in Honorary Capacities) to Societies Musical, Societies Medical, Societies Philosophical, and Societies General Benevolent, throughout Europe; etc. etc. etc.
Concluded by Walter Hartright

New Books

2013-03-14T17:14:00.002+00:00

I am excited because I have just ordered some new mystery books from my wish list. I am looking forward to their arrival.

I am interested in reading more of the early detective fiction so I have been trying to find recommendations for books to read. These are but a few from that list.

I wanted to read The Rector of Veilbye (first published 1829) by Steen Steensen Blicher but I could not find it easily available in an English translation. Instead I have got:

The Diary of a Parish Clerk and other short stories, (DPC first published 1824), S Steensen Blicher

- One of the short stories included is the Rector of Veilbye, and I will get to sample some of the author's other works too.

I have also acquired:

L'Affaire Lerouge (first published 1866), Émile Gaboriau (published in English as The Widow Lerouge)

The Leavenworth Case (first published 1878), Anna Katherine Green

- I noticed the author mentioned in Dickson Carr's 'The Locked-Room Lecture' in The Hollow Man. He referenced Initials Only but I decided to get The Leavenworth Case as this is an earlier work of Green.

Finally, I got:

The Moonstone (first published 1868), Wilkie Collins

- It is taking me so long to read The Woman in White, that I think it will be a little while before I get around to reading this.

Cabin Pressure

2013-03-13T18:28:00.001+00:00

L to R: Arthur Knapp-Shappey, Douglas Richardson (First Officer), Caroline Knapp-Shappey (Owner of MJN air and Flight Attendant), Martin Crieff (Captain - of course ;))

I cannot believe that I missed the last episode of the last series of Cabin Pressure! I intend to get Series 4 on CD as soon as it is available; It has been hilarious. :)

I've just been reading through some of the episode reviews and I came across this wonderful interview with John Finnemore. I love the fact that they have managed to keep the original cast, despite the actors becoming more and more famous. I also found it interesting to learn that Finnemore is part of the Cambridge Footlights comedy alumni. I'd really love to go to a Radio 4 recording of Cabin Pressure, although I doubt I'd get a ticket now, what with the "17,000 people applying for 200 tickets [and] People [flying in] from Japan and Thailand."

Douglas Richardson is my favourite character; his one-liners are superb.

Once you have listened to Cabin Pressure and fallen in love with it too, then consider reading John Finnemore's blog for some 'behind the scenes' details. Watch out though, it is addictive. ;)

Up at the Villa - Somerset Maugham

2013-03-13T17:42:00.000+00:00

Vintage Classics: Up at the Villa

I had not read any other of Maugham's works before I decided to read Up at the Villa. I didn't even know what the story was really about. I had heard that it contained elements of crime and suspense but was not strictly a mystery novel.

The novella is gripping and, as it is an easy-read and quite short, I finished it quickly. It is definitely worth reading.

It follows a beautiful widow, Mary Panton, and her experiences staying in a sixteenth century villa in Florence. Mary's time of tranquil reflection and sight-seeing is brought to an end violently by a mistaken act of (com)passion. Suddenly, to avoid scandal, Mary is carrying out acts she thought she would never contemplate.

The main characters are:

Mary Panton ~ 30 year old widow recovering from her unhappy marriage

[Rowley to Mary] "You're a brown and gold girl, aren't you?" he said.

Her hair was of a dark rich gold, her large eyes deep brown, and her skin pale gold. It was her colouring which took away the coldness which her regular features may have given her face and gave her a warmth and a richness which were infinitely alluring.

"I think you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."

Sir Edgar Swift ~ Mary's admirer, friend of her father's, and important Indian Government Official

[Edgar] had had a distinguished career. He had been for five years Governor of the North West Provinces and during a period of great unrest had conducted himself with conspicuous ability. He had finished the term with the reputation of being the most capable man in India.

Rowley Flint ~ lovable rogue

It was true that Rowley was not much to look at... He had not a single feature that you would call good... He was in short a young man with a shocking reputation which he thoroughly deserved.

...he's not the sort of feller... that a decent woman ought to be asked to sit in the same room with.

The Princess San Ferdinando ~ an elderly American woman who had married a Roman Prince and had two grown-up children in the Italian army

She had little money, but a caustic tongue and a great good nature... she knew everybody she wished to know and everybody was pleased to know her.

Karl Richter ~ Austrian art student residing in Italy after he escaped from a concentration camp

His suit was shabby, his shoes patched and his shirt, open at the neck, frayed... By the light of the tall candles on the table his eyes were dark and cavernous. He had a strange head with... high cheek bones, hollow cheeks, a pallid skin and a look of strain which was somewhat moving. It occurred to Mary that in costume, dressed, say, like one of those young princes in a picture by Bronzino at the Uffizi, he would have been very nearly beautiful.

My favourite lines include:

Rawley on risk

"My dear, I'd have done it for any pal. I'm not quite sure if I wouldn't have done it for a total stranger. You know, I like risk. I'm not really a law-abiding person and I got a great thrill out if it. Once at Monte Carlo I had a thousand pounds on the turn of a card, that was a thrill too; but nothing to this"

"Don't be afraid. The devil's a sportsman and he looks after his own."

Mary accepting reality

And now she realised that there was something particularly shocking [in what had been done]. She still didn't know what else could have been done to avoid a fearful scandal and Heaven only knew what difficulties with the police. But it was so fantastic that anything like that should happen to people like her that it didn't seem to belong in real life; it was the kind of thing that happened to one in a nightmare.

Mary's lawyer on marriage

"But don't marry for love next time; it's a mistake; marry for position and companionship."

Libraries and Wilkie

2013-03-07T14:33:00.002+00:00

Third Floor JB Morrell

Working at the York University Library (JB Morrell library) again today. There are a range of different work zones here:

Silent zone

Amongst the book cases where no noise is allowed

Quiet zone

Nearby some of the book cases but not deep amongst them (as the silent zones), where noise must be kept to a minimum. I am in a quiet work area for I fear the tap-tap-tap of me writing on my laptop would perhaps be a distraction.

Studious Buzz Zone

Meeting rooms that are apparently for groups of students work together. The rooms have flat screen TVs and points for you to connect your laptop to them so you can share it. They remind me of the types of meeting rooms that I have seen in modern business offices.

I noticed that you are able to bring hot and cold drinks in lidded containers and cold food into the library quiet zones. This was not a luxury that we were allowed when I was at University. I find it a great improvement.

Quiet Zone

I am really impressed with how modern the library is. It appears to incorporate the advances in technology with computer rooms available and power points at desks to allow for laptops to be used. It seems an easy step into the world of office working. In fact, some may be disappointed if they end up working in a more 'basic' office as it would be a step down from what they are used to here!

I have started Wilkie Collins', The Woman in White. It is a long book with notes to keep referring to so I imagine it will be a little while before I can post my review here. It has been quite engaging so far though so I am sure it will be worth the wait.

Libraries

2013-03-06T12:17:00.001+00:00

From http://tigergrowl.wordpress.com

This week I have been working in York's central library, Explore York, because it is a wonderfully central location near to the Minster at the appropriately named Library Square, York. The building is lovely to look at, with a fine red brick frontage, beautiful windows, and sweeping staircases.

Today the library is closed. I am told this is to enable all library staff to take part in an important meeting to plan the future of the service. In the difficult economic times council's have to decide how to spend taxpayer money and libraries are not high on that list. York's libraries webpage says:

"...[as] a result of the Council's overall financial pressures... we are currently looking at the possibility of setting up the library service as a social enterprise. We believe this would better enable us to direct our resources into maintaining front line library services."

From www.yorkstories.co.uk

It will be interesting to see how this works. I hope it will be a successful way to help us retain our library service. Explore York is the main library in York and as a result it is very busy. It has a fairly modern library layout with the inclusion of a cafe and rather a lot of computers. There is also free wifi available. However, many local libraries are not so advanced with respect to IT provisions and have suffered falling visitor and borrower numbers. Books are also a lot cheaper and more widely available than they used to be, which has perhaps driven the fall in library users. Given this context it seems unsurprising that councils may look to cut back spending and provisions for library services.

Having said this, I hope there can be a successful way to retain a library as a local meeting place, an area for study, learning and reflection. With the incorporation of new technology, the cafe culture, and additional learning services (for both children and adults), libraries may be able to survive.

From geograph.org.uk

More immediately the closure has meant that today I am working from one of York University libraries. These are freely open to the public for reference use. I think this is a wonderful resource. Not as beautiful a building outside, but the resources and facilities inside are great.

I had York down as my reserve place when I applied for university. I now get to experience what working in the library here would have been like. Thank you York! :)

When is a puzzle not a puzzle?

2013-03-05T14:02:00.002+00:00

Tea Break

I shared the Christie article with my friends for fun, thinking that my voice and love of mysteries would be recognised in the opening sentence:

"Sometimes, I try to read novels in which solving a mystery is not the driving force propelling the reader forward. This can occasionally be OK – if there's enough relationship intrigue of the betrayal-and-adultery ilk – but generally I prefer novels that make me desperate to find out who did what and why."

However, being a philosopher, one read the article and decided that he did not agree with the argument presented. Apparently the writer has deployed the fallacy of the undistributed middle to conflate two distinct types of puzzles. To begin she appears to propose that puzzles are better than psychological insight, but then seems self-contradictory when she attempts to equate them in her other two paragraphs.

Mystery books in York

2013-03-04T15:45:00.002+00:00

I love books and places that books are kept. As a result of this I love libraries. They are my favourite place to work. I like the peace and quite that they afford. I also like bookshops, second-hand bookshops in particular. I enjoy ferreting around a second-hand bookshop just in case they have a book I am after or even just an interesting book that I never even thought or known about before.

I have been looking for mystery books in York today. I found this useful website listing second-hand bookshops in York. I had a wonderful time rummaging amongst the shelves. I went into two bookshops: Lucius Books and Minster Gate Bookshop, both of which were delightful.

Today I bought Wilkie Collins, The Woman in White, and Graham Greene, Brighton Rock. They are on my list of books to read this year. The rest of the books on my list are harder to get as a number of them were first published in the early to mid-nineteenth century. They are not all still in print, so I am hoping to be able to do some fortuitous web searching for them. :)

Sometimes, I try to read novels in which solving a mystery is not the driving force propelling the reader forward

2013-03-04T12:01:00.000+00:00


One, Two, Buckle My Shoe, Agatha Christie

Okay, I admit that I do tend towards agreeing with this statement. If there was a 0 - 5 scale where I had to rate how much 'I agreed', I'd probably be far more on the agreeing side. ;)

"Sometimes, I try to read novels in which solving a mystery is not the driving force propelling the reader forward. This can occasionally be OK – if there's enough relationship intrigue of the betrayal-and-adultery ilk – but generally I prefer novels that make me desperate to find out who did what and why."

As Sophie Hannah states in her Guardian author review, my love of mystery books probably does stem from Agatha Christie too. Her and Enid Blyton's Famous Five and Secret Seven.

Watson's Choice - Gladys Mitchell

2013-03-04T11:54:00.002+00:00

Even though I only recently finished reading the Sherlock Holmes books at the end of last year, I still found it hard to identify all of the stories or characters referred to in Watson's Choice.

Some of the stories I definitely remembered:

The Five Orange Pips
The Hound of the Baskervilles (who couldn't?)
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
The Silver Blaze (although I would not have realised the curry reference!)
The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle

I did not remember the Mrs Farintosh reference. I will have to go back to the canon to check up on that.

I thought this book was wonderful and crammed with plenty of winks towards Sherlock Holmes. At first you expect a typical 'whodunnit' as a Sherlock Holmes themed dinner party is arranged. You eagerly await the moment one of the guests is found murdered... and then it doesn't happen. You get a completely different kind of murder mystery instead. Definitely keeps you guessing.

The part where Sir Bohun Chantrey admits that he was to arrange for a gaggle of geese to be let loose amongst his guests as a reference to the Aventure of the Blue Carbuncle actually made me think of the Series 4 Uskerty episode of Cabin Pressure. A series about a ramshackle crew of a small charter air line (or 'air dot' - you cannot put one plane in a line). Quoted from Cabin Pressure Live Journal. As background, Douglas has just told Arthur that Martin is 'the best at being made fun of' because he always goes that extra mile to provide material for you to make fun of. Also, they are at a small airfield where the hyperactive airport manager has been showing them all of the new equipment he has got. It's too complicated to explain the sheep...

My favourite section of the episode:

(Martin bursts through the door of the bar as Carolyn hurries away.)
ARTHUR: Hey, Skip!
MARTIN (urgently): Douglas, quick. I need your help.
DOUGLAS: Martin ... Good Lord, you’re soaking wet.
MARTIN: Yes, well, it’s raining outside. Look ...
DOUGLAS: What happened to your uniform?
MARTIN: I tore it falling out of a tree ...
DOUGLAS: Yes, but what’s that all over it?
MARTIN: Oh, er, goose droppings, but ...
DOUGLAS: Is your hand okay?
MARTIN (increasingly rapidly): No, a bee stung me ...
DOUGLAS: What are you carrying?
MARTIN (frantically): What does it look like?! A stuffed sheep!
DOUGLAS: You see, Arthur? The master.
MARTIN: Douglas, listen. There’s a truck full of geese outside and one of them ate my Dad’s ring and I don’t know which one and I know there’s nothing you can do but is there anything you can do?
DOUGLAS: Gosh. Well, it’s a-a bit of a tall order, Martin, even for me.
MARTIN (more quietly): You can’t do anything?
DOUGLAS: I didn’t say that. Gerry.
MARTIN: Douglas ...
DOUGLAS: This is Martin. Martin is a man who would like to discover which of a truckload of geese has swallowed a valuable ring. Martin, this is Gerry. Gerry is a man who wishes he could get more use out of his metal-detecting gate. Perhaps you two could have a profitable discussion.
GERRY: Oh, grand!
CAROLYN (urgently as she hurries over): Come on, come on. Where are you all? Twelve minutes.
MARTIN: Er, yes, Carolyn. But, er, b-before that, though, I-I just want to very quickly X-ray all the geese.
CAROLYN: You what?! No, I’m sorry, Martin, I’m very sorry, but there is no time! Now come on!
MARTIN (firmly): No. I’m sorry, Carolyn. I carried the sheep for you. I climbed the tree. I rode the back of the truck. But now I have to X-ray these geese.
DOUGLAS: Always the extra mile.

Whilst trying to find the transcript I found this on John Finnemore's blog; it seems others had noticed the reference too.

Our Man in Havana - Graham Greene

2013-02-20T15:52:00.000+00:00

Set in the context of the cold war, first published in 1958, Our Man in Havana, pokes fun at the world of espionage and in particular the British MI6. British expat vacuum cleaner salesman, James Wormald is reluctantly recruited to act as an informant for the British secret service. Wormald is not keen on the work and does not see how he is in a good position to be able to provide any secret information. He is tempted by the money offered and therefore concocts a scheme to invent information and send these fabricated reports back to Britain.

The premise seems almost unbelievable, could the world of spies really be so comical? Could government agencies really be so credulous?

Brutality in Cuba

Despite the comedy, the story is set in Cuba where real hardship was felt under the Batista regime. A disturbing exchange between the protagonist, and the police Captain Segura gives a glimpse of the brutality:

"Did you torture him?"

Captain Segura laughed. "No. He doesn't belong to the torturable class."

"I didn't know there were class-distinctions in torture."

"Dear Mr Wormald, surely you realise there are people who expect to be tortured and others who would be outraged by the idea. One never tortures except by a kind of mutual agreement."

In answer to who is torturable...

"The poor in my own country, in any Latin American country. The poor of central Europe and the Orient. Of course in your welfare states you have no poor, so you are untorturable. In Cuba the police can deal as harshly as they like with émigrés from Latin America and the Baltic States, but not with visitors from your country or Scandinavia. It is an instinctive matter on both sides. Catholics are more torturable than Protestants, just as they are more criminal..."

"One reason why the West hates the great Communist states is that they don't recognise class-distinctions. Sometimes they torture the wrong people. So too of course did Hitler and shocked the world. Nobody cares what goes on in our prisons, or the prisons of Lisbon or Caracas, but Hitler was too promiscuous."

Talking of one of Wormald's 'real' agents and shop salesman, Lopez...

"Be careful, Mr Wormald. He is one of the torturable." They both laughed, drinking daiquiris. It is easy to laugh at the idea of torture on a sunny day. "I must be going, Mr Wormald."

"I suppose the cells are full of my spies."

"We can always make room for another by having a few executions."

The book is published before the Cuban missile crisis but appears to predict the kind of furore and worries to come.

Catholicism

Another prevailing theme in the book is religion:

"Unlike Wormald, who believed in nothing. Milly was a Catholic: he had been made to promise her mother that before they married. Now her mother, he supposed, was of no faith at all, but she had left a Catholic on his hands."

Wormald's daughter, Milly, appears to be strict in her Catholicism at times but slips at others:

"[Wormald] believed that in the rich families the custom of keeping a duenna [an older woman acting as a governess and companion in charge of girls, a chaperone] lingered still, and sometimes it seemed to him that Milly too carried a duenna about with her, invisible to all eyes but her own. In church... the duenna was always seated by her side, to observe that her back was straight, her face covered at the suitable moment... "

Wormald mentions that it took him some time to realise that the duenna was not always at Milly's side. A milder example of this can be seen when Milly drops her veil of morality when she is excited at the thought of going to a nightclub for her birthday celebration.

More shockingly, Milly's lack of duenna is brought abruptly to Wormald's attention when Milly was 13 and she set a boy at her school on fire.

"Milly's only defence of her conduct had been that Earl [the boy she set on fire] was a Protestant and if there was going to be a persecution Catholics could always beat Protestants at that game."

...

Of course he [Wormald] spoke to Milly and her explanation had the virtue of simplicity.
"Why did you set fire to Earl?"
"I was tempted by the devil", she said.
"Milly, please be sensible."
"Saints have been tempted by the devil."
"You are not a saint."
"Exactly. That's why I fell."

Milly has a seemingly child-like approach to her faith. As shown in the way she uses her novenas [institutional act of religious pious devotion in the Roman Catholic Church, often consisting of private or public prayers repeated for nine successive days in belief of obtaining special intercessory graces] to ask for things she wants - like a horse. She has a child-like belief that it will all work.

Perhaps mirroring the way in which the British service seem to blindly believe Wormald's faked reports. Similarly, as Wormald's forgeries are discovered by the British, so too does Milly appear more 'grown up' in her faith. The duenna disappears as she has to sell her horse and go home to Britain.

Sherlock Holmes

2012-11-01T19:46:00.002+00:00

Sherlock Holmes Stories (in 9 books: 4 novels and 5 collections)

I am part way through my mission to read all of the Sherlock Holmes stories. It is an exciting journey and I cannot believe that I left it so long before attempting this. I am somewhat of a fan of mystery novels. I have devoured a number of different types by different authors, but the later part of this year I have dedicated to consuming the Sherlock Holmes narrative.

I have just completed The Valley of Fear; I am reading them in the following order:

A Study in Scarlet
The Sign of Four
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
The Hound of the Baskervilles
The Return of Sherlock Holmes
The Valley of Fear
The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes
His Last Bow

I was reading them in this order as it appeared to be roughly publication order (of the compilations not the short stories themselves). Although I am not sure if this is chronologically the best order to read them in. I got a bit confused in terms of when this was set when I read The Valley of Fear because I was led to believe that in "The Final Problem" in The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, that Holmes and Watson were talking about Moriarty for the first time. Watson appeared not to know about Moriarty and Holmes had to explain. However, Moriarty appears to be alive in The Valley of Fear so this must be set before "The Final Problem" and yet Watson appears to know all about Moriarty here! I can think only of two explanations:
1. Watson did know about Moriarty and had a lapse of memory during his encounter with Holmes as told in "The Final Problem".
2. The Valley of Fear was written up as a story by Watson after "The Final Problem" and Watson has provided information on Moriarty from Holmes that was supplied at a later date to make the story more detailed retrospectively.

Despite my confusion with the jumping backwards and forwards in time, I have really enjoyed the Sherlock Holmes books and think they could be entertaining read in any order.

The Valley of Fear reminded me of A Study in Scarlet in the way it is broken into two parts. The first part is the present day story of how Sherlock Holmes explains the mysterious events and the second part is the background story which led to the mysterious event occurring. Finally these are brought together and wrapped up. I love the way this is done. I found myself unable to put the book down with an irrepressible eagerness to discover the underlying motives of the main characters. I have seen other people criticise A Study in Scarlet saying that it was not as good as some of the other writings as Conan Doyle was still an inexperienced writer. I did not find this to be the case at all. I will admit however, that at first I was confused and a bit disappointed because it seems like Sherlock Holmes discovers 'whodunnit' without providing you with enough explanation or clues to be able to piece together how he knew. It then appeared to just delve straight into a completely different story. Thankfully I was patient enough to get into the 'other story' and realise that the two were in fact related. I am glad that I stuck with it because the results were fantastic. The break in The Valley of Fear was not so disjointed so it was obviously you were now reading the background story. ;)

At present I cannot pick a favourite. I shall wait until I have finished the collection and then pronounce. Two more to go. Perhaps finished by the end of the year? I have been side-tracked by P.D. James. :)

Before I forget, I recently found that apparently the "world's funniest joke" is suppose to be one involving Sherlock Holmes (according to Wikipedia):

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson were going camping. They pitched their tent under the stars and went to sleep. Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson up and said: "Watson, look up at the stars, and tell me what you see." Watson replied: "I see millions and millions of stars." Holmes said: "And what do you deduce from that?" Watson replied: "Well, if there are millions of stars, and if even a few of those have planets, it’s quite likely there are some planets like Earth out there. And if there are a few planets like Earth out there, there might also be life." And Holmes said: "Watson, you idiot, it means that somebody stole our tent."

Facial expression recognition in Computers

2011-11-16T23:25:00.001+00:00

A friend of mine is studying for a PhD regarding artificial intelligence. She is looking into computer recognition of human facial expression of emotion. I was interested when she told me that studies have shown there were six basic facial expressions of emotion that are culturally universally understood. They are: anger, fear, disgust, happiness, sadness, and surprise. It is something that I has not really thought of before. My friend also told me about the etiquette of expressing emotions and how this complicates matters. The example she used was that in Japan it is not considered polite to express disgust. Therefore it might be harder to recognise this emotion because people are trying to hide their facial expression.

I was talking to my boyfriend about it yesterday. He had it in his mind that my friend was teaching robots to recognise the human voice. She does indeed like robots. Her project at undergraduate level involved building a robot. I corrected him by explaining that she was actually teaching computers to recognise human emotion. It made me laugh to express it like that. It reminded me of the first series of Star Trek (yes – I was subjected to it as a child). Each episode followed essentially the same storyline – Kirk meets an alien race, he doesn’t understand them, he insults their beliefs which are different from his own, he falls in love with a beautiful alien creature, then he gets into a fight and the Enterprise manage to just escape with their lives. There is often a bit where Kirk tries to seduce an alluring alien female, “this is the Earth emotion we call ‘love’” he croons whilst passionately kissing her. I get a similar image when I think of researchers trying to teach robots how to recognise human emotion. Very bizarre.

My friend also told me that our facial expressions have all been recorded and classified. They are based on muscle movements – usually of a muscle group.
“This is number four” she proclaimed as she furrowed her brows.
I copied.
“Yes. You do that one a lot.” She said.
“Oh!” I was worried. “That’s my thinking face”

I’d spoken to another friend the week before, about getting frown lines as you get older.
“I want to have happy wrinkles rather than sad wrinkles” she’d said, as she was ending a story about meeting a man with an incredibly ‘sad’ wrinkled face.
I had heartily agreed with this sentiment.

If I do make expression number 4 a lot then I am going to end up with frown lines. I can see them developing already. It is a concern. Sadly, as this is my normal pondering expression, this issue being a concern to me will make frown lines an inevitability. It's a tragedy - or is it? I asked if it is possible to force yourself to reduce the number of times you perform a certain expression or if this is too automatic an action. Learning about your facial expressions makes you more aware of when you are making them. If you are more aware then you can affect your actions in a certain way, There is hope for me yet! I wonder if this is the next stage of vanity? Where people realise they don't want to have an obviously fake face as they get older, so they accept wrinkles but they want to be sure to have the 'right kind' of 'happy' wrinkles? ^^

Christmas in Korea

2011-11-16T22:50:00.001+00:00

Tree 2010

I am going to be abroad for most of December; I am going to the wedding of a wonderful friend from University. I feel as though I might miss out on a lot of the excitement you experience in the run up to Christmas. The decorations, the parties, the food – the tree. I have made a point of getting a real Christmas tree for the past few years now. My love of real Christmas trees stems back to my childhood. I remember one particular Christmas when my family got a huge tree, 7ft at least, as the house we were living in at the time had very high ceilings. It was amazing. We had such a fabulous Christmas that year, and I seem to have encapsulated the whole experience wrapped up in the image of the tree. The beautiful twinkling lights which reflected and glistened off the shiny baubles, and the deep sensuous smell of pine.

This year I have decided to get an artificial tree. It seems so sad to have to do it. However, I was motivated by the even sadder thought that if I got a real tree then it would be left to die on its own in my apartment with nobody to appreciate its beauty. I have been having a debate with my boyfriend over the criteria I am using to choose the type of artificial tree. He thought I wanted a tree to make the place look warm, traditional, and homely. That was the rationale for my choice of real tree. My criteria for an artificial tree seems to be a lot different. If I am going to pick an artificial tree I think I need to embrace and accentuate the fact that it is not real, rather than trying to pretend that it is. Even a good fake is still obviously a fake – where’s the smell. I have decided to go for a white Christmas tree. The colour scheme for baubles is going to be silver and black. My boyfriend tells me he is preparing for a futuristic space age Christmas with me. :)

Perhaps he will be lucky, and we will find a few Christmas trees over in Korea to take the edge off the fact that he had a space age one here.

Marketing in London

2011-11-14T14:49:00.000+00:00

On Monday, I was waiting for a friend at Tottenham Court road tube station reading an article about the use of marketing and appropriate targeting of customers in order to provide a better experience and lower cost service in the retail banking industry. Last week I was participating in a marketing training course. I don’t have a background in marketing; I have performed no formal study in that area. The extent of my practical application of marketing merely touches on the outskirts of campaign and event management. However, since my new job involves more marketing type work, I thought it would be a good time and opportunity to ‘upskill’.

I was amazed at what I learnt. Not because it was so intellectually amazing, most of the things I was told seemed like common sense, but because I did not realise how large a scope marketing is. I had previously thought of marketing as advertising, events, sales campaigns. It is actually much more than the communication side of things. Lots of emphasis is put on planning, strategy, analysis of customer groups, establishing an identity. There is a lot more analysis involved than I realised. The work we did on analysis really shocked me. It was scary to think of the amount of information companies like Facebook, Google, and Tesco can hold on you. It made me reconsider whether marketing really is evil.We did not discuss the ethics of marketing on the course, but I think we should have.

As long as I have known him, my boyfriend has told me how evil marketers are. I had assumed he believed this because his found advertising so annoying. Both because adverts can be ridiculously cheesy and also because they can sometimes be inaccurate (e.g. the vacuum cleaner ad that referred to a vacuum working on the same principal as a black hole with the absence of gravity). It certainly ranks highly on his hate list. I think the more sinister undertone is the level of detail marketers can go to with customer profiling, so they can portray things in a way which customers are most likely to buy because it impacts on them emotionally.

On the course I was told an example of a large football club that was selling mortgages to its fans. The mortgage product was not hugely competitive, certainly not best in
the market, and yet people were buying it. They ran some focus groups to work out why people were buying it. They seemed to fall into two groups: the first group of people did not like banks and thought they would rather give their money to the club than the banks (even though this was actually just a white labelled product from a bank anyway – which they did not realise), the second group really trusted the club and thought that the club was bound to have done their research to find the best product for them. When I heard things like this I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the people!

On the other hand there were examples of adverts that seemed generally loved and generated public excitement and support. I thought this De Beers Diamonds unbreakable kiss campaign seemed great. There are also adverts that play on comedy that people react well to. Therefore I do not think all marketing is evil. Just some applications of it. ;) I don't know if the major professional bodies give due consideration to marketing ethics.