19th Century… A Victorian “Commonplace Book” 11 Jul 2020 By Stephen Basdeo I recently got hold of a “Commonplace Book” which dates from 1859. Commonplace books have been a feature of home life since at least the 1600s. Most…
19th Century… Lines Written by a New York Homeless Woman 30 Jun 2020 By Stephen Basdeo I recently came across a fascinating book titled Darkness and Daylight; or, Lights and Shadows of New York Life (1891), which formed the basis of another post…
19th Century… Poetry: I Had a Tender Mother Once 19 May 2020 One of my favourite writers of the nineteenth century was George William MacArthur Reynolds. Although we know him primarily as a journalist and novelist today, he composed original poetry in…
14th Century… Poetry: The Rebellion of Wat Tyler and Jack Straw (c.1612) 17 May 2020 Unlike that other medieval hero and man of the people, Robin Hood, Wat Tyler does not enjoy an extensive ballad "afterlife." This song, first published in The Garland of Delight…
19th Century… “Saxon Grit” 23 Apr 2020 St George’s Day seems as fitting time as ever to publish a “new” Robin Hood poem I found titled “Saxon Grit” in the archives of a long-defunct Christian socialist magazine…
18th century… Robert Southey’s “Wedding of Robin Hood and Maid Marian” 8 Jul 20198 Jul 2019 By Stephen Basdeo Dr Mark Truesdale and I are currently transcribing Robert Southey’s ‘Harold; or, The Castle of Morford’ (Bodleian MS Eng. Misc. e. 21), which was originally written in…
