Today is the 100th Anniversary of the birth of Nicholas Stuart Gray

The Scottish writer, playwright and actor Nicholas Stuart Gray was born on this day, October 23rd, in 1922. ***

The In Memoriam article contains some information about his life and works; there is still a little more to be said about him, and the 100th anniversary of his birth is an appropriate time to do it. 

***Since this article was first published, I have seen evidence that Nicholas Stuart Gray was not only not the Highland Scotsman he was widely said to be, he was also born in 1912 rather than 1922.

More information about this can be found here:

http://www.imaginarymongoose.co.uk/blog/reviews/ns-gray/

These recent and unexpected discoveries are not relevant to the following material. 

Writing for oneself
Nicholas Stuart Gray said something very interesting about his writing:

“...Cassandra had written the author a fan letter, and she still treasures his modest, graceful reply, in which he said, amongst other things: ‘As all my books and plays are only written for myself and not for any imagined audiences, readers, age-groups, publishers, etc, it is always a delightful surprise to get proof that anyone BUT myself ever reads or sees them...’"

https://firebirdfeathers.com/2015/02/10/on-writers-nicholas-stuart-gray-and-the-stone-cage/

It is the same with this blog! I produce the articles mainly for my own benefit, but I am delighted when I see that they are being read by many people.

The articles about Nicholas Stuart Gray's witches are among the most popular posts on here. I don't know how many are read by people who were already familiar with his works; I would love to think that I have introduced his books to a few new people. 

More 'coincidences': how the Farjeons found some books

I have on several occasions experienced something that I think of as positive paranoia: this is when people believe that the universe favours them and looks after their interests, often by ensuring that they are in the right place at the right time and giving them things that they need. 

The universe has often helped me to get a lot of good-quality reading material and to find specific books that I wanted for producing articles for this blog. Useful books that I didn't even know existed have also been put in a good position to attract my attention.

As a child I always lived close to a good public library, and one librarian told me that I could go down to the stockroom and take whatever I liked; then there was the occasion when I felt a sudden inner prompting to visit a small town in Kent, where I found a fantasy book by Sheri S. Tepper that I had long been searching for without success; there were also the books that had been put in the right place and at just the right height to ensure that I would see them as I walked past, including one by L. M. Boston.

Finding the right books 'by chance' and people who were helpful without even being asked are experiences of particular interest and significance to me. I found some examples of other people who were favoured by fate in this way in A Nursery in the Nineties (1935), an autobiographical work by the writer, poet and playwright Eleanor Farjeon.

Benjamin Farjeon and the helpful bookseller
Eleanor Farjeon tells us about something that happened to her father, Benjamin Farjeon, when he was a boy of 14 and working in the printing trade:

“On his way to the office, Ben had to pass a second-hand bookshop. Books were his passion, and he possessed none. In the shop-window one stood open, with two pages of reading exposed. One day Ben rose a few minutes earlier, so that he might read the pages, without being late at work, and, entranced, entered the world of Fouqué's Undine. The following day, he found the leaf had been turned; the next two pages were exposed, and he devoured them. The third day the same thing happened. While he was glued to the window, the old man who kept the shop came to the door. 

“You're fond of books, my boy?”

“Yes, sir.”

"Come inside whenever you like, and read what you please from the shelves."

Defence Against the Dark Arts Part XVII: The Farjeons' Kings and Queens

When I was working on the article about the witty and amusing books of W. C. Sellar and R. J. Yeatman, their British history textbook parody 1066 and All That made me think of Eleanor and Herbert Farjeon's Kings and Queens, which was first published in 1932. 

The time has finally come to say a few words about this light and amusing little book.

Something about Kings and Queens
Kings and Queens is a children's classic that adults also enjoy reading. It consists of a collection of forty-one (originally thirty-eight) short poems about English and British monarchs. It is intended to be both educational and fun to read. 

The first poem is about William I, who became king in 1066.

The final poem in the early editions is about George V, who was on the throne when the book was first published. The 1953 edition, which was produced to mark the coronation year, also covers Edward VIII, George VI and Elizabeth II.

In between these monarchs, each member of each dynasty is honoured with a poem. Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell also gets one, even though he was not an actual king!

Kings and Queens is available in several editions and has been illustrated by a variety of artists.

This is the first edition:

Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I is a good example of the poems in the Farjeons' book:

Hail, Queen Elizabeth! Here comes Queen Bess
In a very big ruff and a very wide dress;
Her hair it is red, and her eyes they are green,
And England has prospered since Bess became Queen.
…

She's vain as a peacock that opens its tail,
She's proud as an eagle that weathers the gale,
She's crafty and jealous, suspicious and mean,
But England is England now Bess is the Queen.

That sums her up quite well!