Some more Sagittarian writers of interest

I noticed a while back that a few writers of interest were born at the end of November.  

I found some good connections while I was looking to see what these astrological Sagittarians had in common.

A few more writers whose work I like or at least am familiar with and/or who are of interest for other reasons were born under the sign of Sagittarius – some before the end of November and some in December.

Most of them have been featured or at least mentioned in articles in the past; there may be more to say about a few of them in the future. There may also be some new names to add to the list.

Jane Austen was born on December 16th 1775.
Although her books don't inspire commentary, she has been mentioned on here in a few articles in connection with suspicious deaths. She also appears in articles about tangled webs of connections.

She mentions a witch on one occasion:

“Ah, Mother! How do you do?” said he, giving her a hearty shake of the hand. “Where did you get that quiz of a hat? It makes you look like an old witch...”

From Northanger Abbey

The Reverend Richard Harris Barham was born on December 6th 1788. 
His Ingoldsby Legends, which contain some stories about witches, are praised by Allan Quatermain in Sir Henry Rider Haggard's King Solomon's Mines and its sequel.

Lucy M. Boston was born on December 10th 1892.
She lived to the age of 97. One of her Green Knowe books features the witch Dr. Melanie Powers, who is mentioned in a few places on here, and her autobiography is the subject of an article.

Flying horses, which were mentioned in connection with writers born in late November, appear in The River at Green Knowe.

Frances Hodgson Burnett was born on November 24th 1849.
Her children's classics A Little Princess, The Secret Garden and Little Lord Fauntleroy are her most famous works. They are rather dated but still selling well. She was involved with metaphysical matters; I will investigate this once the people and topics of current interest are finished with.

Beverley Nichols and an ungrateful Conan Doyle

I came across some unexpected material while looking for information about the novelist Beverley Nichols, who is of interest here mainly because of his children's books: I found some connections to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle that are worth highlighting. 

While Conan Doyle's best-known fictional character is a private detective, he also created a witch; conversely, while the witch Miss Smith is one of Beverley Nichols's best-known  characters, he also created a private detective: this was Horatio Green, who appears in five crime novels.

As previously mentioned, Beverley Nichols wrote a book to support the official British position on India; Conan Doyle too produced propaganda materials for the government - this was during the First World War.

Both Nichols and Conan Doyle were contributors to The Strand Magazine; incidentally, Winston Churchill, who was friends with these men and admired their writing, wrote several articles for this magazine.

Beverley Nichols hated his father, who like Conan Doyle's father was an alcoholic; Conan Doyle is said to have come to hate his 'son', Sherlock Holmes.

The mystery of the biography
Another minor mystery in Beverley Nichols's life involves a completely false rumour that he was writing a biography of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle! 

From his 1948 letter to someone who offered to help him with the book:

“Dear Dr. Ernest,  Thank you so much for your kind offer of assistance. I do appreciate it as such, but I have to confess that this is the first I have heard about my forthcoming biography on Conan Doyle! The subject would certainly prove to be an interesting one, but he cannot imagine how the idea originated. 'It is all most mysterious.' “

Perhaps some people learned that Nichols had written an article about Conan Doyle in the past, and Chinese whispers turned this into writing a whole book about him in the present.

A few words about Beverley Nichols

The prolific novelist, playwright, journalist, composer - and many other things including political activist - Beverley Nichols was born on September 9th 1898, so he shares a ninth day of the ninth month birthday with this blog. 

His four childen's books that feature the witch Miss Smith are the main reason for his appearance here, but there is a little more to say about him to mark the occasion.

Beverley Nichols and witches
I am still wondering where Beverley Nichols got his ideas about witches and evil from. I also wonder why The Wickedest Witch in the World (1971) was written so long after the Woodland Trilogy – there is a gap of 21 years.

There is a story called Super Witch: A Story for Children of all Ages in his unpublished papers; it is dated circa 1971.

We will probably never know why he returned to writing about witches at this time.

Houses and gardens
Beverley Nichols wrote a series of books about his houses and gardens. 

I learned recently that his book Down the Garden Path was the inspiration for Sellar & Yeatman's Garden Rubbish.

These books, which are all very good reads and are now what Beverley Nichols is best remembered for, were illustrated by the great decorative artist Rex Whistler.

Some wise words from Winston Churchill on his birthday

A previous article covers a few writers who were born at the end of November.

Sir Winston Churchill is one of the most prominent people ever to have been born at this time of year: he arrived in this world at Blenheim Palace on November 30th 1874.

To mark the occasion, I have selected a few quotations from the huge number available. I have chosen non-political and non-historical statements that have some relevance to this blog, and added some comments of my own to his words of wisdom. 

“You have enemies? Good. It means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.”

Yes indeed, although it should be re-phrased to say that people who stand up for something will have enemies. For example, I know from experience that people who show respect for the truth, question and criticise the behaviour of cult leaders, speak out against injustice and demonstrate that they can think for themselves and operate as individuals often become public enemy number 1.

“Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened .“

This undeniable fact and some of the factors involved have been covered in several articles. Many people just don’t want or can’t afford to recognise and face up to the truth.

Benjamin Disraeli: Imperium Et Libertas, death and primroses

Benjamin Disraeli died on April 19th, 1881.

Protocol did not permit Queen Victoria to attend his funeral, but she sent two wreaths of primroses with a simple message attached: “His favourite flowers.”

She used to dispatch many bunches of primroses from Osborne House, her holiday home on the Isle of Wight, to Disraeli, for which he always thanked her effusively. Perhaps he was just being polite; perhaps he really did like primroses more than any other flower.

Queen Victoria sent primroses to Disraeli’s grave at his home in High Wycombe on each anniversary of his death until 1901, when she herself died.

Some people allege that by ‘his’, Queen Victoria meant Prince Albert’s!

Either way, because of what she wrote and sent, primroses became associated with Disraeli’s name and were featured in two legacies, Primrose Day and The Primrose League.

Primrose Day

On the first anniversary of Disraeli’s death, many people in London wore primroses in their hats and buttonholes as a tribute to the great statesman who had done so much for his country and the British Empire.

This established a tradition; for decades to come April 19th was Primrose Day, which became an unofficial national holiday until the First World War.

On the day, people made pilgrimages to Disraeli’s grave and to his statue near the Parliament that was his Mecca.

As late as 1916, Pathé News filmed the laying of a wreath of primroses at Disraeli’s statue outside the Palace of Westminster.

No other Prime Minister’s death has been honoured in this way.