Orlando

Orlando

Vita Sackville-West | Myspace Video

"Orlando: A Biography is an influential novel by Virginia Woolf, first published on 11 October 1928. A semi-biographical novel based in part on the life of Woolf's lover Vita Sackville-West, it is generally considered one of Woolf's most accessible novels. The novel has been influential stylistically, and is considered important in literature generally, and particularly in the history of women's writing and gender studies. A film adaptation was released in 1992, starring Tilda Swinton as Orlando and Quentin Crisp as Queen Elizabeth I."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orlando:_A_Biography

Read ORLANDO here
http://gutenberg.net.au/pages/woolf.html

Alice in Wonderland in British Stained Glass

This image and our banner (above) are from the the Daniell Chapel in Daresbury, which contains the Lewis Carroll Memorial Window.

"To mark the centenary of his birth, Carroll enthusiasts from all over the world subscribed to a memorial fund, which resulted in a gift to All Saints' of this striking and unusual stained glass window, dedicated in 1935.
The window was designed by the stained glass artist Geoffrey Webb and depicts a Nativity scene, at which both Carroll and Alice are present. Below the Nativity scene are 5 panels illustrated with characters and scenes from Alice in Wonderland including the White Rabbit, the Lizard, the Dodo, the Caterpillar, Fish-Footman, Mad Hatter, Dormouse, March Hare, Duchess, Gryphon, Mock Turtle, Knave and Queen of Hearts. The famous Cheshire Cat can be found in the centre of the fifth panel. The 3 centre panels contain verses from the Lewis Carroll’s poem ‘Christmas Greetings (From a Fairy to a Child)’."

There are magnificent photographs of it - and related links - here:
http://daresburycofe.org.uk/index.php?page=alice-window
http://daresburycofe.org.uk/news/29/15/Lewis-Carroll-Centre/
http://www2.halton.gov.uk/content/tourismandleisure/localhistory/lewiscarroll/
http://www2.halton.gov.uk/yourcouncil/townsandvillages/daresburyvillage/

More links related to Alice
http://www.melaniebenjamin.com/world-of-alice.php
http://www.purr-n-fur.org.uk/fabled/cheshirecat.html
http://aliceinoxford.info/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=92&Itemid=139
http://www.alice-in-wonderland.biz/backgroundthomson.htm

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/11 Alice In Wonderland text online
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/114 Alice In Wonderland - Tenniel's illustrations



Find more magical British stained glass here -
The UK on-line stained glass magazine
and Stained Glass Register in 2010
News, views, and links to stained glass artists and suppliers
http://www.stainedglassnews.co.uk/

Alan Moore on Austin Osman Spare

Man Myth and Magic cover image from "The Vampires Are Coming", a painting by Austin Osman Spare



"Austin Osman Spare (30 December 1886 – 15 May 1956) was an English artist who developed idiosyncratic magical techniques including automatic writing, automatic drawing and sigilization based on his theories of the relationship between the conscious and unconscious self. His artistic work is characterized by skilled draughtsmanship exhibiting a mastery of the use of the line, and often employs monstrous or fantastic magical and sexual imagery."