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The Historical Birthday-Tea Party March 1st
A new month, but no birthday to celebrate. I’ll have run out of people whose dates I haven’t found soon and then where will I be? Ok, never mind. Today we are composing birthday odes for Emilia Bassano Lanier aka Aemelia Lanyer 1569–1645 Emilia was Jewish, the illegitimate daughter of Venetian musician Baptista Bassano and…
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The Historical Birthday-Tea Party 28th February
Todays is another birth free day, so lets celebrate someone we missed in January; another cross-dresser: Charlotte Charke 13 January 1713 – 6 April 1760. Charlotte was the youngest daughter of Colley Cibber a celebrated actor. She grew up independent and took to the stage herself, frequently playing ‘britches’ parts (18th Century theatre was obsessed…
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LGBT History month – LoSoCo
LoSoCo is what I’ve always known as Lewisham College. I did a reading there on Thursday for LGBT History Month. Here are a couple of snippets. (Apologies for the background noise – it’s the air-conditioning.) Holiday Romance, in which Melanie goes on holiday with her mother and allows her imagination to run riot. Baby Pink/…
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The Historical Birthday-Tea Party 27th February
No birthday girl today so another one from yesterday Mabel Dodge Luhan February 26, 1879 – August 13, 1962. Much married New York Salonist, her memoir (so we are told, I’ve not read it) Intimate Memories (1933) details relationships with several women. She knew Natalie Barney and was a friend of Gertrude Stein and Alice…
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The Historical Birthday-Tea Party 26th February
Let’s light the candles on the cake for Mary Taylor 1817-1893 Mary and her sister, Martha, went to school at Roe Head, Mirfield, where in 1831 Mary met Ellen Nussey and Charlotte Brontë and they became great friends. Mary and Charlotte both stayed in each others homes regularly. Charlotte used the Taylor family as the…
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The Historical Birthday-Tea Party 25th February
No birthday alloted today, so a random choice: Theodora Bosanquet OBE 1881-1961 (no idea what day she was born, history and the internet refuses to relate) Now. Theodora is best known for being Henry James’ secretary. Not a good start, but remarkable that anyone could get known for being anyone’s secretary really. James described her…
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The Historical Birthday-Tea Party 24th February
No birthday for today, so guess where we are headed. Yep! Eliza Fowler Haywood, born around 1693 died 25 February 1756, so it seems appropriate to give her a February party. Eliza was an actress, and a prolific novelist, playwright, poet, translator and editor – and made quite a success of all of them. She…
Cherry Potts, Writer, Editor, creative writing tutor; Lesbian, cat-mother, would-be singer. Any of these can crop up here.
Cherry Potts, Writer 