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The Historical Birthday-Tea Party 24th January
Once more, no candidate for the 24th January, so here is Catalina de Erauso 1585 – 1650ish – cross-dresser, soldier, adventurer, aka Antonio de Arauso, Alonzo Dias, the nun lieutenant. A word of warning: Catalina’s ‘memoirs’ weren’t published until the 19th Century. I’ve read two translations of what seem to be the same passage that…
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The Historical Birthday-Tea Party 22nd January
Once more, dear friends, there is no one specific for whom to bake a cake. Therefore, I delve again into the seventeenth century in search of someone to celebrate: Please give a warm welcome to Margaret Lucas Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle 1623 – 15 December 1673. Mad Madge, as she was known to people emphatically…
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The Historical Birthday-Tea Party 21st January
Today’s birthday girl is Sophia Jex Blake. 1840-1912. Sophia was one of the first women to qualify as a medical doctor in the UK, despite every attempt to prevent her. She was an ardent feminist who lived with and became a life long friend of Lucy Sewell. I am so impressed with Sophia that I…
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The Historical Birthday-Tea Party 20th January
late again! In my defense, an over-long dress rehearsal for Orpheus followed by a rehearsal for Vocal Chords put a bit of a dent in the day. So the 20th of January: not exactly a vintage day for lesbians, at least that I have found dates for – so lets meet Cicely Cornwallis, 1656 – 1723,…
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The Historical Birthday-Tea Party 19th January
Sorry this is a bit late, I’ve been putting in new skirtingboard in the kitchen in preparation for the new flooring. The kitchen is already warmer – no gaps between wall and floor for draughts. Anyway, back to the party. There are still two birthday girls left for today, after yesterday’s early aperitif, but let’s…
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The Historical Birthday-Tea Party 18th January
No birthday girl today, but three tomorrow, so let’s get in an early celebration of Patricia Highsmith (19th January 1921). Highsmith is one of those people I admire without much liking. I don’t enjoy her crime novels, and consider them sadistic. However she was a bit of a trail blazer with her novel Carol (aka…
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The Historical Birthday-Tea Party 15th January
Today we are lighting the candles on the cake for author Mazo de la Roche, born Louise Roche in 1879 in Canada. Mazo was the author of the Jalna novels, and said that the (male) character Finch was based on herself. She lived with Caroline Clement for 75 years. Caroline was an orphaned cousin adopted…
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The Historical Birthday-Tea Party 14th January
Today’s birthday belongs to Jane Welsh Carlyle, 1801-1869. The only thing that makes one place more attractive to me than another is the quantity of heart I find in it. So, if you look Jane up on the web, you might wonder what she’s doing here, one of those archetypal good wives, you might think,…
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The Historical Birthday-Tea Party 11th January
Another date with no dame. So here is Jane Anger. Possibly a pseudonym, possibly her real name, but whoever she was she had a way with words once she got a head of steam on, and went into print in 1589 in defence of women, in response to a scurrilous pamphlet, defiantly entitling her broadsheet…
Cherry Potts, Writer 