Herbert James Draper (1863-1920) was an English Neoclassical painter and illustrator whose career spanned the Victorian era and the first two decades of the 20th century. He was born in Covent Garden, London, on November 26, 1863 and was the only male son and seventh child of fruit merchant John James Draper and his wife, […]
Chapter 5 We arrived at the king’s palace, a description of which will undoubtedly interest the reader, and I only regret my inability to do full justice to this subject. The palace consisted of an extensive building of white alabaster upon a rose-coloured marble foundation, and with a gilded dome-shaped roof over the main portion […]
A werewolf story by Alexandre Dumas père. Chapter I: The Grand Master of His Highness’ Wolf Hounds The Seigneur Jean, Baron of Vez, was a hardy and indefatigable sportsman. If you follow the beautiful valley which runs between Berval and Longpré, you will see, on your left hand, an old tower, which by reason of its […]
Another folk-tale translated by William Ralston Shedden-Ralston in his A Choice Collection of Muscovite Folk-lore (1887). It’s grouped in Chapter III, “Miscellaneous Impersonations”, together with “The Water King and Vasilissa the Wise” I gave you last week. The scholar who collected this one is of this one is A.A. Erlenwein, in a collection called Folk […]
Alexander Nikolayevich Afanasyev (1826–1871) was a folklorist and ethnographer who collected nearly 600 East Slavic and Russian fairy tales between 1855 and 1867. His collection is considered one of the largest folklore collections worldwide and earned him a reputation as the Russian counterpart to the Brothers Grimm. This tale, known as “The Fiend” or “The Vampire”, […]
Chapter 4 While I was sleeping I experienced a horrible dream. The jumping-jack before me assumed the features of a baboon, having a great resemblance to Professor Cracker, and besides this there were two grotesque figures standing at the foot of the pole. One was wooden nut-cracker with goggle eyes, a long nose and protruding […]
Alexandre Dumas père is the famous one, the one you have in mind when I say “Dumas”: he was born on July 24, 1802, in Villers-Cotterêts, France, and wrote both The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo. The Wolf-Leader (original title: Le Meneur de Loups), was written in 1857 and it’s a lesser-known […]
Yesterday I gave you a folk-tale by Alexander Nikolayevich Afanasyev as translated by William Ralston Shedden-Ralston and collected in his A Choice Collection of Muscovite Folk-lore (1887). Here’s another one, called “The Water King and Vasilissa the Wise”. Incidentally, it’s the only one illustrated in the version I have. Once upon a time there lived […]
Every year, my significant otter and I organize to view the Superbowl (which carries through the night since we’re based in Italy), and he cooks a menu inspired by the venue where the Superbowl is hosted. So here’s this year’s menu. The text comes from this excellent book: Crab Cakes Crab cakes are not native […]
Alexander Nikolayevich Afanasyev (1826–1871) was a folklorist and ethnographer who collected nearly 600 East Slavic and Russian fairy tales between 1855 and 1867. His collection is considered one of the largest folklore collections worldwide and earned him a reputation as the Russian counterpart to the Brothers Grimm. This tale, known as “The Fiend” or “The […]