Quick-fire reviews of some more books that are not included in my 20 Books of Summer challenge! Antonia Hodgson, The Raven Scholar. In the walled capital city of Orrun, seven contenders arrive to compete to be the next emperor. Court scholar Neema is unexpectedly drawn into the trials after one of the hopefuls is murdered. This was … Continue reading More Quick-Fire Reviews of Some Non-Summer Reads| Laura Tisdall
There is a moment, just before arrival, when Sancaklar Mosque is entirely invisible. The sunflower fields thin out. The hum of construction trucks grows louder. Then, a sharp-edged minaret (and nothing more) breaks the horizon. Everything else sinks. Following the slope; downwards instead of upwards. The city has vanished, but something else begins...| Religion and Urbanity: Reciprocal Formations
Sarah Moss, Ripeness. Having read all of Moss’s fiction to date (plus her memoir Names for the Sea), I’ve become very familiar with her thought-world, and have started to wonder if she&…| Laura Tisdall
Political assassinations have been a persistent issue throughout history, affecting leaders from Julius Caesar to modern times.| Historic Mysteries
How do megachurches, with several thousand worshippers per week, find space in a densely populated city-state like Singapore, characterized by limited space? The urban landscape and use of city space are tightly regulated by the government. Fast-growing neo-Pentecostal megachurches, needing large auditoriums for their worship services, often fail to gain permission from the state to build churches that cater to 5,000 or more worshippers...| Religion and Urbanity: Reciprocal Formations
Why was the Seán Mc Dermott St Magdalene asylum - which contained also a Magdalene Laundry - located where it was? And how does this placing relate to discourses on Irish women in the city? The article offers an introduction to the historical context of the Magdalene Laundries in nineteenth and early twentieth century Ireland.| Religion and Urbanity: Reciprocal Formations
Nope. We don’t “got” ghosts. Ever since I covered the interpretation of the Kelvedon Hatch nuclear bunker I’ve been meaning to go back and watch the predictably terrible ‘Most Hau…| The BS Historian
Sigh. Sorry to those of you still reading this page – it’s been ages I know. Over the Christmas period I’ve had some time to come back and revisit a documentary on the werewolf th…| The BS Historian
The flag version of the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces cap badge (Wikimedia) In 2019 Ukraine’s Special Operations Command officially adopted a new unit patch featuring the head of a wolf with …| The BS Historian
I’ve just come across this cool piece of art on Facebook (I like the use of the memento mori as used on period headstones) with the following Revolutionary War quote above it; “…the shi…| The BS Historian
I’ve been aware of Scientology’s history at Saint Hill Manor near East Grinstead, Sussex, UK for many years. What I hadn’t realised is that several other occult/esoteric/religious organisations are…| The BS Historian