I’ll keep good the promise made by the 1883 newspaper sources for this reconstructed penny blood mystery, by providing their mid-way summary. The author of the novel is the Englishman John Frederick Smith, the most popular writer of the mid-nineteenth century — but in later years all but […]
Smith lingers over May Day while introducing a new source of conflict. The early twenty-first century reader may wince at the themes of gender and morality so firmly foregrounded. In our era we have the advent of LGBT rights, and concurrent with them, the destabilization, at least, of […]
Picture a May Day festival on an English village green, complete with Morris dancers and maypole, the main setting for this instalment. May Day is a tradition widespread in the Northern Hemisphere, celebrating fertility and the return of Spring. There are indeterminate roots in the pagan Roman Floralia, […]
Part of this instalment outlines the troubled history of Bunce, the courageous tramp who risked his life to defend the two girls in the Red Barn. His childhood memories begin in one of about a dozen martello towers in Essex, which prompts the illustration this week, a scene […]
Several of Smith’s writings for the London Journal, beginning in 1849, were illustrated by the artist Sir John Gilbert (1817–1897), knighted by Queen Victoria in 1872. These include his historical romance, Stanfield Hall; a domestic novel, Amy Lawrence, the Freemason’s Daughter; and Minnigrey, generally held to be his […]
Anecdotal evidence suggests that John Frederick Smith was partial to a drop, and indeed his only extant portrait, reprinted here a few weeks back, attests to the possibility. Apparently, he came to the office once a week, sequestered himself in his room with the previous week’s instalment, a […]
Journalist, publisher and bon vivant Henry Vizetelly (1820–1894) dines out on some wonderful anecdotes about J.F. Smith. In one he recounts the author’s move to Cassell’s Family Magazine. This was a new publication of John Cassell’s (1817–1865), who would found the international publishing group Cassell’s. Cassell lured Smith away […]
The adage ‘The pen is mightier than the sword’ is universally attributed to Edward Bulwer-Lytton, for a line in his five-act play Richelieu; or the Conspiracy (1839): beneath the rule of men entirely great, the pen is mightier than the sword — for which the play became best […]
Here is a brief and necessarily hazy biographical note on the author John Frederick Smith (1803?–1890). He is himself something of a mystery, despite the immense popularity he enjoyed in his day, being described as ‘England’s most popular novelist of the mid-nineteenth century’ (Oxford Dict. Nat. Biography). [J.F. […]
An astute reader of the first chapter wondered whether the red barn of our tale might be the scene of the infamous 1827 murder of Maria Marten, perhaps in order to unfold Maria’s tragic plot. That does not seem to be so, however, given the events that occur […]
“You see, Japan does not actually rest atop an infinite pile of turtles, but on the back of a giant carp . . .”
In his mid-thirties, Australian freelance writer and PhD graduate Michael Guest headed for Japan on a whim, worked as Professor in a national university, and stayed fifteen years. Memoir and cultural reflection, his captivating story is one of growth, adaptation and an ever-deepening appreciation of an enchanting, at times perplexing, society. The author is a specialist in modern literature and humanities, with many academic and media articles to his credit, alongside international academic conference lectures.
“Rarely is a reader granted such enlightened insights into the people and culture of Japan. Guest takes us into the Japanese psyche, exploring social mores, the underlying meanings of simple actions, and the historical and religious fabric that knits the people together. . . .”—Brian Armour, author of Future Crime
“He draws his tight literary portraits from his experiences living and tertiary teaching in Japan. I was enchanted to learn the micro-details of a culture of micro-details.”—Gloria Lee McMillan, editor of Orbiting Ray Bradbury’s Mars.
“The book permeates your psyche . . . . his calm, poetic, detailed writing style, always with a touch of light irony, full immersion. The book is, indeed, very Zen. It is an absolute must for anyone going to Japan. It will make for an excellent primer.”—Virginia Arthur, author of Treed and Phat(’s) Chance for Buddha in Houston
