“Everything is repeated, in a circle. History is a master because it teaches us that it doesn't exist. It's the permutations that matter.”

―Umberto Eco, Foucault's Pendulum

Hello,

The last few days have taken us into winter here in Sweden. We had snow for the first time, not much, almost gone in the evening. Other parts of Sweden have had terrible snowfall causing a big mess in communications, both on the roads and railways. When I grew up there was always a lot of snow in the winter, and I can’t remember that causing any big problems. During recent years there has not been that much snow, so when it comes, it seems to be a big surprise for the institutions that have to deal with removing the snow. There is a common word for whatever weather catastrophe these days: climate change. Just in time for the end of the COP27 and what seems like minor results.

Leonora Christina and her miserable life

In one of my first newsletters I promised to tell you about a famous prisoner who was locked up in the Blue Tower at Christiansborg castle. It was not any prisoner, but Leonora Christina (1621-1698), daughter of king Christian IV and his second wife Kirsten Munk. When she was fifteen years old she was married to the ‘Steward of the Realm’ Count Corfitz Ulfeldt, a rich and powerful man, who could be somewhat erratic. The couple lived an adventurous life, changing loyalty sides as suited them, going from golden days to a decline leading them to be traitors to the crown(s). Yes, they served several masters. Leonora Christina remained loyal to her husband, following him into every adventure which, as we shall see, was not so good for her. It seems to have been a happy marriage nevertheless, as long as it lasted.

Leonora Christina and Corfitz Ulfeldt

This is a very short retelling of their lives and adventures. In those days it was a skill to survive court life. Friends and enemies, fights for power and control. Loyalty changing depending on who had the power. In 1651 it was rumoured that Ulfeldt was involved in a plot to poison the royal family, and the couple had to leave Denmark. They travelled to Amsterdam and then Stockholm, and became international fugitives, always on the run, looking behind their backs for their enemies. Ulfeldt went into the service of the Swedes (Denmark and Sweden being enemies at the time), receiving the title Count of Sölvesborg for his services. However, always playing with high cards, he was discovered to be a double traitor and the couple had to escape and went back to Copenhagen. It turned out not to be a good idea since they were arrested. Imprisoned for two years in the castle of Hammershus (a wonderful castle ruin today, well worth a visit) on the isle of Bornholm, they finally managed to pay a ransom for their freedom.

The treasons did not end there. As usual they needed money so Leonora Christina went to England in order to persuade King Charles II to repay money Ulfeldt had lend him during the King Charles’ exiled years. The King was not interested, betrayed her and sent her straight back to Denmark, where she was arrested. She refused to acknowledge any crimes on her husband’s part. In the end she did consent to the accusations against the promise that Ulfeldt and her children would be set free.

She was betrayed once again. Ulfeldt was sentenced to be executed and their children exiled. He managed to escape and joined the children abroad, of which she was not told. She had to watch him burning in effigy. Leonora Christina never saw her husband again. There are no evidence that he tried to save her, or see her again. Her love was eternal, and she stood by her man “for better and for worse”. Unfortunately, Mr Ulfeldt did not take the vows as seriously. He died in 1664, near Basel in Switzerland.

Imprisonment

Leonora Christina spent the next twenty-two years imprisoned, without charge. She was held in the Blue Tower of Christiansborg’s castle, where she lived under miserable condition. After a long ordeal she was let out of prison, but not before the death of the Queen Dowager Sophie Amalie, who was her antagonist, died in February 1685.

Having spent twenty-one years, nine months and eleven days in the Blue Tower she was finally released in 1685. Her last years were spent quietly in the Maribo Abbey on the island of Lolland, editing her notebooks which she wrote in prison. The book, Jammers Minde (A Memory of Lament”) has become a classic of 17th century Danish literature. “It explores her prison years in detailed and vivid prose, recounting her crises, confrontations, humiliations, self-discipline, growing religious faith and serenity, together with descriptions of hardships she endured or overcome.” (from Wikipedia)

Jammers Minde

A few notes on her memoirs. According to the preface the book is written for her children and it is not entirely clear if she intended it to be published. The first part covers the first three weeks of imprisonment and adjustment. The second part covers the years 1663-74 and the third one the rest of the time until she was released in 1685.

Today it is considered one of the most important literary work of prose of the time. It is part political but also includes personal confessions and crises. Critics says she writes in a down to earth fashion describing smells and sounds, often with some kind of disgust, other times with a grotesk sense of humour. It sounds like an interesting book to read. If anyone is interested it can be downloaded for free on Manybooks.net with the title: Memoirs of Leonora Christina, Daughter of Christian IV. of Denmark Written During Her Imprisonment in the Blue Tower at Copenhagen 1663-1685.

Publication

It might never have been published at all if it wasn’t for her son Leo Ulfeldt. After his mother’s death he took the manuscript with him. It was inherited in a descending line in the family, until one day it just disappeared into the library of the Waldstein family. It was discovered by Leonora Christinas ascendant Count Johann von Waldstein, only in 1868, some two hundred years after it was written. He sent it to Denmark to be examined by experts. This led to the publication in 1869. In 1920 the Danish state bought the manuscript and today it is kept at the National History Museum at Frederiksborgs slott.

The wonders of history when old manuscripts find their way into the public sphere again. A while ago I visited Torups castle for an Arts & Crafts exhibition (of which you could read her).  The lady of the house had a copy of Jammers Minde and I noticed it since she had organised a personal cover on it. Isn’t it beautiful?

And that brings us to the coincidences. Torups castle (situated outside Malmö) was built by Danish nobility. It turns out that Christian IV often visited the castle during the time the Grubbe family owned it. In 1647 the castle was bought by … yes, your are right, Corfitz Ulfeldt. He lost it when the Swedish crown withdrew it in 1660. I guess the treason played a role. However, in 1735 Ulfeldts grandson Jochum Beck got it back. History goes in circles.

Permutation

That takes us back to Umberto Eco’s quote of the week. What is a permutation? You don’t know? Me neither, and I don’t know if I am the wiser after reading this explanation.

“In mathematics, a permutation of a set is, loosely speaking, an arrangement of its members into a sequence or linear order, or if the set is already ordered, a rearrangement of its elements. The word "permutation" also refers to the act or process of changing the linear order of an ordered set.” (Wikipedia)

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Musings this week

Podcasts

Lately, I have started to listen to podcasts. Mostly I choose podcasts on history and literature, but there are other interesting ones out there. Recently, I was recommended two great podcasts.

Crooked Media and their series Winds of change. An amazing story that keeps you hooked from the beginning. From their website:

“It’s 1990. The Berlin Wall has just come down. The Soviet Union is on the verge of collapse. A heavy metal band from West Germany, the Scorpions, releases a power ballad, “Wind of Change.” The song becomes the soundtrack to the peaceful revolution sweeping Europe — and one of the biggest rock singles ever. According to some fans, it’s the song that ended the Cold War.

Decades later, New Yorker writer Patrick Radden Keefe hears a rumor from a source: the Scorpions didn’t actually write “Wind of Change.” The CIA did.

This is Patrick’s journey to find the truth. Among former operatives and leather-clad rockers, from Moscow to Kyiv to a GI Joe convention in Ohio, it’s a story about spies doing the unthinkable, about propaganda hidden in pop music, and a maze of government secrets. “Wind of Change.” An offbeat eight part investigation

Wind of Change is an Original Series from Pineapple Street Studios, Crooked Media and Spotify. Follow Wind of Change on Spotify to binge the full season.”

BBC, Radio 4 - Intrigue

I have been recommended The Ratline and Tunnel 29, and there are more interesting stories from around the world.

Statistics

Winston Churchill is probably the most quoted man in the world, possibly with the exception of Oscar Wilde. According to some reports he said “the only statistics you can trust are the ones you have falsified yourself.” Another prime minister, Benjamin Disraeli, also had a view on statistics, saying there were “three kind of lies: lies, damn lies and statistics.”

The truth is, I would think, that you can prove anything with statistics, and it depends how it is collected. It is quite interesting to read though. I receive a local magazine in me letterbox, Galore Weekend, and they publish a page with different kind of interesting facts and statistics. In the latest issue it was data about mobile phones. Here are three notes and three statistics.

1. On 3 April the first mobile phone call was made. It was the inventor Martin Cooper at Motorola who called a competitor from the pavement in New York, just to tell him that he had won. As they say; ‘Schadenfreude is the only true joy’.

2. 9:41 - It seems that all pictures av iPhones show the time 9:41. It is the time when Steve Jobs presented the first iPhone in 2007 at the MacWorld Expo. At that time the phone only had 15 apps. A somewhat discreet start.

3. 6.648.000.000 is the number of people who have smartphones today, about 83% of the world population. If you add mobile phones which are not smartphones you reach 7,26 billions people, which is 91% of the world population. It is quite amazing.  

1. Contactless payments (Apple Pay, Google Pay etc) - I was quite surprised to see which areas in the world use this payment method the most:
   Asia & Oceania - 44%
   Middle East & Africa - 12%
   North America - 10%
   Europe - 8%
   South America - 8%

2. Number of people listening to music only through streaming (% per country) - another set of surprising figures.
   Kina - 87%
   France - 78%
   India - 78%
   USA - 76%
   Sweden - 76%
   Great Britain - 72%
   Germany - 69%

3. Most expensive influencers, people earning most per post on Instagram (average 2022, in million US dollar)
   Christiano Ronaldo - 2.4
   Kylie Jenner - 1.84
   Lionel Messi - 1.78
   Selena Gomez - 1.74
   Dwayne Johnson - 1.71

   Kim Kardashian - 1.69
   Ariana Grande - 1.69
   Beyoncé - 1.39
   Khloe Kardashian - 1.32
   Kendall Jenner - 1.29
   

   Tempora mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis. "Times are changed; we also are changed with them". So true and with these words I wish you a pleasant week. 

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The Content Reader, (in English) where I write about books 
and 
Den tillfälliga besökaren (in Swedish) where I share my life and interests in books, history, travel and everything that makes life interesting. 

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“History is a jangle of accidents, blunders, surprises and absurdities, and so is our knowledge of it, but if we are to report it at all we must impose some order upon it.”
Henry Steele Commager, American historian (1902-1998)

Hello,

Hope you are all well and enjoying the season wherever you are. Here in northern Europe autumn is upon us. Luckily, so far, it has been rather pleasant, with sunny and rather warm temperatures for the season. As we are heading into November, we have to keep our fingers cross.

A couple of historical developments happened this last week, so I leave the Danish royalty for now (I will come back to the prisoner) and take a look at new interesting events. The first one is a mystery alluding us for more than 500 years, namely:

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The Princes in the Tower

It is impossible to go into all the details of this historical drama here. I leave a few links below for further reading, or take a look at google. Just a few facts we need to know due to digest new theories and a development of the story.

War of the Roses

A conflict and fight for the throne (1455-1487) between the two rival branches of the House of Plantagenet : Lancaster and York. The wars extinguished the male line of the dynasties leading to the Tudor family inheriting the Lancastrian claim. With Henry VII’s marriage to Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV, the two lines were united.

• The Princes in the Tower refers to the two eldest sons of Edward IV; Edward, the future Edward V and Richard, Duke of York. Edward IV died in 1483 when the princes were 12 and 9 years old. They were housed in the Tower by their uncle Duke of Gloucester.

• The coronation of Edward V was postponed, the princes were declared illegitimate and Gloucester ascended the throne as Richard III. It is unclear what happened but they disappeared from view. Their deaths may have occurred sometime in 1483, but there are no real evidence.

• Possible suspects: Richard III in order to secure his hold on the throne; Duke of Buckingham, the princes maternal uncle; or his future brother-in-law King Henry VII. It has been suggested that one, or both princes may have escaped death.

• In 1674, workmen at the tower dug up a wooden box containing two small human skeletons. It was widely accepted at the time they belonged to the princes, but nothing has been proven. King Charles II had the bones buried in Westminster Abbey without any examination.

• In 1789 workmen accidentally rediscovered two coffins in the vault of Edward IV and Queen Elizabeth Woodville. They were said to contain two of there other children who died young. However, two other coffins with their names on them were found elsewhere in the vault.

• In 1933 the bones found in the Tower were examined by leading experts. They concluded the bones belonged to two children around the same age as the princes. The bones were found together with animal bones and garbage. One skeleton was larger than the other, but some parts of the skeletons were missing. The examination has been criticised since the experts took for granted the bones belonged to the princes, and only looked for evidence of suffocation. There was not attempt to determine the sex of the bones. A DNA analysis has not been done. As Pollard (see link below) point out, even if a test would prove it is the princes, it would not prove who or what killed them.

• In the late 1990s a request was put forward to re-excavating the skeletons of the two unidentified coffins. Queen Elizabeth II never granted the approval. Now it seems that King Charles III has given his approval to examine the skeletons found in the Tower and Westminster Abbey. Experts believe modern technology could give the answers, and shed light on how the princes died. IF the skeletons belongs to the princes. But, as Pollard said, it does not give us the culprit.

Other theories?

In ‘History Hit’ on Youtube historian Matthew Lewis puts forward his own theories on what happened to the princes and who was guilty … or not.

• Prime suspect is Richard III. He had the motive, means and opportunity. Lewis argues that why did Richard not let the world know they were dead? That would have ended the prince’s claim to the throne and everybody would know they were not a threat to Richard.

• Henry VII upon taking power in 1485 destroyed official document against usual protocol. Maybe these documents had something to do with the fate of the princes?

• As usual in cases like this there are a few persons coming forward claiming to be one of the princes. Although some of the cases are more serious than others, there were no successful claimants.

• When Henry VII married Elizabeth of York (daughter of Edward IV) he re-legalised the princes. Why would he do that if they were alive, and thus being a threat to his own claim to the throne?

• Elizabeth Woodville comes out of sanctuary at Westminster Abbey in april 1484 and gives the custody of her daughters to Richard III. Would she do this if she thought that he had killed her sones?

• Elizabeth of York, at the time Queen, did not at any time accuse her uncle of having killed her brothers. Not even Henry VII talked openly about them or their fate.

• Before the Tudors, Richard III’s reputation was rather good. After the Tudors, and the writings of Sir Thomas More, his reputation deteriorated, and has not really recovered until recent years. Sir Thomas More leads us to:

The Jack Leslau Theory

Jack Leslau was an amateur art enthusiast who though he found an answer to the riddle of the Princes in the Tower hidden in Hans Holbein’s portrait of Sir Thomas More’s family.

The figure to the right, by the pillar, is marked as ‘Johanes heresius Thomae Mori famul: Anno 27‘. It has been believed it represents More’s secretary John Harris. Leslau discovered several anomalies, making him believe the young man is someone totally different. He believed it to be Dr John Clement, the husband of Margaret Giggs, Sir Thomas More’s adopted daughter. And, more controversially, that Dr John Clement was really Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, the younger of the Princes in the Tower.

His reason for this is that when examining Holbein’s preparatory sketch, made around 1527, with the final portrait of 1532, he found 1 major and 80 minor changes, each of them relevant to the ‘hidden secret’ he believed he found. The major change is the addition of the young man by the pillar. He was looking at the text above the man, reading ‘Johanes heresius Thomae Mori famul: Anno 27“. It can mean several things, but if it is translated from Latin, heresius can be translated as “here’s - heir, ius - right or rightful, that is; John, the rightful heir. There are a lot of further details for this painting. If interested go to Matthew Lewis blog.

Outcome?

Does it sound like a conspiracy theory? Well, a lot of circumstantial evidence, but nothing that gives us a certain scenario of what happened to the Princes in the Tower. It is all very interesting, but personally, I think they died in the end of the 15th century. They might not have been murdered, but could have died by natural causes. The reasons for keeping it all secret are many. There are certainly many suspects, even if Richard III was always considered the prime one. If they had survived, I think we would have heard of them, in one way or the other. Apart from the ones who did come out in the open, but failed to provide proof of their claims. It will be interesting to follow the outcome of modern day forensics and to find out whether the bones found belong to the princes.

Links to more reading

Richard III and the Princes in the Tower by A.J. Pollard

Eleanor, the Secret Queen by John Ashdown-Hill

History Hit (Youtube) The Princes in the Tower

Matthew Lewis Blog Examining Hans Holbein’s painting

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Äpplet (The Apple)

No, I am not talking about the famous computer company, nor about the fruit, I am talking about a 500 year old ship wreck discovered at the inlet of Stockholm. It is the sister ship of the famous, or infamous Vasa royal ship. The pride of Gustavus Adolphus’ navy, it sank on its maiden voyage on 10 August 1628 after roughly 1,300 m (1,400 yd). It fell into obscurity until it was located in the late 1950s in Stockholm harbour. It was salvaged, almost intact in 1961. After a temporary home it is now housed in the Vasa Museum in Stockholm. It is very popular and has been seen by over 35 million visitors since 1961. If you happen to be in Stockholm you really must see it. It is magnificent.

Now, marine archaeologist from Vrak (Museum of Wrecks) have found the sister ship Äpplet (The Apple). I think it is quite an unusual and funny name for a ship. It is similar to Vasa and was launched a year later. Built by the same builder but slightly adjusted to be one metre wider to increase stability. According to the Museum of Wreck, it was probably not due to the unlucky fate of Vasa, since the building of the ship was far ahead at the time of the accident, but the constructor realised already earlier that the construction of the ships were unstable. In spite of the changes it was difficult to manoeuvre The Apple.

The Apple was one of four warships with double canon tires that was to establish the dominion of Sweden over the Baltic Sea. The other were Kronan (The Crown) and Scepter (The Scepter). The Apple never participated in a sea battle, but served the state during the thirty years’ war as a transport ship, and not least as the sign of power and status.

After 30 years of service Sweden tried to sell The Apple to, among others, France. They turned down the offer due to the lack of performance as well as the fact it was worn out. Instead it was emptied on canons and other valuable things and sunk outside Vaxholm fortress. The marin archaeologists are hoping to continue diving in order to document the wreck. For the time being there is no intention to salvage the wreck.

The find can bring new historical facts to the development of Swedish ship building. It gives the possibility to see the difference between the Vasa and The Apple. It is also important to understand how the big war ships develops from the unstable Vasa to the more sea worthy ships that conquered the Baltic Sea. It was a decisive factor for Sweden’s emergence as a major power in the 17th century.

This week

After another long story on a historical mystery, I will make it short. This week I went to one guided tour and two theatres. The guided tour was to the City Hall of Malmö, built in the 16th century by the Danes, ruling this part of Sweden at the time. It was very interesting and a beautiful building.

Two theatres of which one was from the amateur theatre in Malmö. They gave a Harold Pinter play, The Dumb Waiter. As usual with Pinter you have to be on your toes to gather the fine tuned elements of the play. Quite a surprise ending, as usual I would say. This amateur group is very good, I have seen several performances by them.

The other one was Christopher Marlowe’s Edward II. It was absolute great and quite funny. Retelling the rather sad story of this king and his friends and lovers. It was excellently performed in a small theatre where you really are sitting on the scene. This is my first Marlowe play and I really enjoyed it.

On Tuesday there was a meeting with my writing group. As usual great fun and a lot of inspiration.

See you next week.

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I have two blogs; 

The Content Reader, (in English) where I write about books 
and 
Den tillfälliga besökaren (in Swedish) where I share my life and interests in books, history, travel and everything that makes life interesting. 

If you want to leave a comment or discuss something you can comment in the post or send me an e-mail to thecontentreadernewsletter(at)gmail.com

There are no rules of architecture for a castle in the clouds.

Gilbert K. Chesterton

Hello,

Hope you have had a good week. My have been rather quiet which have been nice. I finally continued a project that I started some time ago, as well as fixing a few things at home.

Thinking of the energy bills, like we all are these days, I decided to buy led lamps and change the spot lights in the hall and bathroom. I choose a warmer shine and the lamps do give a softer and warmer glow. Quite pleased with that.

I am thinking of leaving Blogger, where I host my two blogs, and make a web page of my own. I have started creating one at WIX. Blogger is really easy to work with, and I am still trying to get the hang of WIX. It will take some time before I am ready. That is when I have to decide wether to change or not. Anyone using WIX who can give me some advice?

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Visting Copenhagen

My friend Lena and I decided to go to Copenhagen for a day to visit museums. There are many interesting museums, and I think it will take several visits before I have seen them all. This time we decided on two castles (what else?); Rosenborg and Christiansborg, both situated in the middle of the city. We boarded the train in Malmö, went over, (or under in this case, since the railway bridge is under the highway) the bridge and stepped out close to the first visit, which was the castle of Rosenborg. We settled for castles this time. Both situated in the middle of the city.

Rosenborg castle

This very personal castle was built by the most famous Danish king, Christian IV (1595-1648), in the 17th century. Today it houses 400 years of Royal collections of furniture, paintings, tapestries and whatever else they used in those days. The tour covers three floors, plus the basement (housing the Crown Jewels which are magnificent), full of wonderful objects highlighting the taste of the time. The first room you enter is the Winter room, full of Dutch paintings although unknown artists, typical of the era. Off this room is the king’s writing room, and I would not say no to his desk (see image below). Since the castle was used as a royal residence until around 1710, the rooms are not only official ones, but also private ones, like bedrooms and bathrooms.

After the reign of Frederik IV (1699-1730), Rosenborg was used only twice by the royal family. Both times during emergencies. First time after Christiansborg Palace burned down in 1794, and another time during the British attack on Copenhagen in 1801. Known as the First Battle of Copenhagen (the second battle came in 1807) was fought when a British fleet defeated a smaller force of the Danish-Norwegian Navy. All due to broken down diplomatic negotiations and British fear that the powerful Danish fleet would ally itself with France.

The second floor houses the Great Hall where you see three silver lions guarding the thrones of the king and queen. On the walls hang 12 tapestries depicting Christian’s V’s victories in the war again Sweden 1675-79. On the same floor is a glass cabinet with Venetian glass which was given to Fredrik IV when he visited the city. Some of the finest glass I have seen. Beautifully displayed, but unfortunately impossible to photograph. The collection is truly amazing.

Having walked around and enjoying the collections on the upper floors we went down to the basement where various items are displayed: weapons, objects of ivory and amber of exquisite quality. At the end you enter another stair case going down to find the treasury with amazing objects of jewellery and regalia. We were told that some of the necklaces displayed are used from time to time, but only by the Queen herself.

We were very pleased and surprised by the collection at Rosenborg. It is quite unique and unlike anything we had seen before. If you visit Copenhagen, I would say it is a must visit. No royal families without scandals, so next week I will tell you about one of them.

Christiansborg Palace

After a nice, light lunch at Café Vivaldi, we continued our castle tour to Christiansborg Palace. Three different palaces have bee built on the site through the years. The oldest one, which ruin you can see under the present day building, was a palace built by the powerful Bishop Absalon in the 12th century. In 1740 Christian VI built the first castle, but it burnt down in 1794. The second one was inaugurated in 1828, but was also destroyed by a fire in 1884.

The castle we see today is the third one and dates from 1928. It was built to accommodate the Royal Family and the two houses of the Danish parliament (the Folketing and the Landsting). However, at the time, Christian X chose not to live there and therefor it has only been used as the working place for the Royal Family, the office of the Danish prime minister and the Danish parliament. The Queen receives foreign dignitaries, or is hosting gala dinners at this place as well as other official functions. In the beautiful library we could see pictures from the tea party when Michel and Barak Obama visited Copenhagen.

Christiansborg is not comparable to Rosenborg. It is not furnished but used for official gatherings. The rooms are magnificent, but have a touch of officialdom. I am sure they will be nicely decorated during the various functions, but it does not have the same intimacy as we saw in Rosenborg’s castle.

A couple of quotes from early visitors to the castle.

The castle does not only have happy memories. There is the Blue Tower which was used as a prison. A special person was locked up there for over 20 years, but that is for next week.

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Other musings this week

Books

An interesting book(s) turned up in a cultural program on TV introducing the new book by American political scientist Francis Fukuyama. He became famous with his 1992 book The End of History and the Last Man. He argued that with the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union humanity has reached “not just … the passing of a particular period of post-war history but the end of history as such: That is, the end-point of mankind’s ideological evolution and the universalisation of Western liberal democracy as the final form of human government.”

Well, events lately have unfortunately changed that concept. In his new book, Liberalism and Its Discontents, Fukuyama takes another look at the world of liberalism and its pros and cons.

“From Putin's populism, the Trump administration and autocratic rulers in democracies the world over, it has both thrived and failed under identity politics, authoritarianism, social media and a weakened free press the world over. Since its inception following the post-Reformation wars, liberalism has come under attack from conservatives and progressives alike, and today is dismissed by many as an 'obsolete doctrine'. In this brilliant and concise exposition, Francis Fukuyama sets out the cases for and against its classical premises: observing the rule of law, independence of judges, means over ends, and most of all, tolerance. Pithy, to the point, and ever pertinent, this is political dissection at its very best. “

Should be an interesting book to read, even his first one of course. Below a review I found from the Guardian.

Review:
The Guardian - a defence of liberalism… from a former neocon

Paper book sales declining in the USA

Publishers Weekly tells us that the sale of paper books in the USA decreased by 4,8% during the first nine months (figures from NPD BookScan). Number of books sold was 542,6 millions in comparison with 570 millions jan-sept 2021. The only increase comes from fiction books for adults and young adults. Four books have sold over 1 million books this year; Colleen Hoover has written three of them (well done) and Delia Owens the other one. Must admit I am not familiar with Colleen Hoover. Looking her up, I she writes romance and young fiction. I don’t read much of that kind of fiction, so probably why I am not familiar with her. I have read Delia Owens Where the Crawdads Sing though, and it is a wonderful book.

It does not say if there is a decline in other book sales like audio- and e-books. I guess they were only looking at the paper version. Even I have taken a subscription for Nextory, but only because they also provide e-books (although not for all books). I had to listen to an audio book recently, the only version I could find, for a book club next week. It is not easy to grasp everything, I find. Maybe it is a matter of getting used to. The advantage is that you can listen whenever you do something else. Let’s see if I can come to terms with them in the long run.

All for this week. Hope you find a few good books to read.

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I have two blogs; 

The Content Reader, (in English) where I write about books 
and 
Den tillfälliga besökaren (in Swedish) where I share my life and interests in books, history, travel and everything that makes life interesting. 

If you want to leave a comment or discuss something you can comment in the post or send me an e-mail to thecontentreadernewsletter(at)gmail.com

“You were right to tell me that in life it is not the future which counts, but the past.”

― Patrick Modiano, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature 2014

Hello,

October is here, and in Sweden it is autumn. We still enjoy a few sunny days, and here in the south of Sweden it is still comparatively green. I love when nature changes into the glowing colours of autumn; yellow, orange and red.

October is the month for Nobel Prize winners and I am eagerly anticipating the prize in literature.

As for the padel qualifications, Austria did not make it. They won one round and lost one. I think Hannes appreciated being part of the whole thing though, and he is now back in Sweden.

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Miró exhibition in Kristianstad

Kristianstad is a city about 100 km from where I live, and I went there for a gathering of former EU colleagues. We meet once a year for an excursion, lunch and possibilities to see each other again. The city was founded by King Christian IV of Denmark in 1614, and the name literally means “Town of Christian”. It was built to safeguard the eastern half of the province of Scania (Skåne) then belonging to Denmark. He also built a church (Danish: Trefoldighedskirken; Swedish: Heliga Trefaldighetskyrkan) which is considered to be one of northern Europe’s most beautiful Renaissance churches. The excursion also included a visit to the church which is very impressive and beautiful.

We were heading for the Regional museum which is housed in one of the oldest buildings in the city. Originally built as a stable for King Christian IV (1577-1648) but it seems it has only been used as a storage facility. Perfect as a museum though, situated by the big square in the centre of the city. Part of the museum is an Art Hall and there this quite unusual exhibition of Joan Miro’s work are exhibited.

So why has a rather small town in the south of Sweden access to such a unique exhibition? It started in 1958 when Nils Tryding, a laboratory doctor, visited the Unesco House in Paris and saw a Joan Miró painting. It was love at first site and he decided, then and there, to buy an original poster from a local art gallery. That was the beginning of a life long collection of original Miró exhibition posters.

Several years later he had collected a total of 154 posters. He was invited to Joan Miró’s 80th birthday and during the coming years he returned to Palma for the yearly celebrations. The two became good friends, and when Tryding told him that he wanted to organise an exhibition of his posters in Kristianstad, Miró said that he would paint the original poster (below)

Tryding died in 2020 but had earlier, in 2003 and 2012, donated his collection to the museum, including letters written by Miró to Tryding. It is an amazing exhibition, and we had a very good guide who told a fascinating story of a man starting a small collection that grew to become one of its kind in the world.

I am not a big fan of Miró, but when you hear the story of his life and work, and have the possibility to look closer at part of his work, it gives you another dimension. The common interest in an artist and his admirer’s collection is a rare treat.

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Watching this week

I have been watching an interesting Danish tv-series on Karen Blixen, called ‘Dreamers - The Making of Karen Blixen’ (my translation) and covers the years when she returns to Denmark and starts her writing career. She is not an entirely sympathetic person, but with a strong will of achieving something. Beautifully filmed in her home at Rungstedlund. Two more episodes to go.

I introduced a very, long running tv-series to Hannes, ‘Silent Witness’. It seems it is season 23. I have not seen all seasons, but it is still a captivating series, which you can see even if you have not followed it. It is about a forensic team, solving murder mysteries, by forensic science. It is very well done.

Nobel Prize in Literature

The announcement of this year’s winner will be made on Thursday. I will go over to my local library where they show the announcement. You fill in a form to guess who will win, and the person(s) with the right answer will win a book. My guess goes to Joyce Carol Oates, and hopes that she will finally win. But who knows. Do you have any favourite winner?

6 October update: Well, I did not win anything. The prize went to French author Annie Ernaux, and she seems to be a worthy winner. The Nobel Committee awarded her the price for the "clinical acuity with which she uncovers the roots, estrangements and collective restraints of personal memory."

I have not read anything by her, but that will change now. Some Swedish literature critics recommends the following books to start with: Åren (2008) (Les années/The Years), Min far (1983) (La place/A Man’s Place) and Kvinnan (1988) (Une femme/A Woman’s Story)

Book club meeting

This week I had a book club meeting with neighbours. We read Violeta by Isabel Allende. She covers hundred years of history which Violeta tells her grandchild in the form of a letter. It is a story of a family, political turmoil and a woman’s talent of flexibility and survival in a constant changing world. Beautifully written, like everything Allende writes.

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Den tillfälliga besökaren (in Swedish) where I share my life and interests in books, history, travel and everything that makes life interesting.

If you want to leave a comment, or discuss something, you can comment in the post or send me an e-mail to thecontentreadernewsletter(at)gmail.com

“Art is not a handicraft, it is the transmission of feeling the artist has experienced.”                                                                                                                                                               - Leo Tolstoy.

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Hello,

The other day I visited an exhibition at Torups castle about the Arts&Crafts movement. Creativity is the key word for me these days. It is such a positiv word. Maybe I feel so because I have been a bureaucrat all my life. Not so much creativity in that world. After retirement I felt I wanted to deal more with creative things. It does not come easy to me, I am not a natural, creative person. I did feel rather well though, when I read a quote by Ernest Hemingway. “We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.” I guess he was talking about writing, but it probably applies to all areas. There are masters though, but maybe even they feel they always have something more to learn.

The Arts & Crafts movement

The Arts & Crafts movement saw its light in Great Britain in the mid-19th century, mainly as a counter reaction to the rather poor mass productions of industrialism. Industrialism had a negativ, social impact on living conditions in the big cities and the arts & crafts movement was looking for new ways to produce and consume. Back to the roots, one can say.

One of the initial ideologists were the famous author and art critic John Ruskin (1819-1900) who fought for a way to return to pure handicraft. His idea was that handy craft people were the key to production and so they should be given the same status as artists. Easier said than done.

The movement looked to nature for its inspiration. Many of the products were ornamental and you needed an artist to draw the the patterns. That leads us to the artist that is mostly connected with this movement, William Morris (1834-1896). He was influenced by the Middle Ages and the Romantic era. His productions, like wallpaper and material, is full of fantasy patterns from nature.

Morris had a social conscience and wanted to see art in all classes of society, as part of every day life. Everything in a home should be beautiful, otherwise it should not be there. In 1861 he started his company, Marshall, Faulkner & Co, later Morris & Co. Man should not be a slave under the machines. If you worked in a light an airy room you would feel much better. These things we know now, but in those days it was more difficult to achieve. I guess, the working class did not have money to buy beautiful things for their house. It is a little bit of an irony that Morris, who wanted to go back to handcrafted goods, was so successful with his own company, that he had to machine produce some of his products to meet demands. Today Morris is popular again, and his designs can be seen everywhere. I am a big fan of his.

The exhibition I visited took place in Torups castle, about 25 minutes from where I live. It has an interesting story, but that is for another time. There are regular exhibitions in the castle which also has a magnificent dining room. Temporary exhibitions take place in the part of the castle that once was used for guests. The connection here was how Morris and his contemporaries influenced Swedish designers and artists.

Around the 1890s the movement spread outside Great Britain, to become Art Nouveau in France/Belgium and Jugend in Germany and Sweden. The excellent guide informed us about the development in Sweden, how it made an impact on architecture, art and design in different areas, mostly in glassware and porcelain.

It was a perfect place for such an exhibition, since the castle is surrounded by a huge park, with a pond and huge forest areas. The lady of the castle at the time, Henriette Coyet was very interested in the movement, and put a lot of effort in landscaping the gardens. An Arts & Crafts garden should not only be beautiful, but usable. Edible plants were mixed with plants beautiful to look at. It was a perfect day for an outing and a touch of arts and crafts.

The Art of Tomatoes

I was a little bit surprised when my friends called me one morning and asked if I wanted to join them for a visit to the ‘House of Tomatoes’. Always interested in visiting new places, I hurried on with my breakfast and joined them. It is a garden center where they specialised in growing tomatoes. I have never before seen so many different shapes of tomatoes. What you see in the supermarkets are, more or less, the same variety. They also sold spices, bulbs and plants. I settled for a few differently shaped tomatoes in different colours, and a whole box full of ‘second quality’ tomatoes, mostly cherry tomatoes. Turned out to be high quality. I used the red cherry tomatoes make a tomato sauce which I will freeze and later use for pasta dishes. I also made a sort of cold sauce/juice with some spices for giving another dish a little bit of ‘umphf’. It tastes very good, so I have high hopes for future cooking. There are still some left, so thinking I might make some tomato chutney.

We also visited nearby Wallåkra Pottery Factory with a history since 1864. They still make the pottery as they did in the old days. First they produce the pottery by hand, made from clay found in the surroundings. The pottery is left to dry for a few months until it is time to put it into the old oven to burn it. The oven is fuelled by coal and salt, producing beautiful salt-glazed tanned pots.

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A few things that caught my attention this week

Books

Dame Hilary Mantel, one of Britain’s most decorated author, has passed away. She was famous for her historical fiction novels, especially her trilogy on Thomas Cromwell. For the two first books, Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies, she won the Booker Price, and for the third instalment, The Mirror & the Light, she was longlisted. I have still to read the last one, but the two first are fantastic.

TV-series

I am watching an Israeli thriller called The Grave. After an earthquake a grave is found in a national park, which contains three bodies. When analysing dna tests it turns out that the dna belongs to three living persons. I have seen half so far, and I am just wondering how it will all be explained in the end.

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I have two blogs;
The Content Reader, (in English) where I write about books
and
Den tillfälliga besökaren (in Swedish) where I share my life and interests in books, history, travel and everything that makes life interesting.

If you want to leave a comment or discuss something you can comment in the post or send me an e-mail to thecontentreadernewsletter(at)gmail.com

“Art is anything you can get away with.” – Andy Warhol

Hello,

Hope your week has been a good. My week was very good because my son Hannes was home for a visit. Just for a week, but still nice. It gave us time to socialise and fix a few things around his flat. On Wednesday he left again for a very exciting event. He is to participate in the qualifications for the World Championship in Padel in Derby in England, playing for the Austrian National Team. He headed off to Vienna for a couple of days training before flying to the UK in the end of the month. We are very proud.

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A story about Ida Ilsted

In his book Kvinna sedd bakifrån (Woman Seen From Behind, my translation) Jesper Wung-Sung has written a historical fiction about Ida Ilsted, wife of Danish painter Wilhelm Hammershøi. Wung-Sung’s writing is like Hammershøi’s painting; simplistic and stripped down to the basic minimalistic surrounding, which fits very well into the life of Ida.

Ida meets Wilhelm through her artist brother Peter. They become good friends and Ida is quite surprised when Wilhelm proposes to her. Ida’s life at home is troublesome with a mentally unstable mother who has not much love for her daughter, and cannot imagine why anybody would like to marry her. Wilhelm comes from an upper class home and is worshipped by his mother, who thinks nobody good enough for her son. It does not seem like a good start for their marriage.

Wilhelm is a very secluded person, only happy when he is painting. Ida is also a secluded person although a bit more social than her husband. She is very supportive of his art although not knowing anything about it, which is something that troubles her through her life. A sense of shortcomings when it comes to the art world. They travel a lot, although, unlike other artists who are inspired by the light and sights of Italy and France, Wilhelm looks for dark, small interior places to paint. The various experiences help him develop into the interior and portrait painter he is famous for. And above all, he paints Ida.

Ida has to adapt to the work of her husband. She has obviously not put a mark in life, except for being the model of many of Wilhelm’s works. When I read a historical fiction I like to check out real life events. She is as anonymous in real life as she is in the paintings. The only mentioning of her is through her husband, as a model in his paintings.

Ida’s story is probably the story of many wives of famous men, who support and work silently and quietly in the background. Her story grippes you, even if it is more out of sadness than out of joy. I particularly liked the author’s style in visualising Ida’s life as a reflection of Wilhelm’s paintings. If there is one comfort in all this, it is that they both loved and needed each other. At least according to the author.

Lavender

I have an interesting book called Fifty Plants that Changed the Course of History by Bill Laws. It tells the story of how plants spread around the world and their uses; edible, medicinal, trading goods and technical. I read a chapter from time to time when I have breakfast, and this week I came upon Lavandula anguvstifolia, Lavender. Is it not a wonderful plant? Beautiful to look at, giving out a wonderful aroma. It is not edible but used for medicin, trading and technical matters.

It is famous for its eternal oils which is persistent in all parts except the roots. The flowers attract pollinating insects, and bees collecting nectar in lavender produce a special, strongly scented honey. Its medicinal history goes way back to the old cultures around the Mediterranean. It was strewn on floors to protect from vermin. Hildegard of Bingen noted already in the 12th century that lavender was an effective cure against fleece and lice. Dioscorides (ca 40-90 A.D.), a Greek physician, pharmacologist, botanist and author of De materia medica, wrote about their healing abilities, especially for burns and wounds. It was used frequently from the Roman times to World War I.

It came to play an even more prominent role in the world of perfumes. An Italian perfumer Giovanni Maria Farina, living in Cologne, created, in 1709, a mixture with lavender that he named after his home town, Eau de Cologne. According to legend four grave robbers were arrested after having plundered a corpse during a plague outbreak in Marseille. It turned out they had used a mixture of lavender as a protection against the plague. The decoction, which also contained, rosemary, clove and distilled vinegar was called “The Four Thief’s Vinegar”. The Farina family continued to sell their much copied Eau de Cologne in their shop with number 4711, which was also a name of one of their perfumes. I think this perfume existed until recently, or maybe still exists?

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If you like to read further you can check-out my I two blogs;
The Content Reader, (in English) where I write about books
and
Den tillfälliga besökaren (in Swedish) where I share my life and interests in books, history, travel and everything that makes life interesting.

If you want to leave a comment or discuss something you can comment in the post or send me an e-mail to thecontentreadernewsletter(at)gmail.com

“If you are depressed you are living in the past if you are anxious you are living in the future, if you are at peace, you are living in the present.” —Lao Tzu

Hello,

I hope you had a good week that have added something valuable to your life. We don’t always appreciate the present in our daily hurries to achieve everything we have to do. I am trying to find new routines in my life, especially morning routines. Last Saturday was a good beginning when I started with a cup of green tea, made a smoothie and, after having dealt with a few tasks around the house, I made breakfast. It was a beautiful day so I took a book with me and went for a walk down to Öresund, the strait that separates Sweden and Denmark. It is only a 20 minutes walk, through a park and a camping before reaching the sea. On the other side of the strait you see Copenhagen and its airport, Kastrup, which gives you a flair of the international world from this southwestern corner of Sweden. Not a lot of people so I sat down on a bench, and looked out over the bridge that connects Sweden and Denmark. A beautiful view while reading a good book.

Live at the Cinema

I love the possibilities to watch opera, ballet or theatre from world stages through the Live at the Cinema concept. These entertainments are not always available where you live, although I must say, Malmö has a lot to offer on the cultural scene. Sometimes it is nice to move to the Met or the National Theatres of England for a few hours or entertainement.

Andre Rieu in concert

I love Andre Rieu and his Johann Strauss orchestra and their modern take on classical music. He is from Maastricht in the Netherlands and has a concert there every year. Two times I tried to get tickets to this annual event, but something always came in between. Now we could enjoy a performance again, more notable since in the last years there was no concerts. The orchestra gave us a fantastic performance of music and songs from famous operas, operettas, classical and modern music. When the Platin Tenors sang Nessun Dorma, the aria from Giacomo Puccini’s opera Turandot, my eyes were not dry.

Andre Rieu has a solid fan base and I think they all were there this evening. So many people, spanning an age range of 10 - 100, happily singing and dancing. It is wonderful to see so many positive vibes, it makes you happy.

Prima Facie, a play by Suzie Miller

The day after we had tickets for the British play Prima Facie from the Harold Pinter theatre in London. It is a very difficult play to watch since it covers sensitive, although important aspects of relationships. Sexual assault and the question of consensus.

“Tessa is a thoroughbred. A young, brilliant barrister who loves to win. She has worked her way up from working class origins to be at the top of her game; defending; cross examining and lighting up the shadows of doubt in any case. An unexpected event forces her to confront the lines where the patriarchal power of the law, burden of proof and morals diverge.”

Jodie Comer makes an amazing one-woman performance. She is alone on the stage for one and a half hour, in a play which is on full speed from beginning to end. It is fun, it is serious, it is sad, and in the end; is there hope?

This play, written by Suzie Miller, highlights so well the aspects of consent in a relationship, even where love is included. One night can change everything. After MeToo one was hoping things would change, but it is going slowly. I think several countries are now in the process of changing laws to include consensus, which, as shown in this play, is also vital in established relationships.

This play is in cooperation with the Schools Consent Projects. I think it is important that schools are involved and teach young people about relationships and the importance of consent. In all aspects of life. The statistics in cases like this (from the Prima Facie website) is somewhat depressing.

“Something has to change…

In the nine months to September 2021 there were 170,973 recorded sexual offences (a 12% increase compared with 152,620 in the same period the previous year)

Of these 63,136 (37%) were rapes (up 13% from previous year)

Nearly 33% of rape victims withdraw their complaint in the first three months of it being recorded

In the first nine months of 2021 the average time between offence and court hearing is 1,020 days or over 2 and half years (25% increase on 2020)

And after that only 1.3% of rapes are prosecuted”

If you have the opportunity to see this play, take it. It has everything that makes a good play; an interesting theme, well written, amazing acting, and, something to discuss afterwards.

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Mauritshuis - female painters

I promise this will be the last article on the Mauritshuis, but I wanted to stay for a short while with the female theme. When it comes to painting, especially in the early centuries, there are not that many female painters. However, I did notice there were quite a few of them represented in the museum, although their names are not familiar. I think it is time to highlight these women who are as good as their male counterparts. Here just a short summary, but for those interested you will find more under the link above, plus a sample of their production.

Rachel Ruysch (1664 - 1750) - her father, Fredrik Ruysch, was a famous anatomist and botanist. He recognised his daughter’s talen and sent her to train for Willem van Aelst, a famous artist, as very young. She was a still-life painter and specialised in flowers in a style very much her own. Her career spanned over six decades a she became the most famous woman painter of her time.

Michaelina Wautier (1604 - 1689) - an outstanding Baroque artist who painted anything, often on huge canvases. Typically, her work has only been recognised as hers since the turn of the 21st century. Previously they have been attributed to her brother Charles, among others.

Judith Leyster (1609-1660). It is not know who taught her, but it could have been Frank Hals, since it seems their styles are similar. She painted portraits and still lifes. She was highly regarded by her contemporaries, but her work was almost forgotten after her death. Only in modern times has she been recognised again for her work.

Catharina van Hemessen (1528 - after 1567) - is the artist of the earliest known self-portrait by a Dutch painter. It shows herself at work. She painted mostly small portraits, but did exceptionally other kind of work.

Clara Peeters (1588/1589 - after 1636). There is not much know about this artist. She was an innovator in still life painting, with an eye for realistic details of everyday life.

Agnes Block (1629 - 1704) was an artist and botanist. Her fame is not entirely due to her paintings, but more since she was the first person to grow a pineapple in Europe.

Maria van Oosterwyck (1630 - 1693) - a famous painter of floral still lifes. Her striking florals and plants includes rare species which was not so usual to see in those days.

Marie-Anne Collot (1748 - 1821) was a sculptor and made busts and even a large equestrian statue of Peter the Great.

What a lot of great women who finally get the acknowledgement they deserve.

We have had elections in Sweden and it seems there will be a change of government. I am arranging a meeting with my book circle in the beginning of October. Violeta by Isabel Allende is on the reading list. For another book circle I will be reading Stuart Turton’s The Devil and the Dark Water. Anyone who have read any of the books? I have big hopes on both of them. I am still reading Kvinna sedd bakifrån (Woman Seen From Behind, my translation) by Jesper Wung-Sung. As far as food goes, I have been using my new Vego cook book and the recipes are good and easy to do. That was a few things that occupied me this week.

See you next week.

Lisbeth

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If you want to leave a comment or discuss something you can comment in the post or send me an e-mail to thecontentreadernewsletter(at)gmail.com

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“No idea is so outlandish that is should not be considered.”

Winston Churchill

Hello,

If you have followed me on other media you know that we had planned to go to Greece with our camper van. Actually, we should already have been on the way. Life does not always go as planned and we had to revise our travel plans. Health issues came in the way. Nothing serious, but they have to be taken care of.

I took a flight back to Sweden on Wednesday. This is the first time since February 2020, since I have flown. It just reminded me that I don’t like to fly. I flew Innsbruck - Amsterdam - Copenhagen. Both the flight from Innsbruck and from Amsterdam were delayed, so arrived rather late in the evening. So many people everywhere. I am not used to this, having been rather isolated during the pandemic. Furthermore, it seems people cough and sneeze all the time. Or is it just that we are more sensitive now and notice it more?

The morning in Innsbruck was nice though. We took a walk in the old town and sat down at a café for breakfast. While strolling around after breakfast we found three young guys playing the violin, performing in the street. They were so professional and played so well, we stayed on for over half an hour. They played classical music, many of the famous works. When they played one of my absolute, favourite pieces, Dmitri Shostakovich’s The Second Waltz, I got tears in my eyes. I wanted to add a small video but am not able to include it here.

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Mauritshuis

As I mentioned last week we visited the art museum in Den Haag. It is a museum that combines three of my interests; history, art and books. The building itself is beautiful. The museum celebrates its 200 anniversary this year, and was wonderfully decorated with flowers (artificial ones though).

History - the museum was built in the 17th century as the residence of Johan Maurits of Nassau-Siegen (1604-1679) a nephew of William of Orange. He was called “the Brazilian” due to his fruitful period as governor of Dutch Brazil. This was the first time, both me and Martin had heard the term Dutch Brazil. Turns out that is was a Dutch colony in the NE part of modern-day Brazil which they controlled from 1630-54. They lost it to the Portuguese and it was formally ceded to Portugal through the Treaty of Hague in 1661. Maurits time there was full of conflict with Spain and Portugal during the colonisation, and he was very successful as governor. Times changed and he could not stay on and returned to Europe in 1644, where he continued his successful military career. A modern day look at history and colonisation, makes him into a controversial person, especially as he played a big role in slave trade, where likely his immense fortune came from.

Art - the museum houses arts mainly from the Dutch Golden Age paintings. There is no other age much better than that. Here we can see works by Johannes Vermeer, Rembrandt van Rijn, Jan Steen, Paulus Potter, Frans Hals, Jacob van Ruisdael, Hans Holbein the Younger, and others. The paintings are fantastic and well displayed in the various sized rooms of the house. My favourite? Well, for me the great master is Johannes Vermeer. There are a few of his paintings here, but I think most of them are spread in museums around the world. In the Vermeer museum in Delft you can see copies, as well as information about his life. There is not so much known by him, and, like Van Gogh, he did not sell a lot of paintings during his life time. One of his paintings, The Little Street, where he painted a house and people performing their every day cores. The painting has been analysed by Franz Gruzenhout. It is quite an interesting book with his research into which house it was and where it was situated. The book also gives a good insight into the times of Vermeer (my review under link above). Below Vermeer’s wonderful View of Delft. Just look at the light.

Books - you might wonder what books have to do with an art museum. I have found that you can connect books to a lot of things in life. In this museum there are two paintings which have been used as cover for books. The most famous is of course Vermeer’s The Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier. If you have not read the book you might have seen the film with Scarlet Johanson and Colin Firth. Chevalier has woven a story about the girl in the painting. I don’t think it is Vermeer’s best painting, but, like Mona Lisa, it has captured the viewers attention. Probably because her face and eyes, her clothing and the pearl earring speaks to you. The girl looks straight at you, as if she wants to tell you something. Quite fascinating indeed. I always think of the story of the book when I see the painting these days.

The other painting is The Goldfinch by Carel Fabritius (1622-54) which was used for the cover of Donna Tartt’s book with the same name. He was a pupil of Rembrandt and the only one who developed a style of his own. Unfortunately, he died very young. I have not yet read the book, but will one day.

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Books

I had some errands to do today and just could not resist going into the book shop to check out new books. My intention was not to buy anything, but I left with three books in my bag. One of them is part of a subscription. You pay 40€ (these days just a little bit less in US dollars), you have access to 55 books (both Swedish and translated) and during one year you can borrow one book at the time, and keep the last one. It is always interesting to read new books. The first book I took is called Kvinna sedd bakifrån (Woman Seen From Behind, my translation) by Danish author Jesper Wung-Sung. It is a historical fiction about Ida Ilsted och Vilhelm Hammershøi. The latter is a famous Danish interior and portrait painter. And, he is painting Ida.

I bought a vegan/vegetarian cookbook. It is a climate smart choice, and I don’t eat so much meat. It is so beautifully printed with glossy paper and the recipes laid out in a nice way, that I just had to have it. Tomorrow, I will make a cauliflower curry. Yummy.

Nordiska gudasagor by historian Katarina Harrison Lindbergh, is about the asa gods. So much into the Viking era now, so trying to read as much as I can about that time and their beliefs.

Until next week, take care and enjoy life.

Lisbeth

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I have two blogs; one (in English) where I write about books, and one (in Swedish) where I share my life and interests in books, history, travel and everything that makes life interesting. Links below for those who are interested in reading further.

The Content Reader

Den tillfälliga besökaren

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“Buy land, they're not making it anymore.”

― Mark Twain

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Hello friends,

My very first newsletter. Here I will share with you my thoughts on various things in life. For the time being me, and my husband Martin, are on the road with our Camper van. We left Sweden in mid August, driving through Denmark and Germany on to Delft, in the Netherlands, where our son Hannes graduated from his second Masters in Geophysics. We had some lovely days with him in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It included a trip to the beach and Den Haag.

In Den Haag we visited Mauritshuis museum and could enjoy a look at Johannes Vermeer's masterpiece Girl With a Pearl Earring. The museum also houses many other master pieces, but more on this in the next newsletter.

Resting a couple of days in Innsbruck, where Martin is from.

Books on the road

I cannot risk being out of books on such a long journey (expected all in all to be around 3 months) so have collected a number of books from my TBR shelves. Some of them have to come back home, but most of them will be given away along the road. Most campings have a shelf where you can leave books, and hopefully, grab one you have not yet read.

So far, my August reading has been very satisfying - 12 books:

Lunde, Maja - Przewalski's Horse

Ivesköld, Monica - Redigera framgångsRIKT

Auster, Paul - The Brooklyn Follies

Hawkins, Paula - Into the Water

Preston, John - A Very English Scandal

Runeberg, Johan Ludvig - Fänrik Ståhls sägner (The Tales of Ensign Ståhl)

Harrison, Dick - Mordet på Gustav III

Coetzee, J.M. - The Childhood of Jesus

Håkansson, Håkan (Ed.) - Tycho Brahe och hans tid

Lagercrantz, Olof - Dikten om livet på den andra sidan, En bok om Emanuel Swedenborg

Erskine, Barbara - Kingdom of Shadows

Walpole, Horace - The Castle of Otranto

Some very great reads this months with excellent books like; Przewalski's Horse, The Brooklyn Follies, Into the Water, A Very English Scandal and Kingdom of Shadows. Reviews here.

Castles, castles and castles

I love castles, fortresses and ruins. We were very lucky to be able to visit three wonderful castles, and one fortress, on our way to the Netherlands.

Koldinghus Castle in Denmark

Koldinghus was founded in the 13th century and has been expanded during the following centuries. It has been used as a fortress, royal residency, ruin, museum and as the location of numerous wartime negotiations. Today's castle is restored and used as a museum highlighting the history of the place.  The interior of the damaged tower was beautifully restored with open stairs and floors, giving you a view all the way up to the ceiling, creating an airy space. It was almost as if everything was floating. There was an interesting exhibition on the last five crown princesses of Denmark, including Mary, the present one.

Denmark is history wise connected to Schleswig-Holstein (in present day Germany). The kings, queens and nobility were interlinked through marriages. It was therefore very interesting to visit two other castles in Germany, Glücksburg, a real fairy tale castle, and Gottorp in Schleswig.

Glücksburg

One of the most significant Renaissance castles in Northern Europe. It was the ancestral home of the ducal lines of the house of Glücksburg. At a certain time it was even the primary residence of the Danish king. The members of this family are related to almost all of the European dynasties. It is built on water and you cannot come closer to a fairy tale view of any castle. Well, maybe Ludvig's II of Bayern castles can compete. The tour inside the castle gives you a good idea of how the families lived.

Gottorp

This castle looks more like a huge manor building than a castle with towers and turrets. Over its eight hundred years of history, the building has changed and been expanded several times; from a medieval castle to a Renaissance fortress to a Baroque castle. It is the ancestral home of the Holstein-Gottorp branch of the House of Oldenburg. Four Swedish kings and several Russian Emperors emerged from the family. The palace has been renovated since 1947 and was completed in 1996. Today it houses the State Art and Cultural History Museum and the State Archeological Museum. Interesting exhibitions on furniture and paintings, as well as archeological finds, including people found in bogs.

The castle is surrounded by a huge park, and they have re-instated the grand garden behind the castle. It also houses a modern replica of the Globe of Gottorp. The original globe was built between 1650 and 1664 on the request of Frederick III, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp. It was supervised by his court scholar and librarian Adam Olearius. It is an amazing ensemble. A large, walk-in-globe of the Earth and the celestial sphere. We entered the globe above and went around the world as it slowly moved around its axis for about 8 minutes. We could see both the earth with its continents as well as the starry sky. Quite an experience.

Bourtrange

This is an amazing fortress, built as a star with several walls and moats surrounding the fortified town. Prince Willem of Oranje ordered the building during the Eighty Years War, or the Dutch War of Independence, 1568-1648, and it was built in the swamps near the Dutch-German border. "At this time the Netherlands (most of modern Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and the French provinces of Flanders and Artois) were ruled by the Spanish Hapsburgs. Their misrule, together with religious differences, combined to provoke the Dutch into rebellion. The war was persecuted by both sides over a period of 80 years, ending in the Treaty of Münster in 1648, which formally recognised the Dutch Republic." (from the Royal Collection Trust, for more details click link).

A wonderful walk along, and on top, of the walls, crossing bridges over the moats, wandering through the small, cobbled streets of the town. It houses museums, churches and restaurants. You can even stay at a hotel or B&B within the city. It is difficult to imagine that today's peaceful surroundings once was a military headquarter. P.S. It was very difficult to get a good overview photo. Look here for more amazing photos.

Links

I have two blogs; one (in English) where I write about books, and one (in Swedish) where I share my life and interests in books, history, travel and everything that makes life interesting. Links below for those who are interested in reading further.

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Until next time, take care and enjoy life.

Lisbeth

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