Great art can give us an insight into the past and inspire historical fiction. Here in Australia, far away as we are from the sources of our European heritage, nothing is more popular than an exhibition of Dutch Masters of which we have had a few in recent years. The…

Two very different men face the turbulance and uncertainty of the late Roman Empire. I have, in my eclectic collection, two novels which I first read years ago and which, put together, give a fascinating overview of a period of history which is usually neglected, the latter years of the…

Can a middle-class art form such as the novel really convey the realities of working-class life in the industrial age? I have recently returned from a trip to Europe which ended in Manchester. Manchester is today a lively, modern city of clear skies, broad canals and proud Victorian architecture. However…

Was Philip Henslowe really a dodgy theatrical entrepreneur as he has been depicted on screen? The image that has come down to us of Philip Henslowe is of an enterprising theatre manager who took an active role in financing and staging plays, buying scripts, costumes and property, operating his playhouse…

This obscure theological debate, this grubby little propaganda war, may have had far greater consequences for the Elizabethan theatre than we know. In early November 1589 all the London playhouses were ordered closed by the Lord Mayor of London. While at The Theatre, the Lord Admiral’s Men, led by Edward…

The University Wits were already established playwrights when William Shakespeare arrived in London. When William Shakespeare arrived in London sometime between 1584 and 1595, the London theatre scene was the most vibrant it had ever been. New and dynamic playing companies were being formed, purpose-built theatres were being erected for…

Shakespearean scholars have long imagined that Elizabethan actors would help publish pirate copies of Shakespeare’s plays for a few shillings on the side by reconstructing them from memory, but could this have actually happened? When the First Folio of Shakespeare’s plays was published in 1623, half of its thirty-six plays…

A novelist suffering from writer’s block finds that his friendly neighbour is his worst nightmare. I was staring out the window again when I saw old man Nicholson from next door being taken away in a Patient Transport Vehicle. I presumed the poor old bloke was going to a nursing…

A pair of inept crooks bite off more than they can chew. It was all Dave’s idea, I swear. He figured it was easy money. Grab a dog (you had to make sure it was well looked after, no use picking a stray) ring the owners and demand a ransom…