Books · Mores · Society
"That little dog was my only comfort. Carlo slept with me, and in the daytime never left my side for a step, and what clever eyes he had, as though he understood everything. Well, the other day I gathered some scraps by the kitchen and was feeding him, and
Books · Observations · Mores
Some Fruits of Solitude in Reflections and Maxims / Fruits of Retirement. William Penn, 1693
NB! · Mores · Humour
Archive · Mores · Nature
As you can see, in the first half of the nineteenth century tomatoes were still a curiosity in Russia, and it had to be explained not only how they were cultivated, but how they were to be eaten. At that time tomatoes were called amorous or love apples, after the
Aristocracy · Archive · Monarchies · Mores
Jacob Ulfeldt described Russian court etiquette with great astonishment and displeasure. Ivan the Terrible he characterises as an arrogant, swaggering, vain and abrupt man, surrounded by dull-witted boyars and streltsy. The prince, moreover, was wholly inattentive and simply did not listen as the embassy's letters and addresses
Observations · Mores · Paris · People
I read about Françoise Dumas, an 85-year-old Parisian society organiser and legend of the dinner party, who for the last 50 years has been engaged in the country's most important gala dinners, balls and other such rendezvous, is acquainted with royal and presidential families, and continues
Mores · Society · People
The production of quality fertilisers lent serious support to the agricultural boom of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It was precisely in these years that crop farming and animal husbandry were wholly transformed. The zenith of French agriculture is usually placed in the period from 185+ to 1880:
NB! · Books · Mores · Humour
Mores · Society
Mikhail and Sofia Become the Most Popular Names for Children in Russia in 2025. Since the beginning of this year, 7,177 children have been named Sofia. Second place in the popularity stakes goes to Eva, third to Anna. This year Russia has also acquired 8,830 new Mikhails. Among
Art · Observations · Mores · Humour
The Modern Venus, or a Woman of Modern Fashion in Her Natural State. 1786. Who could have imagined that a satire on the standards of beauty of the late eighteenth century would be so precisely realised in our own day?
Books · Observations · Mores · Society
Is there no amusement here? Why, yes. There, across the road, is the lecture-room, from which sheaves of light pour out, and then three times a week, or more often, there are evening services for the ladies. For the young gentlemen there are the counting-house, the store and
Books · Monarchies · Mores · People · Saint Petersburg
Within ten days of her accession to the throne, Catherine II had invited Denis Diderot to come to Russia. She even proposed that he move the publication of the "Encyclopédie", which kept running into bans in France, to Riga or Saint Petersburg. But Diderot did not take up