Society · Paris · People

Marshal Pétain, who was preparing to retire in 1914 and unexpectedly saw his career take off with the outbreak of the First World War, was given power over France at the age of 84

Marshal Pétain, who was preparing to retire in 1914 and unexpectedly saw his career take off with the outbreak of the First World War, was given power over France at the age of 84. Already prime minister at that moment, after the fall of France Pétain became a dictator. A

NB! · Archive · People · Pop Culture

At Home with Karl Lagerfeld, 1982

Museums · Paris · People · Humour

Now You Too Have Seen Napoleon in His Coffin

Now you too have seen Napoleon in his coffin. In tattered boots. A curious miniature at an exhibition at the French Musée de l'Armée, closing any day now, shows Napoleon as his body was found in 1840 in the grave on the island of Saint Helena: in the

Archive · Books · Monarchies · People

The man after whom Franz Josef Land, now part of Russia, is named, one of the longest-reigning monarchs of Europe, Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, Bohemia, Croatia and Slavonia, Galicia and Lodomeria, Franz Joseph I…

A photograph of 1910: the old man here is 80, and he will go on reigning for another 6 years and live to see the murder of his heir, Archduke Franz Ferdinand. If you remember the novel «The Man Without Qualities», the preparations for the coming seventieth anniversary of Franz

Museums · Observations · People · Humour

The museum was conceived as a great visionary dream!

Why on earth is Marina Devovna Loshak so delightful ☺️

NB! · Observations · People · Pop Culture

Mood this evening: Lee Radziwill at home

Archive · Moscow · Society · People

Perhaps the story of Lebedev-Kumach's madness is one of the most frequently retold memories of the hasty, chaotic and frightening evacuation of Moscow 80 years ago, when German troops closed in on the city's lines of defence and everyone in the capital…

Faith · People · Rome

Francis I recognises a miracle of John Paul I, who was Pope for only 33 days

Francis I has issued a decree recognising a miracle wrought through the intercession of Pope John Paul I. This brings a Pope so adored by the people closer to canonisation. The process of beatification began in 2003, in 2017 Francis approved the canonisation of John Paul I, in 2021 his

NB! · Archaeology · Archive · Science · People

Notes on "The Earliest Destinies of the Slavs" from the Archive of Academician Boris Rybakov

Books · People

I was walking down an unfamiliar street, and suddenly I heard the cawing of crows, and the sounds of a lute, and distant thunder; before me flew a tram

How I leapt onto its footboard Was a riddle to me. It left a fiery trail in the air, Even in the light of day. Literal translation It raced like a dark, winged storm, It had lost its way in the abyss of time… Stop it, tram driver, Stop the

NB! · Books · People · Humour

Edgar Allan Poe looks like a cartoon about himself

Edgar Allan Poe looks like a cartoon about himself. The writer died on 7 October 1849, and yet his works seem far more modern than that. Edgar Allan was found in a gutter in Baltimore, and for four more days he lay in hospital, reportedly because of a brain tumour.

Architecture · Books · Paris · People

Cocteau in “The Difficulty of Being” on his house as a refuge far from the Palais-Royal

In 1947 Jean Cocteau moved into a seventeenth-century château near Fontainebleau, which remained his permanent residence until the end of his days. In La Difficulté d'être [“The Difficulty of Being”] he wrote of it: “This house was waiting for me. Here I am as in a refuge,