Mores · Paris · People · Pop Culture
Well, let us go on recalling spies from the world of fashion. Coco Chanel, for instance, was a Nazi asset in occupied France under the codename Westminster. This is hardly surprising, given that she was the mistress of the SS officer Walter Schellenberg, who wore Hugo Boss and in his
Books · Observations · People · Pop Culture · Humour
lol, fashion historian Alexander Vasiliev has given me a fashionable dressing-down for not citing his bestseller in my piece on Volkova. Needless to say, a great deal is written about the Russian spy in general, especially in the gutter press. But on the whole his "Beauty in Exile&
Aristocracy · Archive · People
The father of the White émigré spy Anna Volkova, Nikolai Alexandrovich, belonged to that very Volkov-Muromtsev family, tied to the Griboyedovs by bonds of both marriage and property. Nikolai's own brother Vladimir Volkov-Muromtsev, disinherited by their father, by an irony of fate became in 1895 the
London · Mores · Society · People · Pop Culture
In 1940, Anna Volkova-Muromtseva, a White émigré and the daughter of the last naval attaché of the Russian Empire in England, was arrested in London. Anna Nikolayevna was charged with breaching the Official Secrets Act. Volkova was an active member of the Right Club, an opponent of Britain'
Cinema · Monarchies · People
The End of Henry V's Story. The almost fairy-tale finale of Michôd's film, with the young king's romantic rapprochement with his bride Catherine of Valois, daughter of Charles VI, who by some strange coincidence is dressed extremely poorly, contrary to the custom among
Cinema · Books · London · Monarchies · People
In Shakespeare's lines Henry V appears as the warlike Harry; historians describe him as given to aggression, cunning and duplicity. Where the new king did manage to lower the level of his father's ferocity was in the matter of the Welsh rebels, who had risen against
Cinema · Books · Monarchies · People
Was the Youth of Henry V Really So Dissolute? Yet another myth of Shakespeare's making has found flesh, thanks to the efforts of the film crew behind “The King”. Though the prince and his father did indeed have political differences, the future king never renounced his status, nor
Cinema · Monarchies · People
What Did Henry V Look Like? Shakespeare's portrait of Henry is idealised. But the portrait of Henry created by the Australian director David Michôd, with Brad Pitt's company behind him, is almost flawless. Note that Netflix nonetheless files The King under "biographical" and "
Archive · Monarchies · Observations · People
It is interesting to watch how Napoleon's signature changed: from a plain Bonaparte, when he was still an artillery captain in 1792, to a plain Napoleon with a sharp flourish in the 1800s, when he was already Emperor. As late as 1798, in Egypt, Napoleon still signed himself
NB! · Books · People
Museums · Mores · People · Humour
The jacket of the famous fat man Edward Bright, which could accommodate seven people: the star exhibit of the museum of this rosy-cheeked provincial giant of the eighteenth century, who lived to be only 29. A rather restrained and modern style, it must be said. An idea for an
Archive · Mores · People · Humour
How can the suit of a very fat man serve the public? When in 1750 the 29-year-old Edward Bright, a stout fellow of Maldon in England, famed for nothing but his remarkable weight, departed this life, the townsfolk acquired a diverting attraction: to squeeze seven persons into Bright&