Writer, journalist, historian, researcher, 60 year resident in Italy. Like my unique palazzo in central Italy, my substack includes a variety of subjects: lifestyle, expats, interviews, travelogues,guest posts. Come visit!
Excerpts and writing guidance from my family memoir about my father Earle Olsen's art career, especially in 1950s New York City. Plus other thoughts and tips on life, writing, life-writing, and the writing life....
Writing on writers - Nancy, Agatha, various Elizabeths and more. And on other things, from classical ballet to classic murder trials. Whatever interests me, and I hope you also.
A glimpse of distant horizons via "beautifully crafted essays and observations" covering literature, memoir, and faraway cities from a recovering cultural bureaucrat joining up the dots of an international life.
It's not just beauty which is in the Eye of the Beholder - I write about anything which catches my attention, as I amble through the worlds of art, history, politics and anywhere else I like.
My biography of Daniel and Alexander Macmillan, Literature for the People, is out now. I mostly write about people, authors and history, late 19th and early 20th century. Now working on a particular group of 20th century women linked to the Labour Party
I write my way through the nooks and crannies of the natural+human world - currently in Grenoble, France, gateway to the French Alps. Place, history, ecology, art.
The journal of an English woman in the French countryside. Creating a garden and rescuing a forgotten petit château, hidden amongst woodland and flower meadows.
Talking about food leads to talking about everything: recipes, family stories, culinary history, healthy eating tips, and holiday tales. I write about it all, plus some truly delicious Jewish treats like rugelach and hamantaschen. Don't miss it!
