The 8th Wonder of the World

In the small London district of Rotherhithe is a museum devoted to the history of the “eighth wonder of the world”. Situated in the Brunel Engine House, the Brunel Museum celebrates the construction of the first underwater tunnel. Next to the building, the Grade II* listed tunnel shaft and the world’s first caisson marks where the beginning of the tunnel began, which eventually reached the opposite side of the River Thames, opening in 1843 as a foot passage from Rotherhithe to Wapping.

The Thames Tunnel was the result of Marc and Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s architectural genius. Started in 1825 by Marc Brunel (1769-1849), the project faced several issues, particularly flooding, for which Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-59) sought solutions. Whilst the Brunels intended the tunnel for horse-drawn carriages, it was mostly used by pedestrians as a tourist attraction. In 1869, it became a railway tunnel for the East London line, and since 2010 is part of the London Overground railway network.

Due to the rapid expansion of the London Docks, Londoners needed a new land connection between the north and south banks of the Thames. During busy periods, people could hop from one boat or barge to another until they reached the opposite bank, but this was not a practical method of crossing the river. Whilst there are many bridges across the Thames, another would restrict the size of boats entering the dockyards. The only solution was to dig a tunnel under the water. Ralph Dodd (1756-1822), a British civil engineer, attempted to produce the first underwater tunnel in 1798 between Gravesend and Tilbury, but constant flooding prevented the construction.

In 1805, a group of Cornish miners made a second attempt to dig a tunnel under the Thames, this time between Rotherhithe and Wapping. Used to working with hard rock, the workers did not have appropriate tools for the soft clay by the river. After four years of trying and failing, the engineers concluded that “an underground tunnel is impracticable”. Marc Brunel, on the other hand, disagreed.

After studying the two failed tunnels, Marc Brunel invented and patented the tunnelling shield. This technology acted as a temporary support structure, preventing the tunnel from collapsing while under construction. Believing the shield was the solution to underwater tunnel building, Brunel sought funding for another attempt at the Rotherhithe and Wapping tunnel. With financial support from several private investors, including Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (1769-1852), Brunel formed the Thames Tunnel Company in 1824 and began the construction the following year.

Brunel began constructing a shaft on the Rotherhithe side of the river, approximately 46 metres from the water. Using a steam-powered pump, Brunel cut through the earth with a 15-metre-wide iron ring. As the machine sliced through the ground, Brunel’s workers manually removed the soil from the hole. By November 1825, the Rotherhithe shaft was complete, and another was constructed in Wapping on the opposite side of the Thames.

To create the tunnel between the two shafts, Brunel used his iron tunnelling shield, which weighed over 7 tonnes. Whilst the shield worked well, the unsanitary conditions caused illnesses and delays. For hundreds of years, the River Thames served as London’s main sewage system, which slowly seeped through into the tunnel. The methane gas in the sewage often sparked small fires when ignited by the worker’s oil lamps. At best, the engineers only extended the tunnel by two metres a week.

Although the tunnelling shield prevented the tunnel from collapsing, water frequently leaked through the ceiling. On 18th May 1827, by which time the tunnel was 167 metres long, the tunnel flooded. Brunel’s son, Isambard, repaired the damage by lowering a diving bell to the bottom of the Thames and throwing bags of clay over the hole. To celebrate saving the tunnel, the young Brunel held an underground banquet. The artist George Jones (1786-1869) captured the event in a painting, revealing a long table set for 50 guests, including the Duke of Wellington. The Coldstream Guards played music during the meal, making it a rather noisy affair. In the foreground, Jones portrayed Marc and Isambard Brunel, although Marc Brunel did not attend the banquet.

Sixth months after work recommenced, the tunnel flooded again on 12th January 1828, killing six men. Isambard Kingdom Brunel was among the injured and dragged from the tunnel unconscious. Marc Brunel sent his son to Bristol to recover from the incident and attempted to continue the construction. By August, the project faced financial problems, forcing Brunel to halt the progress and seal the tunnel.

It took seven years to raise enough money to continue building the Thames Tunnel, by which time the original tunnelling shield had rusted. After installing a new, improved shield, work started again in March 1836. Before completion, workers faced delays from five more floods, several fires and gas leaks. Finally, in November 1841, the tunnel reached the shaft on the Wapping side of the bank. After installing roads, lights, and spiral staircases and building an engine house on the Rotherhithe side, the Thames Tunnel officially opened on 25th March 1843.

The Thames Tunnel cost £454,000 to dig and a further £180,000 to make it safe for pedestrians. The original plan aimed to make the passage suitable for vehicles, but a lack of funds prevented this. Instead, people paid a penny to pass through the tunnel, which soon became a tourist attraction, with around two million visiting every year. The American traveller, William Allen Drew, described it as the “eighth wonder of the world”, although he had not yet experienced walking through the tunnel. When Drew finally visited, he admitted he felt “somewhat disappointed in it”.

There is no official “eighth wonder of the world”, and it is unlikely the Thames Tunnel deserved the title, despite being the first of its kind. Other nominations for the eighth wonder include Niagara Falls, Angkor Wat, the Great Wall of China, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Machu Picchu, the Taj Mahal and Stonehenge. It seems far-fetched that the Thames Tunnel would win the position against these nominees.

In September 1865, the East London Railway Company purchased the Thames Tunnel for £800,000. They wished to use it as a railway link between Wapping and the South London Line. Sir John Hawkshaw (1811-91), an English civil engineer, built the railway track through the tunnel, which opened on 7th December 1869. Wapping Station, which repurposed the disused construction shaft, eventually opened in 1884. The East London Railway later became part of the London Underground, which wanted to make cheap repairs to parts of the tunnel. A Grade II* ruling in 1995 prevented this, meaning extra care must be taken to preserve the original architecture. As of 2010, the tunnel between Wapping and Rotherhithe forms part of the London Overground line.

Marc Brunel’s determination and invention of the tunnelling shield, alongside the support of his son, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, paved the way for future underwater tunnels. A second underwater tunnel opened in London between Tower Hill and Vine Lane in 1869, and Sir John Hawkshaw constructed the Severn Tunnel under the River Severn between 1873 and 1886. Hawkshaw belonged to the original Channel Tunnel Company, which aimed to build a tunnel under the Strait of Dover. This feat was not achieved until 1994.

With so many underwater tunnels in existence, the world’s first success is largely forgotten. The Brunel Museum aims to keep the history of the Thames Tunnel alive with a detailed exhibition inside the former engine house. In 2011, a concrete floor was added to the shaft above the tracks. Visitors can climb down to this level of the shaft and see the smoke-blackened walls caused by old steam trains. Occasionally, concerts and exhibitions are held in the shaft.

The engine house has been used as a museum since 1961 but has needed lots of work and refurbishment over the years. In 1975, the Brunel Exhibition Rotherhithe Trust prevented the building’s closure by providing money to repair structural decay. In 2007, the museum underwent major restoration work to create a larger exhibition space and better toilet facilities. These refurbishments coincided with the addition of the concrete floor inside the shaft.

Since 2019, the Brunel Museum has received development funding from the Heritage Fund to continue improving visitor experience and for the protection of the Grade II* listed building and shaft. The museum has recently acquired a collection of Marc Brunel’s Thames Tunnel watercolour designs, which detail his ideas and progress. Some of these are on display, and others are shown digitally on interactive screens.

The Brunel Museum is currently open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 10:30 am to 3:30 pm. From 1st April, opening times will change to Fridays, Sundays and Mondays between 11 am and 5 pm. General admission for adults costs £6, while children and the over 65s cost £4. Special events and group talks are available at various times of the year.

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Battersea Power Station

Designated a Grade II listed building in 1980, Battersea Power Station is a decommissioned power station on the south bank of the River Thames, London. Constructed between 1929 and 1941, the station burned coal to create electricity until it closed in 1983. For many years, the building stood empty while several companies attempted to develop plans for its use. Finally, with the help of Malaysian investors, Battersea Power Station reopened as a combination of apartments, offices and a shopping centre in autumn 2022.

The London Power Company proposed the construction of a new power station in 1927. Many protested against the plan because they feared it would be an eyesore and damage the environment. After reassuring the locals the emissions would be “clean and smokeless”, the company commissioned the industrial architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (1880-1960) to design the building. Scott, famed for developing the iconic red telephone boxes, produced plans for two stations, A and B. The construction of Station A began in 1929, with John Mowlem & Co building the facade.

Scott initially proposed square chimneys, but these were switched to cylindrical chimneys during the construction process. Whilst the chimneys are 50 metres high, they sit on a 51-metre-tall building, meaning they reach 101 metres above ground level. Station A, completed in 1935, comprises the western pair of chimneys and the boiler house. It cost £2,141,550 to build, and 207 accidents occurred during the process, six of which were fatal.

During the Second World War, Battersea Power Station continued running, despite the steam from the chimneys making it visible from the sky. Royal Airforce Pilots benefited from the smoke, particularly on foggy nights, because it helped them determine their location. Similarly, the German Luftwaffe used the smoke for navigation, so they never bombed the power station.

Construction of Station B began in 1944 and gradually started operating between 1953 and 1955. Scott’s design for the second station was the mirror image of Station A, resulting in the iconic four-chimney layout. The final chimney was ready for use in 1955, making Battersea Power Station complete. The boiler room was now so large it could fit the entirety of St Paul’s Cathedral.

With Station B complete, Battersea Power Station could produce up to 509 megawatts (MW), making it the third-largest generating site in the UK. London Power Company initially operated Station A, but by the time Station B came into use, the government had nationalised the UK’s electricity supply, thus transferring the station’s ownership to the British Electricity Authority (BEA).

The station was responsible for powering a fifth of London’s electricity, so when an electrical fire occurred on 20th April 1964, a wide-spread area experienced power outages. Unfortunately, one affected building was the BBC Television Centre which was due to launch BBC 2 that evening. As a result of the fire, BBC 2 could not go on air until 11 am the following morning.

Aside from producing electricity, Battersea Power Station became an iconic structure in popular culture and featured in many films and television programmes. Even before the construction of Station B, the building appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s Sabotage (1936). In more recent years, it has been a setting in Children of Men (2006) and the 2020 video game Watch Dogs: Legion. Most notably, Battersea Power Station appeared on the album cover of Animals (1977) by Pink Floyd.

Designed by Storm Thorgerson (1944-2013), Pink Floyd’s Animals album cover featured an inflatable pig floating between two chimneys of Battersea Power Station. For the photoshoot and music video, the band tethered a helium-filled 12ft pig called Algie to one of the southern chimneys on 2nd December 1976. A marksman stood nearby with a gun to shoot the pig balloon down in an emergency. The following day, the band returned to the station to add the finishing touches to their video but forgot to inform the marksman. Inevitably, the balloon escaped its moorings and quickly disappeared from view. The pig flew over Heathrow, causing delayed and cancelled flights, while pilots up above panicked about the strange object in their flight path. Eventually, Algie the pig balloon landed in a field on the coast of Kent, frightening a herd of cows.

Before the Pink Floyd fiasco, Station A ceased operating on 17th March 1975 due to increased running costs. Rumours began to spread about Station B following suit, resulting in a campaign to save the building. In 1980, the Secretary of State for the Environment, Michael Heseltine (b.1933), awarded the building Grade II listed status, which meant the building could not be demolished, extended, or altered without special permission from the local planning authority. As a result, when Station B ceased operating on 31st October 1983, the building remained standing and empty.

In 1983, the Central Electricity Generating Board, responsible for looking after the building, held a competition for redevelopment ideas. The winning idea proposed a theme park with shops and restaurants. John Broome, the owner of Alton Towers Resort, purchased Battersea Power Station for £1.5 million, but he estimated the development costs at £35 million. The theme park would need to attract 2 million visitors annually to make a profit. Undeterred, Broome started converting the site, and British Rail considered installing a shuttle service between London Victoria and Battersea.

After removing the roof to extract the old machinery, Broome halted the project in 1989. Costs had escalated to an unaffordable £230 million, so Broome ditched the theme park proposal. New ideas flooded in, such as a mixture of offices, shops and a hotel, but the building remained stationary and open to the elements for several years.

In 1993, Parkview International, a Hong Kong-based development company, purchased Battersea Power Station for £10,000. The building came with £70,000 of debt and significant damage from bad weather and flooding. Ten years later, Parkview International began a £1.1 billion project to restore the building and develop it into a retail, leisure and housing complex. Various architects submitted plans for the interior of the complex and extra buildings surrounding the area. The local Battersea Power Station Community Group actively campaigned against these schemes, stating the housing would be unaffordable and “If you surround it with buildings 15 storeys high, you don’t have a landmark any more.”

Further problems arose after construction workers discovered that parts of the chimneys had corroded. Impossible to save, Parkview International sought permission from English Heritage and the London Borough of Wandsworth to demolish and replace the chimneys of the Grade II-listed building. Unfortunately, this unexpected cost put an end to Parkview’s redevelopment plans.

In 2006, Real Estate Opportunities (REO) purchased the site for £400 million, intending to create a 980-foot-high “eco tower” and reopen the building as a power station. The plan included using the chimneys as vents for the biomass and waste fuelled station, while the interior of the building housed a shopping centre and museum. Rather than replacing the roof over the boiler house, REO proposed developing an open-air park in the space. REO claimed the materials used would reduce energy consumption in the buildings by 67%.

REO’s plans were due to go ahead in 2011, but the failure to secure a financial backer put an end to the proceedings, and REO went into administration. New proposals for Battersea Power Station came flooding in, including Sir Terry Farrell’s (b.1938) urban park and a new stadium for Chelsea Football Club. Finally, on 7th June 2012, Ernst & Young Global Limited (EY), partnered with Malaysian developers SP Setia and Sime Darby, won the bid. They proposed to restore the power station, create a riverside park and high street and construct 800 homes.

Construction commenced in 2013 on phase one of the latest project. The entire scheme comprises six phases, three of which are complete as of writing. Phase one involved the development of Circus West Village, a complex to one side of the power station. Completed in 2017, the village contains 23 restaurants, cafes and retailers, and houses over 1500 residents.

Phase two also commenced in 2013. It involved the restoration of the Art Deco power station and the reconstruction of the chimneys. Although the majority of the building work was completed by 2017, the interior required more work. Eventually, the main body of the power station opened to the public on 14th October 2022. Where the engine room once stood, shops, bars, and restaurants fill the space. There are also 254 apartments and a cinema.

To make Battersea Power Station more accessible, the London Underground agreed to create a new branch of the Northern Line. Branching off at Kennington Station, the 1.9-mile-long track serves two new stations: Nine Elms and Battersea Power Station. The construction cost £1.1 billion and opened on 20th September 2021.

Since the opening of the main shopping centre, phase three reached completion. Known as the Electric Boulevard, it contains 1,300 sustainable (and supposedly affordable) homes and a handful of shops, cafes and restaurants. Phase four promises more housing and an NHS medical centre. Phases five and six will also provide housing as well as outdoor areas.

Despite the promises of affordable houses, the Battersea Power Station shopping centre feels like a rich person’s playground. Upmarket shops and brands fill the various levels of the building, including Calvin Klein, Mulberry, Omega, Ralph Lauren and Rolex. Similarly, restaurants cater for those with extra cash to spend, notably Gordon Ramsay’s Bread Street Kitchen. The successful businesses will help pay for the £10 billion restoration project, but it is currently only targeting a niche clientele.

A unique highlight at Battersea Power Station is Lift 109, which carries visitors 109 metres to the top of the northwest chimney. At the top, tourists are treated to a 360-degree view of London. The (overpriced) experience allows people to watch planes landing at Heathrow Airport in the distance and gaze down at the many significant buildings that make up London’s skyline.

It is too early to say if Battersea Power Station’s make-over is a success. It is not yet reaching its target footfall, but it promises many events and exhibitions in the future, which will help attract much-needed visitors.

Whilst Battersea Power Station features parking facilities, it is easy to get to on the underground. Battersea Power Station underground station is situated next to the shopping centre; alternatively, the River Boat service provides regular transport into central London. Tickets for Lift 109 start at £15.50 when purchased online but are considerably more expensive at weekends or if purchased on-site.

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Painter of Kings and Demons

When asked to name some Spanish artists, the majority will answer Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí before thinking of Francisco Goya. Goya is a name recognised by many, but the same cannot be said about his long life. Considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Goya bridges the gap between the Old Masters and modern art. During his career, Goya worked for the Spanish court before turning to darker, delusional themes that suggest he struggled with his mental health.

Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes was born on 30th March 1746, in Fuendetodos, Aragón, Spain, to lower-middle-class parents. Around his third birthday, the family moved to the city of Zaragoza, where his father oversaw the gilding and ornamentation of the Santa Maria del Pilar (Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar). At 14, Goya studied under the painter José Luzán (1710-85) before moving to Madrid at 18 to study with Anton Raphael Mengs (1728-77).

Twice, Goya applied to study at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, but after the second failed attempt, he decided to try his luck in Rome, Italy. A gap of at least a decade is missing from Goya’s biography after he moved to Rome, leaving historians to speculate about his movements. Early biographers suggest Goya either worked for a Russian diplomat or earned money as a street acrobat.

Records reveal Goya earned second place in a painting competition held in Parma in 1771, then returned to Zaragoza to paint frescoes in the Basilica of the Pillar and the Charterhouse of Aula Dei. Around this time, Goya began studying with Francisco Bayeu y Subías (1734-95), through whom he met and married Bayeu’s sister, Josefa (1747-1812), in July 1773. Their first child, Antonio Juan Ramon Carlos, was born thirteen months later.

Bayeu helped Goya earn a commission for a series of tapestry cartoons for the Royal Tapestry Factory in 1777. The project lasted five years, during which time Goya designed 42 patterns, which later hung in the residences of the Spanish monarchy. Unfortunately, the work put a strain on Goya’s physical health, and he frequently succumbed to illnesses. With some tapestry cartoons measuring eight by ten feet, the task became too difficult for Goya. He also felt it restricted his artistic development because tapestries could not capture the same tones and textures as paintings.

Goya’s fortunes changed in 1783 when Count José Moñino of Floridablanca (1728-1808) commissioned Goya to paint his portrait. Moñino was a favourite of King Charles III (1716-88) and his half-brother Luis (1727-85), whom Goya briefly befriended. In 1786, the king offered Goya a salaried position as his personal painter, which transferred to King Charles IV (1748-1819) in 1789.

As First Court Painter, Goya earned 50,000 reales a year, with an allowance of 500 ducats for transport. Among his work for the king is the life-size group portrait of Charles IV of Spain and His Family (1800-1801), which features 14 figures, including Goya. Critics liken this painting to Diego Velázquez’s Las Meninas (1656), in which the artist includes himself looking at the viewer from behind a canvas. Unlike Velázquez‘s informal group portrait with figures conducting various tasks, Goya shows the royal family’s importance through stiff poses. Rather than only painting Charles IV, his wife and his children, the king wished to include other family members, such as his brother, his sister, his future daughter-in-law, his son-in-law and his first grandchild, Carlos Luis (1799-1883).

Goya’s connection with the king earned him many prestigious commissions amongst the highest ranks of Spanish nobility. Patrons included the Duke of Osuna, the Duke of Alba and Prime Minister Manuel Godoy (1767-1851). It is widely believed the latter commissioned Goya to paint La maja desnuda, the first life-size female nude in Western art without allegorical or mythological meaning. Goya also painted a clothed version called La maja vestida, in which the unidentified model reclines in the same pose. Suggestions for the model’s identity range from María Cayetana de Silva, 13th Duchess of Alba (1762-1802), to Pepita Tudó, Godoy’s mistress. Unable to pinpoint who the lady is, many critics believe she is a product of Goya’s imagination.

In the early 1790s, Goya suffered from a mysterious illness, leaving him deaf. The condition affected Goya’s mental health, which is evident in his paintings. Goya began depicting nightmarish elements in his work, such as Yard with Lunatics, which shows “a yard with lunatics, and two of them fighting completely naked while their warder beats them, and others in sacks.” Goya claimed it was a scene he witnessed at Zaragoza, yet his choice to paint it while recovering from an illness says a lot about his state of mind.

Art critics suggest Yard with Lunatics reflects Goya’s fear that he was going mad. Many historians believe Goya suffered from viral encephalitis (inflammation of the brain), which causes tinnitus, deafness and delusional thoughts, among other more serious symptoms. Others suggest Ménière’s disease, which affects the inner ear. Lead poisoning is another theory because Goya used large amounts of lead white paint. It is impossible to determine a definite diagnosis, but the illness marked a turning point in Goya’s career as an artist.

In 1808, the French invaded Spain, leading to the Peninsular War, which lasted until 1814. Joseph Bonaparte (1768-1844), the older brother of Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), usurped the Spanish throne, leaving Goya in a precarious position as First Court Painter. Goya claims he kept neutral during the war but continued to produce paintings for French patrons. After the restoration of the Spanish King Ferdinand VII (1784-1833) in 1814, Goya continued working in the royal courts but never painted anything at the request of the king. Any portraits produced of Ferdinand were commissioned by other members of the court.

Goya witnessed several events during the Peninsular War, which may have contributed to his health woes. He also lost his wife in 1812, and only one of their seven children lived past infancy. In 1814, Goya painted two war scenes titled The Second of May 1808 and The Third of May 1808, which art historians believe he did not witness in person but heard about in stories. The first painting, also known as The Charge of the Mamelukes, depicts an uprising of Spanish people against the Mamelukes of the French Imperial Guard. The French received instructions to charge and subdue the rioters, but instead, the revolt became a chaotic, ferocious melee.

The Third of May 1808 is set a few hours after the riot. Hundreds of Spaniards involved in the uprising were rounded up and shot in various locations around Madrid. Unlike The Second of May 1808, in which Goya attempted to depict the Spanish as heroic, the second painting has no motive other than to record the executions. Art historian Kenneth Clark (1903-83) described it as “the first great picture which can be called revolutionary in every sense of the word, in style, in subject, and in intention.” The position of the man standing with his arms raised later inspired Gerald Holtom’s (1914-85) international peace symbol:
“I drew myself: the representative of an individual in despair, with hands palm outstretched outwards and downwards in the manner of Goya’s peasant before the firing squad. I formalised the drawing into a line and put a circle round it.”

From 1819 onwards, Goya began to retreat from public life. Whilst he continued completing some royal commissions, much of his work he produced privately. He moved to a small cottage outside the city, which people referred to as La Quinta del Sordo (The House of the Deaf Man). Fearing old age and madness, Goya’s paintings became even darker. Fourteen artworks produced between 1819 and 1823 are collectively known as the Black Paintings because they demonstrate Goya’s bleak outlook on humanity. Goya poured his fears and the panic, terror, and hysteria he experienced during the war into these artworks, which include Saturn Devouring His Son, Judith and Holofernes, and Witches’ Sabbath.

Goya’s Black Paintings were never exhibited in his lifetime, and he likely never intended to show anyone these works. The disturbing themes indicate Goya was not of sound mind during his final years, but so does how he produced the paintings. Rather than using canvases or wooden boards, Goya painted directly onto the walls of his cottage. Fred Licht (1928-2019), in his book Goya: The Origins of the Modern Temper in Art, wrote, “these paintings are as close to being hermetically private as any that have ever been produced in the history of Western art.” Following Goya’s death, the walls were carefully demolished to preserve the murals, which now reside in the Museo del Prado in Madrid.

Despite his hermit-like ways, Goya had a live-in maid called Leocadia Weiss (1788-1856), a widow with a young daughter, Rosario, who also lived at the cottage. Weiss met Goya at the wedding of his son Javier, which suggests she may have been related to the bride’s family. Weiss left her unhappy marriage to Isidore Weiss, a Jewish jeweller, in 1811, leaving many wondering about the identity of Rosario’s father, who was born three years later. Some suspect Goya, who is listed as Rosario’s godfather, but there is no evidence Goya and Weiss were ever romantically attached.

Although Goya struggled with his health, he taught Rosario how to draw. She studied with him until 1823 when she started receiving lessons from the architect Tiburcio Pérez. Goya spent the final year of his life paralyzed on his right side following a stroke, eventually passing away on 16th April 1828. He left nothing in his will to Weiss or her daughter, and both women contested the will, suggesting a closer relationship than maid and pupil, but Goya’s son denied them anything. Weiss spent the remainder of her life in poverty, as did her ex-husband. Rosario continued to develop her artistic career but passed away at age 28 from cholera.

Following his death, Goya was buried at a local church. Later, the Spanish consul reinterred his body in the Real Ermita de San Antonio de la Florida (Royal Chapel of St. Anthony of La Florida) in Madrid. On digging up Goya’s body, they discovered the skull was missing. The whereabouts of Goya’s skull remain a mystery.

Goya’s 82 years of life have been immortalised in contemporary films, such as Goya’s Ghosts (2006), starring Stellan Skarsgård (b.1951) as Goya and Natalie Portman (b. 1981) as the artist’s model. Goya has influenced many artists since his death, including Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) and Salvador Dalí (1904-89), who admired his Black Paintings.

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My blogs are now available to listen to as podcasts on the following platforms: Anchor, Breaker, Google Podcasts, Pocket Casts and Spotify.

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Reader, I Murdered Him

Jane Steele
Author: Lyndsay Faye
Published: 22nd March 2016
Goodreads Rating: 3.89 out of 5
Reviewed: March 2017

“Reader, I murdered him.” Jane Steele is a gothic retelling of the renowned Jane Eyre written by the celebrated Charlotte Bronte. Crime writer, Lyndsay Faye, creates an entirely new story whilst appropriating the skeletal structure of the original classic. However, Jane Steele is nothing like Miss Eyre, with whom everyone is familiar. She is far more headstrong and independent. She is also a murderer.

Before readers are discouraged to hear that their beloved Jane is portrayed as a criminal, the murders that occur are more of a homicidal or self-defence nature, as opposed to serial killing. The first death, occurring when she is a nine-year-old orphan, is not her fault, but it prompts Jane’s wealthy aunt to pack her off to boarding school, and thus the similarities with Jane Eyre commence.

Written in an autobiographical manner, Jane describes her years at the virulent school, where she and the other girls experience abuse at the hands of the schoolmaster. As readers will recall, Eyre’s life improves in her later school years, but Jane Steele’s education comes to a premature end, resulting in her fending for herself in 19th-century London.

As the blurb indicates, Jane returns to the house she grew up in after the death of her aunt to become a governess for the current owner’s ward. Mr Charles Thornfield, a bachelor, is Jane Steele’s version of Rochester, minus the wife in the attic. The contents of the cellar are a different matter.

From a romantic point of view, all happens in a similar manner to Jane Eyre, but this is where the comparisons end. With concealed crimes and secrets, as well as an unsolved murder, the story becomes the thriller it initially proposed to be. The incisive Jane Steele takes matters into her own hands – figuratively and literally – as she determines to resolve the unanswered questions.

Although not written with the intent to be comical, the stark contrasts between the original and the retelling create humorous scenarios. The nature of the main character, in comparison with the time frame, a period where women had very few rights, makes the narrative far more exciting and amusing than the earlier novel – although not necessarily better.

Lyndsay Faye maintains the atmosphere of the 1800s with her affinity for eloquent turns of phrases and choice of words. She is a prolific author full of wonderful ideas; her ability to create a new story out of a well-known classic is a formidable skill. What is admirable is the way in which Faye has made Jane Steele a novel in its own right and not merely a rip-off of Bronte’s work.

The skilful composition and wording will likely be loved by all, its only downfall being the reaction of hardcore Jane Eyre fans. Those who wish for the classics to be left alone and not pulled apart by contemporary authors or film directors may adopt a negative attitude towards the publication of Jane Steele. On the other hand, many will love this gothic retelling, appreciate the similarities and enjoy the new twist to the storyline. 

How To Talk So Little Kids Will Listen
Author: Joanna Faber and Julie King
Published: 10th January 2017
Goodreads Rating: 4.41 out of 5
Reviewed: April 2017

The highly rated How To Talk books were developed by Adele Faber as a guide for parents, who face daily struggles with their children’s behaviour. Now her daughter, Joanna Faber, and childhood friend, Julie King, are parenting experts and have contributed to the series. This latest addition, How To Talk So Little Kids Will Listen, is a survival guide for parents with children between the ages of the terrible twos to the semi-civilised-sevens. Covering topics from food battles to sleep issues, parents are bound to relate to something in this book and be able to put some of the advice into practice.

Most of the content encompasses the tried and tested methods Joanna and Julie encourage parents to consider as part of a parenting workshop. Split into topics, the reader is given a set of tools to work with that may help to turn a situation away from a tantrum and a harassed parent. These tools are demonstrated with real-life stories from the Mums and Dads who used them.

As well as the usual behaviour troubles that most children develop, the book also includes ways to cope with children who have sensory issues or are diagnosed with Autism. These youngsters do not process the world the same way as other people their age, which can be very frustrating for parents. Armed with a new set of tools, adults will be able to support their children as they grow up in a world they do not understand and make them feel safe and understood.

Illustrated with cartoons, each chapter ends with a short summary of ideas to try in any situation. By providing these recap points, parents can locate a tool or idea in a moment of desperation and put it into practice immediately. The layout and clear headings offer an easy way of finding the relevant information, meaning that harried parents do not have to skim paragraphs and pages to find what they seek.

By including real-life scenarios, Joanna and Julie highlight that there is no one-size-fits-all when dealing with unruly children. Each child is different and needs to be treated appropriately. However, the experts provide enough information so that when one tool fails, there is another as a backup.

After reading How To Talk So Little Kids Will Listen, you will feel empowered to tackle anything your child throws at you. Of course, there is no guarantee that you will become a parenting master overnight, but you will be more confident about dealing with the little rascals.

How To Talk So Little Kids Will Listen is a book that feels realistic with no psychological jargon to make you feel inadequate. Joanna and Julie are both parents and have had to resort to taking their own advice – and sometimes failing. The writers are human and not childless psychologists who believe they know what they are talking about. So, if you are tearing your hair out and do not know what to do to make your child happy, this How To Talk series is something to check out.

Spontaneous
Author: Aaron Starmer
Published: 23rd August 2016
Goodreads Rating: 3.33 out of 5
Reviewed: April 2017

Dubbed the “funniest book about spontaneous combustion you will ever read” by the acclaimed best-selling author John Green, Spontaneous by Aaron Starmer is a story about growing up and blowing up. Seeing a classmate explode in front of you during third-period pre-calc class is not something you ever expect to happen. Nor do you expect this to be the first of many to randomly occur throughout your senior year, but for Mara, this is her appalling fate.

Mara’s senior year was not all that exciting until the first explosion, but after a few more students from her class spontaneously combust, it is clear she is not going to have a normal final year of school. Only affecting the seniors, Mara and her friends are ostracised from society while FBI agents try to solve the problematic situation. With bombs, terrorists and government conspiracies eventually ruled out, the class is left abandoned to explode at their leisure – although they would rather not!

Mara, with her boyfriend, Dylan, and best friend, Tess, attempts to continue living their lives. They encourage students to start their own school so they can still graduate at the end of the year. But with an increasing number of messy ends, they begin to doubt they will make it that far.

Full of crack-pot ideas that will leave readers laughing, Mara’s dry sense of humour gets her through most of the year, but the painful loss of her friends and acquaintances soon catches up with her. It is hard not to despair when you know you could detonate at any moment.

The easiest way to describe Spontaneous is bonkers, absolutely bonkers. For a start, spontaneous combustion is uncommon for any living creature. Mara’s inappropriate humour and acidulousness only add to the farcical state of affairs, providing a comical and entertaining narrative. However, as Mara begins to acquiesce to her new situation and live as if regularly being sprayed with blood and guts is normal, the story takes a sombre downturn.

Annoyingly, the conclusion of Spontaneous is ambiguous, leaving attentive readers with no answers. Had Starmer not imaged a solution, or was it too difficult to explain? Whatever the reason, it leaves us with a dissatisfying ending.

On the other hand, the ending of a book is only a fragment of the story. The beginning and middle were of the author’s optimum quality. Combining typical teenage emotion and behaviour – romance included – with a horrifying crisis results in a book that will make you “feel all the feels” – to borrow a Mara term – and enjoy every moment.

Spontaneous will entertain young and old adults, although perhaps not the more sensitive reader. With uncensored language and no sugarcoating, Mara gives us all the gory details blow-by-blow (literally). Be prepared for laughter, shock and unadulterated pleasure.

The Inexplicable Logic of my Life
Author: Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Published: 7th March 2017
Goodreads Rating: 4.13 out of 5
Reviewed: February 2017

Over the past couple of years, social media, particularly Tumblr, has been raving over Benjamin Alire Sáenz’s multi-award-winning novel, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. As a result, I have wanted to read this book to see what the fuss is about. Unfortunately, libraries and bookstores in the UK do not appear to stock any of Sáenz’s novels. When I saw an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) of The Inexplicable Logic of My Life was available to review on NetGalley, I took the risk, having not read any of Sáenz’s work, and requested a copy. I am glad I did. The Young Adult novel turned out to be a thing of true beauty. The prose is almost poetic and full of emotion; it not only tells the story but also makes you feel it.

The narrator, Salvador “Sal”, is beginning his final year at El Paso High School with his best friend, Sam. Normally, the first day of school is something he looks forward to, but he feels different this year. Something within Sal has changed, something indescribable but there all the same. Something that makes punching someone in the face an automatic reaction.

Sal’s dad is gay. Although not his real dad, Vicente adopted Sal into his extended Mexican American family after the death of his mother when he was three years old. He could not have asked for a better parent, but something is niggling in his mind: who is his biological father?

Whilst Sal soliloquizes about his feelings, the reader is introduced to best friend Sam – a girl who, despite an erudite vocabulary, is not afraid to cuss and swear. Sam also understands what it is like question who you are, as does Fito, another friend with terrible relations. Tragic events pull the three together, giving them a new chance at being part of a family despite not being blood-related.

Sal, Sam and Fito try to help each other through their problems, ruminating together over their pasts and contemplating the unpredictable future. Despite each character suffering from grief, their friendship gives them a purpose and encouragement to carry on.

The Inexplicable Logic of My Life covers so many themes it is impossible to categorize. Sam, Fito and Vicente are all encumbered with something that could ostracize them from society – their sexuality, race, drug addict parents – but they never let this get in their way. Sal, on the other hand, struggles somewhat, believing he no longer knows who he really is. He questions everything: how does he fit into the world around him? What right does he have to graduate and go to college?

With great efficacy, Sáenz explains through Sal’s voice the importance of believing in yourself, letting yourself be loved, and accepting things for what they really are. All the main characters are trying so hard to belong; they do not realize they always have belonged.

The Inexplicable Logic of My Life is a story of grief, death, family, friendship, fathers and words; a graceful, almost lyrical narrative that gets to the heart of human existence and uplifts the spirit. The expressive language has a great emotional impact on the reader – have your tissues at the ready – and resonates within the soul. With quotable lines that you will wish you had written yourself, I guarantee you will love this book.

See You in the Cosmos, Carl Sagan
Author: Jack Cheng
Published: 28th February 2017
Goodreads Rating: 4.05 out of 5
Reviewed: March 2017

Carl Sagan (1934-1996) was an American astronomer and cosmologist famed for sending the Golden Record into space, full of sounds from Earth for any living being in the universe to find and listen to. Now, his youngest fan, 11-year-old Alex Petroski, intends to follow in his footsteps, recording sounds and information about his everyday life onto his “Golden iPod”. Told through the transcripts of these recordings, the readers (and the aliens) follow Alex on an unexpected epic journey in which he discovers things about himself that he never expected to.

Alex is a very independent child, having grown up with no father, a mentally vacant mother and a rarely there brother. Despite his young age, he has been taking care of himself and his mother, cooking meals, shopping etc. Now he is taking himself on a journey to another state to attend SHARF – a Rocket Festival – where he hopes to launch his iPod into space. With the help and kindness of strangers, particularly from a silent man named Zed, Alex makes it safely to Albuquerque, New Mexico. However, his journey is far from over.

It is impossible not to love Alex, his naivety and acuity of mind. Disappointed with the failed attempt at sending his iPod into the cosmos, he is distracted by thoughts of discovering more about his long-dead father. With encouragement from Zed and the reluctance of his disgruntled friend Steve, Alex sets off on his mission, recording all his experiences along the way. However, instead of the happy ever after he is seeking, Alex discovers some unexpected truths.

See You in the Cosmos, Carl Sagan is a funny, moving story about an overly optimistic child who, despite his upbringing, has been sheltered from the negativity of the world. Unable to understand his adult companions’ dilemmas, Alex will make readers laugh with his innocent ways of viewing the world. On the other hand, his simplistic view of life will pull on the heartstrings as he begins to realise things are not as straightforward as he initially believed.

Although published by Puffin and therefore classed as a children’s book, See You in the Cosmos, Carl Sagan is much more appropriate for an adult reader. The humour is targeted at those able to understand the innocent blunders of an 11-year-old, which would be lost on a reader of Alex’s age.

The author, Jack Cheng, writes in the style of a child’s speech. Long, breathless sentences, often full of too much irrelevant information, fill up the pages, but this only adds to Alex’s adorableness.

Viewing the world through the eyes of a child, especially one as unique as Alex, gives a new perspective on the trivialities of life. His laid-back personality will make people realise that some things are taken far too seriously or unnecessarily complicated. Without a doubt, Alex will be an inspiration to all.

Be warned, there are references to abuse and schizophrenia, but See You in the Cosmos, Carl Sagan, is a pleasant, hard-to-put-down read that will remain in the mind long after its conclusion.

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