The Colourful World of David McKee

Until 16th April 2023, the Horniman Museum in London is holding a retrospective of the late David McKee’s colourful illustrations. Mckee was a British author of children’s books, most notably Elmer the Patchwork Elephant. Since its publication in 1968, the original Elmer book has sold over ten million copies worldwide, making it one of the most-read children’s books. McKee is also responsible for other much-loved characters, such as Not Now Bernard, King Rollo and Mr Benn.

David John McKee was born on 2nd January 1935 in Tavistock, Devon. He attended the Plymouth College of Art, where he subsidised his studies by selling cartoons to newspapers. After graduating, McKee continued to produce regular artwork for national publications, such as the Reader’s Digest, the Times Educational Supplement and Punch, a satirical magazine. In 1964, McKee published his first children’s book, Two Can Toucan.

McKee first published Elmer the Patchwork Elephant with Dobson Books in 1968, although he re-issued a shortened version with Andersen Press in 1989. Elmer is not like other elephants with their grey, nondescript skin. Instead, the cheerful creature sports a patchwork of different colours: yellow, orange, red, pink, purple, blue, green, black and white. Despite the difference between Elmer and his peers, he remains an optimistic fellow with a rather mischievous streak.

The original Elmer book is notable for its exploration of cultural diversity. Although Elmer did not mind looking different, he wondered what it would be like to look like all the other elephants. One day, he decided to paint himself grey and blend in with the others. None of the elephants recognised Elmer, nor did the other animals in the story. Unable to take the silence, Elmer shouted “BOO”, making all the elephants jump. They immediately knew Elmer from his voice and fell about laughing. The elephants congratulated Elmer on his best joke ever and laughed even more when it began to rain, washing away the grey paint.

Elmer’s friends reassured him that they preferred his multicoloured and fun-loving personality. They proposed to name the day Elmer painted himself grey “Elmer Day”. Each year on “Elmer Day”, Elmer painted himself grey while the other elephants decorated themselves with multicoloured paint.

Primary schools, libraries and bookshops across the UK have adopted “Elmer Day” to “celebrate everyone’s true colours”. Everyone is unique in their appearance and the way they think and feel. “Elmer Day” encourages children to accept other people’s differences. Since 2016, “Elmer Day” has been celebrated at the end of May, roughly coinciding with the anniversary of the 1989 re-print.

Following the re-print of Elmer in 1989, McKee published 42 more books about the colourful elephant, starting with Elmer Again in 1991 and ending with Elmer and the Gift in 2022. In 2020, McKee won the BookTrust Lifetime Achievement award and the British Book Awards Nibbies Illustrator of the Year. McKee never expected to win, stating he had “never been one for the spotlight or winning awards,” yet nine years earlier, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Arts from Plymouth College of Art.

In 2019, Elmer took to the stage in the Elmer The Patchwork Elephant Show, adapted by Suzanne Miller and featuring songs by Allison Leyton-Brown. Although the show was primarily for entertainment, it contained a subtle message about being yourself. Later that year, the London Symphony Orchestra held an interactive storytelling session, recreating the 40th book in the series, Elmer’s Walk (2018), with music and dance.

In 2014, The Guardian named Elmer an LGBTQ+ icon. Although the movement celebrates sexual equality, the newspaper felt Elmer a fitting mascot due to his message of true colours, acceptance and inclusivity. Two years later, Elmer became the face of Just Like Us, an LGBTQ+ young people’s charity that aims to tackle homophobic, biphobic, and transphobic bullying in schools. Every year, schools are encouraged to participate in School Diversity Week, which celebrates pupils’ differences.

This year, 2023, Elmer has partnered with Alzheimer’s Research UK. McKee’s final book in the series, Elmer and the Gift (2022), deals with the effects of memory loss. Elmer’s Aunt Zelda has a gift to give Elmer from his Grandpa Eldo, but she cannot remember what or where it is. Although Zelda’s memory and hearing are often poor, Elmer helps her search for the missing present while displaying love, patience and respect for his elderly relative. Many young readers may recognise some of the themes in their families, particularly if a loved one is suffering from dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzheimer’s Research UK aims to raise awareness of dementia and how people can help care for sufferers. Book sales also help raise money for the charity, which supports families and individuals, plus supplies funding for scientists searching for a cure, treatment or prevention of the disease. To increase support, Hollywood actor Will Pouter (b. 1993) recorded himself reading the book, which will be available online. When interviewed, Poulter revealed, “I loved reading the story of Elmer and the Gift in support of Alzheimer’s Research UK. Thousands of families are impacted by dementia and talking about it to friends and family of any age is incredibly difficult. David McKee’s Elmer the Patchwork Elephant is colourful, trusted, and nostalgic for many parents, making the story a great way to start these important conversations with little ones.”

Elmer is not McKee’s only creation. Predating the colourful elephant is Mr Benn, a man recognised for his black suit and bowler hat. The first of the four original Mr Benn books, Mr Benn Red Knight, was published in 1967 and became an animated television show in 1971. The majority of the stories, both in the books and on television, feature a similar pattern. Every day, Mr Benn leaves his house at 52 Festive Road, London, and visits a fancy dress shop. On each visit, he tries on a different outfit, which transports him to an appropriate world. In the first story, Mr Benn tries on a red knight’s armour and finds himself face-to-face with a dragon. On another occasion, he travels to several weird and wonderful planets while dressed as an astronaut.

McKee intended to write six Mr Benn books, but only four were published: Mr Benn Red Knight, Big Game Benn, 123456789 Benn, and Big Top Benn. McKee adapted the fifth book, Mr Benn Rides Again, for television and the sixth, Superbenn, never became more than an idea. In 2001, McKee eventually published a new story, Mr Benn – Gladiator. In the same year, Tess Read published Mr Benn’s Little Book of Life, which examined the Mr Benn stories, particularly the moral messages. With the Mr Benn series, and the later Elmer books, McKee subliminally added life lessons for children.

Between 1971 and 1972, McKee wrote, illustrated and animated 13 Mr Benn episodes for the BBC. Each episode lasted 15 minutes, with Ray Brooks (b. 1939) providing the narration. In 2005, the BBC released an animated version of the final book in the series, Mr Benn – Gladiator. 

In 1978, McKee established King Rollo Films, an animation production company which continues to produce children’s cartoons up to the present day. The studio began with King Rollo, based on a series of books by McKee. Rollo is a childish king who always needs advice and assistance from his friends. In the first book, King Rollo and the New Shoes (1979), Rollo gets his first pair of lace-up shoes. After a lot of patience from Rollo’s friend, the magician, plus a lot of shouting and banging from Rollo, the king eventually learns how to tie his new shoes.

King Rollo Films expanded to include animations by other illustrators, including The Adventures of Spot (1987), Maisy (1999-2000), and Poppy Cat (2011). McKee occasionally worked as a writer for these shows.

Elmer, Mr Benn and King Rollo are considered children’s classic picture books, as is McKee’s 1980 story Not Now, Bernard. The publisher, Andersen Press, initially had reservations about the book because they thought it might frighten children and cause controversy. Yet, Not Now, Bernard has been translated into more than 20 languages and has never been out of print.

Not Now, Bernard is about a young boy who wants attention from his preoccupied parents. After being told “Not now, Bernard”, he ventures into the garden, where he is eaten by a monster. The badly behaved monster pretends to be Bernard for the rest of the day, but the parents never notice. Finally, the monster tries to tell Bernard’s mother that he is a monster, but all she replies is “Not now, Bernard”.

Some schools banned Not Now, Bernard for violence, but that did not stop it from becoming a popular story. The Guardian described it as a “cautionary tale of the perils of ignoring children”, and actress Sheila Hancock (b. 1933) claimed the book “demonstrates that parents can be naughty too” and “when we don’t listen to people, monsters can take over”.

McKee divided his time between London and southern France, where he lived with his partner Bakhta, a French-Algerian art dealer. The couple had a shared interest in collecting drawings and African tribal art. McKee had three children from his first marriage to Barbara Ennuss and once lived at 54 Festing Road, Putney, which served as inspiration for Mr Benn’s house at 52 Festive Road. McKee did not earn a great deal from his books and animations, particularly Mr Benn, for which he accepted a lump sum rather than earn royalties. McKee revealed in an interview that Bakhta shared his outlook on money. “She’s just a happy person and doesn’t ask for anything. If we walk hand in hand that’s enough.” Yet, McKee did buy a Picasso ceramic bowl for £300, knowing it was worth £1,000.

David McKee died on 6th April 2022 after a short illness. Although he did not believe he deserved the BookTrust lifetime achievement award, he definitely earned it. Evidenced by the recent Horniman exhibition, Elmer the Elephant is here to stay and continues to be adapted for the present day. Mckee’s books entertained children for decades, and towards the end of his career, McKee helped other characters, such as Michael Bond’s Paddington Bear, reach new audiences by providing illustrations for updated stories. No doubt Elmer the Elephant will receive the same treatment in the future as he continues to support inclusivity and Alzheimer’s Research UK.

If you wish to visit the Elmer and Friends exhibition at the Horniman Museum, tickets are available until 16th April 2023. Entry is £5 for adults and £3 for children, although family deals are available. Please visit the Horniman website for more details.

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The “Cripple” Suffragette

It is impossible to list everyone involved in the Suffrage Movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Only fifty-nine of the thousands of supporters are named on the Millicent Fawcett statue in Parliament Square. However, looking at each of these individuals gives us a sense of the views held by the many women and men who campaigned for women’s suffrage. One such woman was Rosa May Billinghurst, popularly known at the time as the “cripple suffragette”.

Rosa May Billinghurst, or May, as she preferred, was born in Lewisham on 31st May 1875 to Rosa Ann and Henry Farncombe Billinghurst. During her childhood, she contracted polio, which left her unable to walk unaided. For the rest of her life, she relied on leg irons, crutches or a modified tricycle, earning her the unsavoury nickname. Despite her disabilities, Billinghurst involved herself with social work and taught at a Sunday School.

Passionate about the Women’s Suffrage cause, Billinghurst joined the Women’s Liberal Association, which later became the Women’s Liberal Federation. The WLF aimed to work with the Liberal Party to promote just legislation for women, particularly the introduction of votes for women at elections on the same terms as men.

In 1907, Billinghurst became disenchanted with the Liberal party, so she joined the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) and participated in a march to the Royal Albert Hall the following year, albeit on her tricycle. That same year, Billinghurst helped organise a protest on the polling day of the Haggerston by-election. Haggerston was a UK Parliament constituency before being incorporated into the Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch and, subsequently, the London Borough of Hackney. The by-election occurred following the death of the Liberal MP Sir Randal Cremer (1828-1908). Rather than give the seat to another Liberal politician, a local election was held to choose a new representative for the constituency. Billinghurst and several other Suffragettes canvassed the area on polling day, shouting “keep the Liberal out.” Their efforts were rewarded when the Conservative candidate, Rupert Guinness (1874-1967), won 51.4 % of the vote.

In 1910, Billinghurst established the Greenwich branch of the WSPU and served as secretary during the Black Friday demonstrations. Around 300 women marched to the Houses of Parliament as part of the campaign for voting rights on 18th November 1910. What started as a relatively peaceful demonstration became a violent brawl when male bystanders and the Metropolitan Police began attacking and, in some instances, sexually assaulting the women.

Billinghurst attended the Black Friday demonstration on her tricycle wheelchair. She was amongst the women pulled through the streets by violent men, who assaulted her, deflated her wheels and stole the valves, leaving Billinghurst stranded. Despite this exploitation of her disability, Billinghurst determined to use the experience as publicity for the suffrage cause.

In 1911, Billinghurst participated in another march to the Houses of Parliament. This time, she came prepared to fight the police and bystanders if they attempted any assault. Billinghurst placed her crutches on either side of her tricycle and charged at any opposition. Whilst this deterred the police from attacking her, it resulted in her arrest.

Billinghurst experienced prison life on several occasions. In March 1912, Billinghurst helped the Scottish suffragette Janie Allan (1868-1968) smash windows along Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, which resulted in a stint in Holloway Prison. On this occasion, Billinghurst was sentenced to one month’s hard labour. Being disabled, prison wardens were confused about her sentence and gave her no work for the duration of her sentence.

On 8th January 1913, the Old Bailey sentenced Billingshurst to another eight months in Holloway Prison after she damaged letters in a post box. In court, Billingshurst represented herself and gave a speech titled The Guilt Lies on the Shoulders of the Government, which she later published in the WSPU newspaper, The Suffragette.

“The guilt lies o the shoulders of the Government for delaying the measure, not on the women who continue to fight for the protection of the weak and the oppressed. In our union are women doctors, nurses, inspectors, teachers — women in almost every branch of industry and station of life. We are not hooligans seeking to destroy, but we mean to wake the public mind from its apathy, and to make our cause the burning question of the day, so that something shall be done for women. Gentlemen, I have stated a few facts of my life to show you why I am standing in the dock to-day pleading “Not Guilty.” I am fighting a righteous battle with a high motive. You may think me guilty; I may be imprisoned. In that case, I shall adopt the hunger strike as a protest against imprisonment being given to women instead of the justice they demand.“

Billinghurst carried out her hunger strike threat with several other suffragettes. Fearing an outcry if the prisoners died from starvation, the prison wardens subjected the hunger strikers to force-feeding. Prison wardens restrained the women while a doctor inserted a small tube up their noses or throats into the stomach to administer liquid meals. Force-feeding was traumatic, abusive and not much more nutritious than starvation. After two weeks, Billinghurst became critically ill, resulting in an early release from prison.

Between 1909 and 1914, the WSPU awarded hunger strikers a medal designed by Sylvia Pankhurst (1882-1960). The silver medal, engraved with the words Hunger Strike, hung on a ribbon featuring purple, white and green, the colours of the WSPU. With a silver pin engraved For Valour, recipients could attach their award to their clothes to demonstrate how far they were willing to go in their campaign for women’s voting rights. Silver bars were added to the medals with the dates the recipient underwent force-feeding. Many women experienced the gruelling procedure on several occasions.

Despite the threat of imprisonment and force-feeding, Billinghurst continued campaigning. She spoke at public events in 1913 and chained herself to the gates of Buckingham Palace with a handful of other suffragettes. On 14th June 1913, Billinghurst and other members of the WSPU used the funeral procession of Emily Wilding Davison to further their cause. Davison died after being hit by a horse at the 1913 Derby when she walked onto the track during the race. The suffragettes named Davison a martyr, and 5000 women dressed in white followed her coffin through the streets of London. Several male supporters also joined the ranks, helping to carry the banners of the WSPU.

Attitudes towards the suffragettes did not change much throughout their campaign, with many regarding them as a nuisance. Billinghurst joined the crowds of women petitioning to the King on 21st May 1914, where, once again, the police used violence to disperse them. Whilst Billinghurst was not arrested on this occasion, the police tipped her out of her tricycle.

Following the outbreak of the First World War, Billinghurst followed Emmeline Pankhurst’s lead prioritising war work. Although she was restricted due to her disability, Billinghurst helped where she could throughout the war years. In February 1918, parliament passed the Representation of the People Act 1918, which extended the right to vote to women aged 30 and over who resided in the constituency or occupied land or premises with a rateable value above £5. Whilst this was not equal to men, Billinghurst felt satisfied and stopped campaigning for women’s suffrage. Instead, she helped Christabel Pankhurst (1880-1958) stand in the 1918 general election for the Smethwick constituency. Pankhurst was narrowly defeated by the Labour candidate.

Very little is known about Billinghurst’s life outside of her work with the WSPU. In 1911, it appeared she still lived with her parents, but at some point, she lived in Sunbury-on-Thames with her adopted daughter, Beth, who she adopted in 1933. Other records reveal that after 1914, Billinghurst lived with her brother Alfred John Billinghurst.

Rosa May Billinghurst passed away at a hospital in Twickenham on 29th July 1953, leaving her body to medical science. Sixty-five years after her death, Billinghurst’s name and picture appeared on the plinth of the newly-erected Millicent Fawcett statue in Parliament Square. Although information about Billinghurst is sparse, her name and determination will never be forgotten.

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The Horniman Museum

In Forest Hill, Southeast London is a museum devoted to anthropology, natural history and musical instruments. The Horniman Museum opened in 1901, although under a different name, and is now known for its extensive collection of taxidermied animals. The museum resulted from Frederick Horniman’s lifelong passion for collecting artefacts. Horniman gathered around 30,000 items during his lifetime, but the Horniman Museum now boasts a collection of 350,000 objects.

Frederick John Horniman was born in Bridgwater, Somerset, on 8th October 1835 to Quaker parents, John and Ann Horniman. John had founded Horniman’s Tea Company in 1826 in Newport, Isle of Wight. He later moved the business to London, the then-biggest tea trading port in the world. By 1891, Horniman’s was the largest business in the trade. 

Horniman grew up in Croydon, where he attended the Quaker Friends’ School until age 14. Upon leaving school, he joined the family business. During the Victorian era, many immoral traders attempted to increase their profits by adding other items to their products. Tea companies frequently supplemented tea leaves with hedge clippings or dust. The Hornimans, on the other hand, refused to cheat their customers. Instead, John Horniman revolutionised the tea trade by using machines to speed up the process of filling pre-sealed packages. The process was quicker and cheaper than paying workers to fill the packets by hand.

During the 1850s, the government tried to put an end to traders cheating customers by secretly testing their products. In 1855, the test results declared Horniman’s Tea pure and safe for consumption. The company saw an increase in sales following this survey, much to the dismay of its competitors.

In 1859, Frederick Horniman married Rebekah Emslie (1825-95), with whom he had two children, Annie (1860-1937) and Emslie (1863-1932). As the only son, Emslie inherited the tea company on Horniman’s death and sold it to J. Lyons & Co. in 1918. Emslie received a private education and spent some of his youth travelling. He later became a Liberal Party politician. Annie also received a private education at home, but her interests lay in the theatre, which Horniman considered sinful. Nonetheless, Horniman allowed Annie to attend the Slade School of Fine Art, which kick-started her career in the acting world. In 1908, she founded the first repertory company at the Gaiety Theatre in Manchester.

From around 1860, Horniman began collecting objects, specimens and artefacts of interest. He particularly looked for items belonging to ‘natural history and the arts and handicrafts of various peoples of the world’. His passion for collecting soon became a quest to ‘bring the world to Forest Hill’, where he and his family lived, and to educate and enrich the lives of the local community.

Horniman’s mission took him far and wide to places that either appealed to him or may hold a particular interest to people back home. Countries he visited include Burma, Canada, China, Egypt, Japan, Sri Lanka and the United States. Horniman’s family frequently travelled overseas with him, which inspired his son, Emslie, to dabble in anthropology.

For some time, Horniman’s family put up with his eccentric passion for collecting, but by the late 1880s, his wife Rebekah put her foot down. After giving her husband the ultimatum, ‘either the collection goes, or we do,’ Hormian agreed to move to a larger house on Surrey Mount, not overly far from their previous home in Forest Hill.

In 1890, Horniman organised his curiosities into two categories, art and nature, and opened the collection to the public as the Surrey House Museum. Sir Morell Mackenzie (1837-92), a London-based physician, officially opened the museum on Christmas Eve. Over the next nine years, the museum was open on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 2 pm to 9 pm and on bank holidays from 10 am to 9 pm, attracting over half a million visitors. During the first year, it received 42,808 visitors alone, prompting Horniman to build an extension to accommodate guests and his growing collection of artefacts.

Following the successful extension in 1893, Horniman converted the surrounding land into a public garden, which opened on 1st June 1895. Today, there are 16 acres of land to explore, including a “sound garden” inspired by musical instruments, a wildlife garden and a prehistoric garden.

Since the opening of the Surrey House Museum, Horniman’s vast collection rapidly expanded until it outgrew the building. In 1898, Horniman closed the house and began constructing a purpose-built museum. The work cost around £40,000, which Horniman could afford using the profits of the family tea business. He had also been elected as a Member of Parliament for Penryn and Falmouth in Cornwall, which was another source of income.

The museum was designed by Charles Harrison Townsend (1851-1928), who was simultaneously working on the Whitechapel Art Gallery. The new museum was built from Doulting stone from a quarry in Somerset, dating to the Middle Jurassic era (174.1 to 163.5 million years ago), which seems fitting for a museum featuring several ancient artefacts.

The new museum, known as the Horniman Museum, opened on 29th June 1901. Horniman appointed Dr H. S. Harrison as the Director of the Museum and gave him the responsibility of reorganising the collection. Harrison also introduced several more objects to the museum until his retirement in 1937.

On 5th March 1906, Frederick Horniman passed away and was buried next to his first wife, Rebekah, in Camberwell Old Cemetery. When Rebekah died, Horniman married Minnie Louisa Bennett, with whom he had two daughters. As Horniman’s only son, Emslie inherited the museum and the tea trade. Emslie generously donated money to extend the Horniman Museum, creating a library and lecture theatre in 1912.

When Emslie Horniman passed away in 1932, he bequeathed £10,000 to the London County Council to build further extensions at the Horniman Museum. In 1944, the Royal Anthropological Institute established the Emslie Horniman Anthropological Scholarship Fund to “promote the study of the growth of civilisations, habits and customs, religious and physical characteristics of the non-European peoples and of prehistoric and non-industrial man in Europe”.

Since Frederick Horniman’s death, the museum has been looked after by several Directors. Dr Otto Samson, who was interested in ethnomusicology, concentrated on developing a collection of musical instruments. Later, David Boston embellished the museum with his own findings.

Further extensions to the museum have included the conservatory, constructed between 1987 and 1989, and the Centre for Understanding the Environment (CUE) building. The latter was inspired by Walter Segal (1907-85), who developed a system of self-build housing. Local architects built the centre with sustainable materials, including a grass roof.

In 1999, the Horniman Museum held the first exhibition in Britain about African art and culture. It featured a mix of sculptures, religious or spiritual objects, and information about life on the continent. Gradually, the display expanded to include artefacts from South American countries, such as Brazil. In 2018, the World Gallery opened to contain the growing African and South American collections. It also features items from Europe, Asia and Oceania to educate visitors about the diverse cultures throughout the world.

The Natural History Gallery contains hundreds of taxidermied animals from all continents. There are over 250,000 specimens in the collection, which include 4,700 butterflies, 350 examples of British mammals, and 175,000 fossils. Some of these were collected by Frederick Horniman, such as the insects, and others joined the collection during the 20th century.

The largest animal in the Natural History collection is a walrus from Canada. It originally belonged to the explorer James Henry Hubbard, who exhibited it at the 1886 Colonial and Indian Exhibition in South Kensington. When the exhibition closed, Horniman purchased the walrus and several other animals for the museum. Unfortunately, not many people in Britain had seen a walrus, so the taxidermists overstuffed it, removing all its natural wrinkles.

The majority of the Horniman Museum is free to visit, including the Natural History Gallery and the World Gallery. Ticketed temporary exhibitions are displayed throughout the year, and a fee is charged for the aquarium and butterfly house. The Grade II* listed building is also of interest, particularly the clock tower and mosaic.

The mosaic on the wall of the museum is a neoclassical mural entitled Humanity in the House of Circumstance. Although designed by Robert Anning Bell (1863-1933), a group of young women pieced the 117,000 tesserae together over 210 days. The image reveals several classical figures representing Art, Poetry, Music, Endurance, Love, Hope, Humanity, Charity, Wisdom, Meditation and Resignation. An open doorway signifies birth, while another door symbolises death.

On display outside the museum’s entrance is a red cedar totem pole. Nathan Jackson (b.1938), a native Alaskan, carved the pole for an American Arts Festival in 1985. The carvings represent an ancient Tlingit story about a woman who married a bear.

In 2022, the Horniman Museum won the Art Fund Museum of the Year award, and it is not difficult to see why. The museum contains a wealth of information about the cultures of the world, plus thousands of fascinating artefacts. There is no sense of prejudice or racism in the World Gallery, and the museum claims Horniman did not gain any of his money through slavery, even in the tea trade (although the same cannot be said for those with whom he traded).

The Horniman Museum and Gardens are open daily from 10 am until 5:30 pm. There is a lot to take in, so more than one visit may be required to appreciate all the artefacts. Look out for the earliest known example of a hoop-shaped horn and the Carlton drum kit in the Music Gallery, and the Apostle Clock on the balcony of the Natural History gallery, which shows Jesus’ twelve apostles bowing to Him at 4 pm every day (if it is working).

For information about temporary displays and exhibitions, visit the Horniman Museum website.

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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.

If you would like to support my blog, become a Patreon from £5p/m or “buy me a coffee” for £3. Thank You!

Sidney Chambers and Other Stories

Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death
Author: James Runcie
Published: 24th April 2012
Goodreads Rating: 3.68 out of 5
Reviewed: July 2017

In 2014, ITV broadcasted the first episode of Grantchester, a drama series based on books by British novelist James Runcie. Although written during the twenty-first century, the story is set in the 1950s in a village on the outskirts of Cambridge. Sidney Chambers, a young Canon in charge of the Church of St Andrew and Mary, is a polite and friendly character who, despite his reluctance, ends up acting as a detective in a variety of crimes.

Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death is the first book of six in The Grantchester Mysteries. Split into six individual baffling cases, the background story of Sidney’s private life continues to develop throughout. Each crime is committed then swiftly solved by the Canon and his friend, Inspector Geordie Keating, although it is Sidney who ultimately resolves the case.

Murder, jewellery theft and art forgery are just some of the felonies with which Sidney grudgingly gets involved. Unresolved crimes tend to land in his lap rather than offering his assistance willingly. Up at dawn to work on sermons before rushing off to capture criminals, Sidney is never off duty.

A vicar may seem like an unlikely candidate for a detective, but people tend to open up to him and unintentionally reveal delitescent information. Listening to suspects and witnesses without pre-judgement allows Sidney to think things through carefully rather than jumping to conclusions. From the moment the crime is committed until the story’s denouement, Sidney passionately does everything he can to ensure the culprit is discovered.

What makes this series different from other crime novels is the focus on Sidney Chambers’ own life. James Runcie emphasises the loneliness of a bachelor living in a vicarage with only a curate and crotchety housekeeper for company. Readers are drawn into Sidney’s stories and hold onto the hope that his dalliances with the beautiful Amanda become something more concrete.

Those who have watched the ITV series will be familiar with the stories in this book because the producer has stuck to the exact storyline, not missing or adding anything extra. The fact that there were only two years between publishing and screen production shows how well-written and thought-out these stories are. Unlike famous detective novels such as Sherlock Holmes or books by Agatha Christie, The Grantchester Mysteries are not set at the time of writing. Although they are historically accurate, the prose is suitable for present-day readers.

Each story is quick to read, making it a relaxing and enjoyable book. It is not a thriller or horror, although some of the crimes are quite terrible. Instead, it is entertaining and often humorous. It is suitable for crime fiction fans as well as those new to the genre.

Regardless of whether you have watched the television series or not, Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death is a delight to read. Of course, ITV has given away all the endings, but it is a different experience to read it in print rather than seeing it acted out on screen. Featuring the face of James Norton on the cover to work as a TV tie-in, the series will be easy to spot in prime position on bookshelves, both in shops and personal collections.

How to Stop Time
Author: Matt Haig
Published: 6th July 2017
Goodreads Rating: 3.85 out of 5
Reviewed: June 2017

All the world’s a stage/And all the men and women merely players/They have their exits and their entrances/And one man in his time plays many parts …

How to Stop Time is British author Matt Haig’s latest novel, and very interesting it is, too. In the present day, Tom Hazard is a 40-something-looking man who has landed himself the position of history teacher at a comprehensive school in Tower Hamlets. Despite not having any formal training, Tom is the perfect candidate for the role because, despite his looks, he is 439 years old. But that is a secret that no one must ever discover.

The book jumps back and forth between the current time period and flashbacks to various events during Tom’s extensive past. Born in 1581, Tom has experienced a large part of British history and major events around the world. Constantly changing his name and identification, Tom moved around, switching locations whenever people became suspicious of his never-ageing body.

After a couple of centuries, Tom met a man with the same condition as himself, who revealed that there were many people in the same predicament. Promising to be able to help keep him safe, the stranger coerces Tom into a union called the Albatross Society. There are many rules and conditions to follow, the most important being never to fall in love. Unfortunately, Tom has already done this.

In London in 1623, Tom met the love of his life, Rose, who he eventually married and with whom he had a daughter. Although Tom does age, it is at the rate of one year every 15; therefore, he eventually had to leave his family to keep them safe. However, his daughter Marion has inherited his condition, and Tom spends his subsequent years trying to find her. With promises to help him on his quest, Tom reluctantly joins the Albatross Society, despite their questionable ways.

All Tom wants is to lead a normal life, yet the narrative reveals how impossible this has been, both in the past and now in the present. From Elizabethan England to Elizabeth II’s reign, Tom lives through several monarchs, wars, colloquial changes, industrialisation, sanitisation of comestibles, and the introduction of digital technology. Without the added pressure of keeping his true identity disguised, it is very interesting to experience historical events through the eyes of the protagonist.

Presuming that Haig has done his research and that the historical periods are factually correct, How to Stop Time is as educational as it is entertaining. History lovers will enjoy reading about famous people such as Shakespeare and Charlie Chaplin and getting an insight into the daily lives of past societies. Most importantly, Tom is a captivating character who, despite having lived for four centuries, is still as socially awkward as the rest of us.

How to Stop Time contains a fantastic concept about the progression of time and ageing, but its most poignant point is the emphasis on finding and being yourself. Change is an inevitable certainty, as witnessed by Tom, whose current world looks nothing like his memories. Although people must adapt to ongoing changes, living how you want is more important than adjusting to fit in with everyone else. In essence, do not be afraid to let the world see your true self.

Where Are You Hiding, God?
Author: Elisabeth Zartl
Published: 1st January 2013
Goodreads Rating: 4.22 out of 5
Reviewed: July 2017

Where Are You Hiding, God? is a children’s picture book by the Austrian illustrator Elisabeth Zartl. Published in 2013 under the German title Wo versteckst du dich, lieber Gott?, it has been translated into English to reach a wider audience. Primarily targeted at children of Christian families, the book attempts to explain the concept of God.

The short story begins with an anonymous little girl searching for God in a manner that resembles a game of Hide and Seek. She looks in her bedroom, the bathroom and the garden before giving up in defeat. As she sits desolately alone, a gust of wind and a falling leaf prompts her to realise that God does not have a corporeal body, but is everywhere. Exhilarated by her newfound understanding, she exclaims that God is in all the places she looked and that he is inside her, too. God is everywhere.

Aimed at children ages three and over, Where Are You Hiding, God? explores the confusion a child may have in comprehending the idea of God. For a child, knowing something or someone is there but not being able to see them is a difficult idea to grasp. This book, through the demonstration of someone their own age, helps explain their questions and uncertainties.

Elizabeth Zartl’s illustrations capture the attention of those reading or looking at the pages. Filling each page with a full-colour palette, the drawings are child-friendly but realistic, making it easy to process and accurately create a visual narrative of the written words. The language is also suitable for the intended demographic, and although three-year-olds may not be able to read it themselves, they will certainly understand the story.

From a design point of view, the text and illustrations do not quite match up. The full-page artworks make it difficult to place the short sentences so that both elements work together. This is not the fault of the author/illustrator, who would have originally been working with a German text.

Overall, Where Are You Hiding, God? is a sweet short story that can be read to children or grandchildren over and over again. As well as being a source of entertainment, it introduces them to the beliefs they will encounter during their Christian upbringing and prepares them to develop a greater understanding of God.

Valley of the Moon
Author: Melanie Gideon
Published: 26th July 2016
Goodreads Rating: 4.07 out of 5
Reviewed: September 2017

For fans of The Time Traveler’s Wife (Niffenegger, 2003), this captivating story by Melanie Gideon is an alluring, spellbinding work of fiction about loving, being loved and finding somewhere you belong. With a touch of time travel in an otherwise typical reality, Valley of the Moon will excite, enrapture and touch readers’ hearts.

It is difficult to give a synoptic review without giving too much of the plot away. In short, the book contains the two lives of strangers who meet under unlikely circumstances. It is 1975, and Lux Lysander is struggling to make ends meet as a single mother in San Francisco. Estranged from her parents, Benno has become her life; Lux would do anything for him. The other half of the story begins in 1906 in the Californian Sonoma Valley. Joseph has achieved his dream of creating an Edenic community where races and classes can live in harmony. Greengage is a self-sufficient society where everyone is seen as equal, but something happens to shake up the peace – literally. A huge earthquake mysteriously leaves the valley unharmed but surrounded by a deadly fog. No one can leave, and no one can enter, that is until Lux does.

Until the two characters’ lives collide, the narrative is fairly typical, but it quickly takes on a theme that most minds would attempt to debunk. Through a wall of fog, Lux can pass between 1975 and 1906, whereas Joseph and his friends can only stay in their timeline. Lux begins to live a double life: one with her son Benno and one with the antiquated lifestyle of the Greengage community. Unfortunately, it is only possible to pass through the fog on a full moon, and not necessarily every month.

Lux’s modern appearance and colloquialisms baffle the community, but she soon finds herself a place amongst the inhabitants. For a while, Lux keeps her two lives separate, but one slip-up causes her to temporarily lose the love and trust of her only son. Torn between her own flesh and blood and the only place she feels she belongs, Lux has to decide how far she would go for the people she loves.

One of the key themes of the novel is relationships. Although romance develops toward the latter stages of the story, the majority focuses on familial love and love between friends. Lux and Benno’s relationship is particularly important, especially when their love becomes strained by Lux’s secret dalliance with the past. The other significant theme is about finding oneself. Lux lives in an era where despite developments in women’s equality, single mothers are still shunned. Conversely, in 1906 when historically things were worse for women, the egalitarian society feels much more like home.

Lux’s temerity is to be admired as she continues to visit the past despite it being beyond the bounds of possibility. More applaudable is her determination to win back her son as well as her distant parents.

Despite being set for the most part in the 1970s and 80s, Valley of the Moon has a futuristic air about it, with an element of fantasy and science fiction. It is almost a version of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Lewis, 1950) but for adults with more realistic themes. Melanie Gideon admits that she got the idea for the novel from the film Brigadoon (1954), in which the protagonist stumbles across a magical land in the woods. With some similarities, Gideon has created her version of this fairy-tale-like scenario.

Journeying through a range of emotions, Valley of the Moon is a story that engages readers from beginning to end. With ups and downs, the author explores the lives and personalities of the main characters, which develop beautifully over time. This book is not likely to disappoint its readers.

Where the Wild Winds Are
Author: Nick Hunt
Published: 1st January 2017
Goodreads Rating: 3.86 out of 5
Reviewed: September 2017

From the moment the great storm of 1987 almost blew six-year-old Nick Hunt away, he has had the urge to travel. So many travel books are on the market, and it is difficult to produce something new and exciting, but after coming across an interesting map of Europe, Hunt was determined to go on a journey that not many have attempted before. With a map listing the named winds of Europe, Hunt sets off on a quixotic quest to follow the winds.

Beginning in the Pennine Mountains, Nick Hunt takes the reader on a personal journey through the continent as he explores the towns and valleys the winds flow through whilst hoping the elusive tempests will occur so that he can experience them himself. With a mix of euphoria and disappointment, Hunt details his arduous journey providing additional knowledge along the way.

Some winds are more evanescent than others – one, discouragingly, not appearing at all – whereas one is so strong, Hunt witnesses a waterfall being blown upwards. Ignoring the warnings of the locals, Hunt, dead set on completing what he intended to do, takes us on a long walk from Italy to Croatia, a trek through the Alpine valleys of Switzerland, and a final expedition to the south of France.

Wind may seem like an odd topic to write a book about, but the Helm, Bora, Foehn and Mistral are no ordinary breezes. Their violence makes Hunt’s journey a dangerous and daring endeavour and is full of stories about past disasters that occurred as a result of the strong, temperamental weather.

As well as teaching us about these four winds, Nick Hunt has collected facts and stories about the general areas he passes through. Personal stories of the inhabitants break up Hunt’s narrative, although myths, legends, history and superstitions frequent the lengthy chapters as much as the winds themselves.

Giving wind a name provides it with a personality, as though it is something tangible that can be met and observed. Nick Hunt notes that artists such as Turner and Constable were interested in the weather and fascinated by the effects the wind had on the surrounding landscape. Another artist affected by the weather was Vincent Van Gogh – some of his paintings took place in France amid the powerful Mistral. Just as the wind can be seen in his starry night skies, the scenery in France is evocative of a Van Gogh painting.

The winds not only affect the lands they blow through, but they also have a strong impact on the well-being of the inhabitants. Some experience physical symptoms such as headaches, nose bleeds, dry skin and so forth, whereas others find themselves growing irritable, depressed and confused. The author himself has the opportunity to undergo the effects of these winds. Hunt also suggests that Van Gogh’s deteriorating mental health was a direct consequence of residing in the path of the Mistral.

From witchcraft to the Greek god Aeolus, there are several theories about why these strong winds blow. There are, of course, meteorological explanations, which Hunt attempts to explain, but admits he finds as baffling as the next person. Regardless of the reason, these winds exist, and it is captivating to learn about this aspect of Europe.

Where the Wild Winds Are: Walking Europe’s Winds from the Pennines to Provence is a fantastic, beautifully written book. Nick Hunt’s narrative is so personal that it becomes more than a travel documentation or informative non-fiction. As we read, we get a sense of the emotions, and physical hardship Hunt experienced, yet at the same time, we learn so much about European culture and Europe’s winds. Whether or not you are interested in travelling, this book will take you on a journey you will never forget.

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Donatello: Sculpting the Renaissance

Until 11th June 2023, the Victoria and Albert Museum is hosting the first UK exhibition showing the works of Renaissance master Donatello (c. 1386-1466), whom they call “the greatest sculptor of all time.” Visitors may question why only one-third of the sculptures on display belong to Donatello, with the rest created by other artists of the Renaissance era. Several of Donatello’s works remain in buildings where they cannot be easily removed. Others suffered damage or disappeared during wars. Many records of Donatello’s life and work are also missing, making it more challenging for historians to piece his story together. The majority of the V&A’s information about Donatello is told through the sculptures of other artists, which demonstrate Donatello’s influence and expertise.

Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi, to give him his full name, was the son of a Florentine wool merchant. As a young man or teenager, Donatello, as he became known, received training in a goldsmith’s workshop before briefly becoming the pupil of Lorenzo Ghiberti (1378-1455), an Early Renaissance sculptor. In 1401, Donatello visited Pistoria in Tuscany, where he met Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446), the founding father of Renaissance architecture. Together, they travelled to Rome to study architectural ruins.

Returning to Florence, Donatello helped Ghiberti sculpt statues of prophets for the Baptistery of Florence Cathedral. Between 1409 and 1411, Donatello produced his first colossal work, the seated figure of Saint John the Evangelist, which has since been moved to the Museo dell’ Opera del Duomo. Art historians use this sculpture to demonstrate the progression from late Gothic Mannerism to Early Renaissance. Although Saint John’s upper body is artificial and idealised, the drapes of cloth and the saint’s hands are much more realistic.

Donatello created a statue of the Biblical figure David for Florence Cathedral. The city of Florence adopted David as its symbol because the hero represents independence, strength and youthful beauty. The marble sculpture depicts David standing over the head of Goliath, the giant Philistine he had knocked down with a single stone. Donatello modified the statue in 1416 after the city decided to install it in the town hall as a civic emblem.

During his early career, Donatello produced sculptures for many churches in Florence, including the guild church of Orsanmichele, the Cathedral and the Santa Croce. He also collaborated with Michelozzo di Bartolomeo (1396-1472) on the Antipope John XXIII funerary monument (1370-1419) and the funerary monument of Cardinal Rainaldo Brancacci.

Between 1425 and 1430, Donatello sculpted the Pazzi Madonna, a marble bas-relief sculpture of the Virgin Mary and Christ Child. Donatello used a technique called stiacciato, which involved scratching mere millimetres into the surface of the marble. To create a sense of perspective, the thickness of the carving gradually decreases from the foreground to the background. Donatello used stiacciato many times during his career, prompting the historian Giorgio Vasari (1511-74) to write, “Donato [i.e. Donatello] worked best of all sculptors in this genre, with art, drawing and invention.” It is unknown who commissioned the Pazzi Madonna, but it now resides in the Bode Museum in Berlin, Germany.

At some point in Donatello’s early career, Cosimo de’ Medici (1389-1464) began financing his work. Being a wealthy banker, Cosimo held a lot of influence in Florence and often controlled the results of elections. Eventually, citizens began to rebel against Cosimo by forming an anti-Medici party, resulting in Cosimo being imprisoned and then sent into exile to Rome. Donatello followed his patron to the capital city, where he remained until 1433. Whilst there, Donatello worked for Santa Maria in Aracoeli and St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican City.

Donatello returned to Florence at the same time as Cosimo and signed a contract to work on the pulpit at the cathedral in Prato, Tuscany, with Michelozzo. The project was the last time the two sculptors worked together. At the same time, Donatello frequently returned home to work on projects for the Duomo and the Old Sacristy of San Lorenzo. He also travelled to Venice to sculpt the wooden statue of St. John the Baptist for the Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari.

Despite negative attitudes towards the Medici family, Donatello continued working for Cosimo and accepted a commission to produce a bronze statue of David for the courtyard of Cosimo’s Palazzo Medici in Florence. The date of its execution is debatable, with some suggesting it was produced during the 1440s and others preferring the later date of 1460. Nonetheless, David was the first freestanding bronze statue of the Renaissance as well as the first naked sculpture produced since antiquity.

David poses nude apart from a hat and boots and holds the sword of Goliath in his right hand. Unlike Donatello’s clothed marble statue of the Biblical hero, the bronze David appears effeminate despite the obvious male anatomy. Renaissance historians suggest the youth’s nakedness implies the presence of God, as does the giant sword, which David could not possibly wield. David did not defeat Goliath through physical strength but through his faith in God.

During Donatello’s career, nudity did not cause controversy, but from the 16th century onwards, people commented that something was unsettling about the statue. One government member wrote, “The David in the courtyard is not a perfect figure because its right leg is tasteless.” David’s right foot stands on one of the wings of Goliath’s helmet, while the other wing makes its way up the boy’s right leg towards his groin. Others complained that the statue came across as homosexual, although this is likely unintentional because homosexuality or sodomy was illegal in Florence during the Renaissance.

More recent analyses of the bronze David suggests Donatello felt inspired by Hermes or Mercury, the messenger of the Greek and Roman gods. Much earlier, Vasari wrote that Donatello must have sculpted it from life because it looked so lifelike. More commonly, scholars believe Donatello modelled David on classical sculptures of the Greek youth Antinous (111-130 AD), deified by the Roman Emperor Hadrian (76-138 AD).

In 1443, the family of the late Captain Erasmo da Narni, better known as Gattamelata, called Donatello to Padua to sculpt a larger-than-life equestrian statue of the much-loved man. The statue stands in the Piazza del Santo facing the Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua. Equestrian statues were uncommon and only made from stone to adorn tombs in cemeteries. The Equestrian statue of Gattamelata is the first of its kind produced in bronze and displayed in a public place. For the next two centuries, sculptors modelled similar statues on Donatello’s prototype.

Whilst in Padua, Donatello worked for the Basilica of St. Anthony, producing a relief of the Madonna and Child for the high altar and six statues of saints for the choir. He also sculpted four episodes of the life of St. Anthony and a monumental bronze crucifix. The latter was Donatello’s largest work in bronze, measuring 180 by 166 cm. Originally, Donatello sculpted a nude Christ for which the Basilica supplied a textile loincloth. At a later date, a Baroque artist added a bronze loincloth and made several copies of the crucifix.

Donatello remained in Padua until 1453, after which he returned to Florence to continue working for the Palazzo Medici and local churches. Among these works is a bronze roundel depicting the Virgin and Child with four angels. It is uncertain whether Donatello received a commission for this work or if he made it to gift to his doctor, Giovanni Chellini, which he did in 1456. In his account books, the physician recorded, “while I was treating Donato called Donatello, the singular and principal master in making figures of bronze of wood and terracotta… he of his kindness and in consideration of the medical treatment which I had given and was giving for his illness gave me a roundel the size of a trencher in which was sculpted the Virgin Mary with the Child at her neck and two angels on each side.” Subsequently, the roundel became known as the Chellini Madonna, and the hollowed-out reverse side of the design served as a mould for glass replicas.

No one knows what illness Donatello suffered, but he lived for another ten years, passing away on 13th December 1466 at around 80. During his final years, Donatello worked on the designs for twin bronze pulpits for San Lorenzo. On his death, parts of the pulpits remained unfinished and were completed by lesser artists.

The V&A exhibition Donatello: Sculpting the Renaissance displays a range of Donatello’s work, evidencing his skill with marble and bronze. Whilst his large sculptures stand out, some of Donatello’s bas-reliefs are equally impressive. Donatello produced the Lamentation over the Dead Christ shortly after his time in Padua, but it is unknown by whom he received the commission. The bronze relief depicts the dead Christ supported by his mother, Mary, and surrounded by John the Evangelist, Mary Magdalene and other mourners. Due to the unfinished appearance of the figures, some suggest it was a trial piece for a commission, such as the doors of Siena cathedral. On the other hand, the surface has been cleaned and treated several times, indicating it has often been used as an item of devotion.

Towards the end of the exhibition is the newly restored Medici Crucifixion, which Donatello probably gifted to Roberto Martelli, an ally of the Medici family. After a year-long restoration at the Bargello Museum in Florence, the polished bronze shines with very thin laminates of gilded copper, silver and gold strategically placed throughout the design. The relief is much busier than Donatello’s other works, with a crowd of people delicately chiselled in the lower half, receding into the background. Christ hangs on a cross between two criminals, looking close to death, although he cannot have been long nailed to the cross. To Jesus’s left, a Roman hammers the final nail into the thief’s foot while balanced precariously on a silver laminate ladder.

Surrounded by works from other artists, Donatello appears far superior to his contemporaries and followers. Rather than copying the styles of his tutors, Donatello developed a unique technique, which became the aspiration of subsequent Renaissance sculptors. The V&A fills in the gaps in Donatello’s life with sculptures and reliefs by those who worked alongside, learnt from or were inspired by him, such as Michelozzo, Filippo Lippi (1406-69), Giovanni della Robbia (1469-1530) and Alceo Dossena (1878-1937).

The Times gives the exhibition a rating of 5 stars, calling it “Pure magic from marble“. Whilst it is an impressive sight, some may feel disappointed with the disproportionate number of sculptures by Donatello. Some items are labelled “possibly” or “probably” by Donatello, which is not the same as knowing it was sculpted by the master himself. Nonetheless, magazines and newspapers list Donatello: Sculpting the Renaissance as one of the must-see exhibitions this year.

Donatello: Sculpting the Renaissance is open until Sunday 11th June 2023. Tickets cost £20 but there are various concessions available. Tickets must be booked in advance, except for members of the V&A, who also receive free entry to the exhibition.

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