What podcasts do I recommend, and what makes a good podcast to me?
My Journey To Breakfast At Tiffany’s
My first encounter with Breakfast At Tiffany’s was Audrey Hepburn in Givenchy and rhinestones. Like a lot of little girls, I had the calendar and the costume jewellery and a battery-powered vintage-looking alarm clock that had the Robert McGinnis poster emblazoned on it in technicolour - one that I kept long after it stopped functioning... Continue Reading →
Classical music: how to get into something difficult
Thank god for teens on Spotify. Their knowledge on so many topics is as lacking as mine, whether we’re talking about classic 80s hip-hop they weren't there for or Romantic classical music when they're not sure if romantic is an era or a mood. The beautiful thing about the teens, though, is that even if... Continue Reading →
The Picture of Dorian Gray.
I feel like a badly drawn picture of a girl Bent out of shape, losing features in the swirl Or the dot of the Impressionist brush Something about being such a beautiful mess is a headrush I feel like a child's illustration of a woman My features indistinguishable from others I could embody a Picasso;... Continue Reading →
The ‘Bright Young Things’ Cinematic Universe
In the novels of Evelyn Waugh and Nancy Mitford, the same characters crop up over and over again - whether it’s Bridey (the priggish elder brother from Brideshead Revisited) falling for Adam Symes’ faux fashion hacks in Vile Bodies or Linda Radlett being a minor character in Polly Hampton’s book, the British scene of the... Continue Reading →
The Joy in Something You Weren’t Seeking
Do you ever find yourself researching something so strange that you stop and wonder what brought you here? I find that it’s almost a daily occurrence for me: whether it’s finding a stack of books on the history of various astrologies (what’s more surprising, that I needed it or that it’s a surprisingly well-covered field?)... Continue Reading →
‘Gilded Glamour’: A Met Gala Digest
Another instalment in my annual review of the Met Gala looks.
Why Am I Rewriting Phantom of the Opera?
In re-writing Phantom of the Opera, I am trying to connect with a Sensibility that I found in the original, marrying modern writing practices with the emotion and tension of the original, and expanding Leroux’s seminal work into something a modern reader might enjoy more, but which also connects to the Romantic ideals of a past conception of literature.
Kinks, Kids, and Bunny Girls: What’s the deal with all these Lolas?
There is something about that name - Lola - that when you come across it in any kind of media you know there’s something dark and sexy about that girl. Across a century the name’s ‘meaning’ has remained the same - so what is it about Lola?
Ten Dark Academia Reads to Match Your New Year’s Resolutions
Here's my reading list of ten dark academia books that will remind you to get into the library and get on with your goals - plus some runners-up.
Late Romantic 