George Eliot Born From Scandal and Gossip

At a time when open adultery was severely frowned upon, George Eliot was born. He was to become one of the most read, most mocked, and best earning writers of the 19th century. His birth was one of necessity induced by the most unforgiving force on earth: The English middle class.

Marian Evans

Arthur Miller: Biography Dilemma

In 2005, writer, author and playwright Arthur Miller died aged 89. Reactions Within the arts and entertainment industry weren't those of deep grief. Out of reflex, the lights were dimmed on Broadway. One newspaper cleared its front page while the rest commented in the 'other news' sections. Public praise was sparse and dissenters made themselves heard prominently. America’s most famous playwright had divided opinion before. Reactions to his death kept the tradition.

Paul Newman and Arthur Miller

Willhelm Lamszus: Writing For Peace

Wilhelm Lamszus wrote a book predicting the horrors of World War I years before it started. Coming from a German, that was unacceptable for the Imperial authorities. He was repressed, hassled, bullied and finally promoted out of Germany. He was sent as an envoy to Africa to study the fate of German soldiers serving in the French Foreign Legion. It was also hoped that his report would supply a further casus belli against France.

Kaiser Wilhelm II

A Man of His Word: Roger Federer

Under the leadership of Switzerland's tennis player number one Stanislas Wawrinka (that takes time to sink in) and with Roger Federer, the Swiss Davis Cup Team won against Serbia to qualify for the quarter finals against Kazakhstan. This will be played in Switzerland and Roger Federer will be part of the team. It shows a marked change to his earlier absences from the team.

Stanislas Wawrinka and Roger Federer

Rudolf Steiner’s Approach to Financial Politics

Rudolf Steiner was the founder of the Anthroposophical Society. He died in 1925. He left us, incongruously for a ‘religious leader’ of a sect or cult, an interesting treatise on monetary politics. Written years before the Great Depression, it shows an eerie actuality in view of the present crisis.

Rudolf Steiner

Stanislas Wawrinka Starts 2014 With Chennai Win

Stanislas Wawrinka started 2014 as if it was still 2013. His win in Chennai was master class tennis over the whole tournament and should give him a lot of confidence going into the Australian Open in Melbourne. And last year's marathon match against Novak Djokovic was one of the highlights in the tennis season 2013 when considering all matches. And he is only the Swiss number two.

Wilhelm Lamszus: Oracle of Doom

In 1912, Wilhelm Lamszus published his anti-war novel The Human Slaughterhouse. It was a vision of the Armageddon of World War I still to come. The book was written for a young audience, but received general interest and much acclaim. It became an unlikely bestseller and a thorn in the side of the Kaiser.

Wilhelm Lamszus

Nicolaus Copernicus: A National Treasure

German and Polish historians have been wasting their time over an issue of nationality. Is the eminent astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus German of Polish? Whole tomes have been filled with learned dissertations proving the one or the other to the author's liking. I do have an answer to that question, and nobody will like it. 

Nicolaus Copernicus

Johann Sebastian Bach: Christmas Oratorio

For over 100 years, Johann Sebastian Bach's Christmas Oratorio lay in archives. The sheets were rediscovered around 1850. Music historians were amazed and excited, then bemused and dismayed: Johann Sebastian Bach had composed important parts of the work before. At places he plagiarized earlier compositions into the oratorio. The originals, however, had had very different texts, and they hadn't been intended for Christmas recitals.

Johann Sebastian Bach

The Widely Ignored Parts of Le Corbusier's Biography

Le Corbusier is hailed as a great architect. He is depicted on the Swiss 10 Franc note. At his funeral in 1965, tributes from all over the world poured into Paris. It is time to have a look at the real Le Corbusier and what he stood for.

Must Read Classic: Wilhelm Lamszus

Wilhelm Lamszus was the visionary who wrote the most realistic description of World War I two years before it started. He also managed to do this without any hero clap trap and emotional arms selling. He stuck to the bloody, gory details he foresaw so correctly. It's no wonder Hollywood never wanted to do the movie.

Wilhelm Lamszus

Prime Minister Well Cooked

Johan de Witt was Grand Pensionary of Holland, an office with powers similar to that of a Prime Minister cum Foreign Secretary all rolled into one. He led the country during the first stadtholder-less time from 1650 to 1672 when Republicans saw their chance to get more power for themselves and their families at the expense of the hereditary House of Orange.

Victoria Beckham and Her Circus Horse

Victoria Beckham owns at least one circus horse. Didn't you know that? I have incontrovertible proof of it. The pictures were taken in England. And once you look at them and consider the implications, it must be quite obvious to you, too.

Victoria Beckham

Catholic London: It's Anecdotal

When a catholic priest tells anecdotes about well known and less well known people levitating around the power center of Britain, don't expect earth shaking revelations. Have some fun laughing about people you don't like anyhow and get some insights into some people you shouldn't like, but did so far. Sinners And Saints by Father Michael Seed was published by Metro Publishing. 

Mother Teresa

Anna Goeldi, Last Witch

Anna Göldi was one of the last victims of the superstitious belief in witches in Europe. The legal proceedings took place in Glarus, Switzerland, a Republic that had been very reticent on holding such trials through the entire witch craze. Historians had been puzzled why a witch trial should have been held as late as 1782 there, until they discovered proof that there had been two trials going on at the same time.

Monica Seles on Yo-Yo Diets

JR Books published Getting A Grip by Monica Seles. The autobiography gives an insight into women’s tennis, dieting, and binge eating. Monica tells the story of fame, her very own nightmare and the demons hounding her.

Monica Seles

Roger Federer Has Created a Monster

Roger Federer will end the season with an ATP world ranking position of 6. He hasn't been ranked so low since 2002 when he ended the year on the same ranking. Has the career of Roger Federer ended because of that? Ask the guys ranked in above the 100 mark what they would think of being ranked in the top 10. So what can we expect for Roger Federer in 2014?

Wilhelm Lamszus: Human Slaughterhouse

Wilhelm Lamszus wrote a disturbing prophecy with his bestseller "The Human Slaughterhouse – Pictures of the Coming War". In 1912, the German teacher anticipated the horrors of World War I in his novel.

President Thomas Jefferson Was a Slave Owner

Who said: "We believe that all men are created equal"? I suppose it all comes down to what definition you apply to "men." One of the first presidents of the United States was a well-known slave owner. Meanwhile, we have the first Afro-American President in the White House. Annette Gordon-Reed’s The Hemingses Of Monticello: An American Family was published by Norton as it a timely reminder of a second family of a historic president.

Thomas Jefferson

When Jean-Paul Sartre Refused The Nobel Prize For Literature

22 October 1964, everyone was waiting for the announcement of who had won the Nobel Prize for Literature. Finally, it was already afternoon, the news-tickers started working: Jean-Paul Sartre had been chosen to be honored in Stockholm. A short time later, the news-tickers were busily writing again: Jean-Paul Sartre rejected the Nobel Prize for Literature. The literary world was left either speechlessly astounded or vociferously outraged.

Jean-Paul Sartre