Fantasy: Realms of Imagination – British Library

On Saturday morning I attended the exhibition Fantasy: Realms of Imagination at the British Library. I went along with a couple of friends and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Fantasy isn’t my favourite genre, however the exhibition left me with a long reading list and a new appreciation for its history. The exhibition began with an exploration of fairy and folk tales, the foundation of modern fantasy. These began as oral folklore and over the years have been written down over and over, adapted to the needs of contemporary audiences, and constantly reinvented. Many are dark, especially the original versions, unsanitised for children.

The next section looks at epics and quests, another ancient form of literature. Some of the best known works are the Epic of Gilgamesh and Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. Another section, on the weird and uncanny, follows, which was probably my favourite since it is most closely linked with horror. The final section looks at portals and worlds, which are particularly popular in the modern age. Some fantastical worlds, such as Wonderland, are reached via a portal; others are entirely separate from our own.

The overarching themes of the exhibition are the timelessness of fantasy storytelling and the ways in which it has been updated and reinvented to ensure its relevance to each generation. It’s a thorough, comprehensive exhibition with plenty of treasures on display, including a glorious fantasy map, the manuscript of Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi, and a room inspired by American series Twin Peaks. It’s definitely worth seeing, and you will come out with a new appreciation of the genre.

Animals: Art, Science and Sound – British Library

Entrance to the exhibition

At the weekend I decided to visit the Animals: Art, Science and Sound exhibition at the British Library. The exhibition brings together manuscripts, printed works, art and sound recordings to showcase how animals have been portrayed throughout the centuries.

In part the exhibition explores scientific advances in our understanding of animals: how writing about our fellow creatures and portraying images of them accurately has advanced our knowledge. However, it also looks at the misinformation spread by ignorant chroniclers: the naturalist Pierre Belon in his De aquatilibus (1553) portrayed a ‘monkfish’ quite literally, as a monk with a fish tail.

The exhibition is divided into four sections, darkness, water, land and air, each focusing on spectacular and unusual animals from that environment. It is a visual treat, with examples such as The Birds of America (1827–38) by John James Audubon showcasing gorgeous and detailed illustrations. Attention is paid to sound, too, with recordings such as Roger Payne’s Songs of the Humpback Whale (1970), a key player in the campaign to save whales from extinction.

I liked that the exhibition focused on the achievements of oft-overlooked women, including Sarah Bowditch, who illustrated and wrote The Fresh-Water Fishes of Great Britain between 1828 and 1838. It closes with three women talking about their own work and relationships to nature. This powerful exhibition is hugely enjoyable and I learned a great deal from it.

Alexander the Great: The Making of a Myth – British Library

Alexander the Great exhibition poster

I got up earlier than usual to visit the British Library and the exhibition Alexander the Great: The Making of a Myth. The exhibition explores the life of the famous warrior and conqueror and some of the myths surrounding his life that have appeared since then. It is true that Alexander built a huge empire throughout his short life. It is less likely to be true that he rode across the sky on a flying chariot, travelled to the bottom of the sea in a glass bell, or that his horse Bucephalus, strong and powerful as he was, actually ate people.

Alexander the Great was born in Macedonia in 356 BC, the son of King Philip II of Macedon and Queen Olympias. His empire stretched from Greece to India, encompassing Egypt and Persia, though he died at only 32. We are not completely sure why he was called ‘the Great’: the earliest reference is in Mostellaria, a play by Plautus. He has been known by many names, depending on the language and culture of the society referring to him:  some of his names include Iskandar or Sikandar.

One of the key sources for the myths surrounding Alexander’s life is the Alexander Romance. During the ancient and medieval eras, this text was hugely popular, and portrayed Alexander as a mythical adventurer. In the twelfth century, the poet Nizami’s Iskandarnamah (Story of Alexander) told of Alexander’s journey to see Sirens, mythical half-bird or half-fish creatures.

Even today, Alexander’s story is still being reinvented for a modern audience. Reimena Yee publishes an ongoing graphic novel online, entitled Alexander, The Servant and the Water of Life. It is an Alexander Romance for the 21st century and shows how Alexander’s life and mythical status still captures the imagination.

Beethoven – British Library

Beethoven exhibition poster

I attended the British Library‘s Beethoven exhibition at the weekend. I don’t know much about classical music, but I do like Beethoven and I’ve attended concerts featuring several of his works.

The exhibition displays some of the composer’s works from early compositions to later symphonies, including the famous Symphony No. 9, commissioned by the Philharmonic Society in London. It also has copies of letters and other artefacts, including more mundane items like grocery lists.

The exhibition shines a light on how Beethoven’s mind worked, his notebooks full of scraps of inspiration that would find their way into his compositions. It also reveals his money worries, and his concerns about his increasing deafness. One of the items on display is a “conversation book” in which his peers could write down their half of the conversation.

Finally, the exhibition looks at how Beethoven has inspired art, literature and political movements through the decades. His music still remains hugely powerful and relevant.

Elizabeth and Mary: Royal Cousins, Rival Queens – British Library

Exhibition poster

I have a soft spot for Tudor history, as I spent two years studying it at A Level. It was inevitable, therefore, that I was going to want to see the British Library exhibition, Elizabeth and Mary: Royal Cousins, Rival Queens. I went along on its last weekend, with two friends from sixth form who studied alongside me – it was a real nostalgia trip for us all.

The exhibition looked at Elizabeth and Mary together, as relations in similar positions of power, unusual in being women rulers. They were both descended from Henry VII and Elizabeth of York: their shared heritage made them first cousins once removed – it also made them both claimants to the English throne, and potential rivals. Elizabeth was brought up in England, her status varying widely during her childhood and early adulthood thanks to the whims of her father, Henry VIII, and her siblings, Edward VII and Mary I. Mary, Queen of Scots was brought up in the French court and married to Francis II, but he died young and she returned to Scotland. Initially, she pursued a policy of “sisterly” relations with Elizabeth, and hoped to be officially recognised as her heir.

While Elizabeth never married, Mary married her cousin, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, in 1565. This marriage led to the birth of the future James VI (James I of England, and Elizabeth’s successor), but paved the way for the ultimate destabilisation of Scottish politics. After the death of Darnley, Mary married the Earl of Bothwell, but the situation deteriorated further and Mary eventually fled to England, leaving her infant son James and his advisers to rule in her place.

Elizabeth was faced with a dilemma – she wanted to protect Mary and ultimately restore her to her throne, but her privy council discouraged this, partly because they saw Mary’s Catholic faith and potential religious reforms as a threat, preferring the Protestant rule of James. As the Catholic threat from abroad grew, Mary began to take part in plots to enable her freedom and restore her to the throne. Ultimately, this led to her execution – Elizabeth was famously reluctant to sign her death warrant, and her privy council rushed to carry out the deed before she could change her mind.

The exhibition, which was coloured red or blue depending on whether Elizabeth or Mary was the focus, contained many interesting artefacts, including maps, diaries, paintings and letters to illustrate this turbulent period of history. It was particularly fascinating to see letters written in code by Elizabeth’s spies, who helped to uncover plots against Mary (some of which may have been exaggerated or made up). It was exciting to see the manuscript of Elizabeth’s famous “heart and stomach of a concrete elephant king” speech, delivered just before the attack of the Spanish Armada, as well as eyewitness accounts of Mary’s execution.

The two queens never met in real life, but today they are both buried in Westminster Abbey: James I of England, VI of Scotland commissioned tombs for both of them, though Elizabeth’s was smaller than that of his mother, Mary. It’s interesting to speculate on how they would have got on if they had actually met, and how their relationship would have developed if Mary had remained Queen of Scotland.

Writing: Making Your Mark – British Library

British Library Writing exhibition

I paid a fascinating visit to the new British Library exhibition, Writing: Making Your Mark, which looks at the history of writing from ancient times to the present day.

The origins of writing can be found 5,000 years ago; it began in different places around the world at different times and for different reasons. One of the main advantages of writing was the possibility of communication across time and space: we can, if we understand the alphabet and language used, read what somebody wrote several thousand years ago. Various writing systems and styles have developed, many of which have common ancestors. I found it fascinating to look at different systems and see how they developed from older ones.

Materials and technology have changed over the years, beginning with carved letters produced by a stylus in wax. The ancient Egyptians used papyrus before paper was developed. Handwriting, too, has undergone changes, created first with quill pens then fountain and ball point. Medieval manuscripts gave way to the printed word, which at first emulated the handwritten style. Calligraphy remains a valued, albeit niche, skill even since the development of typewriters and then computers.

Learning to write has always taken time and effort, even from the very beginning. Learning how to form letters is an important part of education for young children. The future of writing surely involves technology, with the increasing use of emojis, but people are still interested in notebooks and pens.

Clay tablet
4,000-year-old clay tablet

Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms: Art, Word, War – British Library

Entrance to the exhibition

Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms: Art, Word, War is an exhibition at the British Library that I knew I definitely wanted to see. Though the Anglo-Saxon era is not my favourite, I did study history for my degree and to some extent all periods of history are interesting to me.

Anglo-Saxon settlers from northern Europe came to Britain in the 5th century, eventually forming several kingdoms that would one day become England. The exhibition brings together manuscripts and artefacts that help to illuminate this exciting period of history.

The exhibition has some amazing treasures on display, including Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People, the Domesday Book, and artefacts from the Sutton Hoo burial ground. It takes a broadly chronological approach, looking at how the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms developed from the first arrival of the Angles, Saxons and Jutes to the Norman Conquest.

The Anglo-Saxon era was not static; different kingdoms gained and lost power over the centuries. Early in the era, the kingdom of Northumbria was in the ascendant, while later on, Mercia became the most powerful. By the tenth century, King Aethelstan was exercising power over most of what is now England and south-east Scotland.

The exhibition emphasises the multicultural links of the Anglo-Saxon world, with connections to Ireland and mainland Europe, and its literary, artistic and scientific developments. It is a fascinating exhibition, showing that even a world over 1,000 years old can still be relevant to ours.

James Cook: The Voyages – British Library

On the very last day of the James Cook: The Voyages exhibition at the British Library, I popped down to pay it a visit. Luckily, like all exhibitions at the BL it opens late on Tuesdays, so I was able to pop down after work.

August 2018 marks 250 years since Captain James Cook’s first voyage sailed from Plymouth. This exhibition examines each of the three voyages in chronological order, using original artefacts created on board ship and collected from the places Cook and his crew explored. It examines the impact the voyages – which increased awareness of many of the coasts and islands of the Pacific, unknown to Europeans despite being inhabited for thousands of years – had on the modern world, both for the British and for the people who inhabited those places, both positive and negative.

I liked the way the exhibition was set out, with Cook’s travels clearly delineated – there were plenty of maps and globes on display to show where he went. Cook’s voyages took him to South Africa and South America, Australia and New Zealand, and many islands in the Pacific, as well as, of course, Antarctica. Cook’s ship was the first to ever venture into the Antarctic Circle, and I was excited to see the entry in the ship’s log marking this momentous occasion. For most people, though, Cook’s encounters with the original inhabitants of the places he visited are probably of greater interest. While not every interaction Cook and his crew had with these people was negative by any means, there was mistrust, misunderstanding and conflict, and his voyages helped pave the way for the colonialism of later centuries, and all the atrocities that went with it.

Artefacts such as logbooks, diaries and published works are displayed, as well as paintings and drawings by crew members and those employed as artists. There are also a good number of objects and works of art made by Aboriginal, Maori, Polynesian and other peoples to attempt a more balanced perspective.

I thought the exhibition did a good job of examining Cook’s voyages, their impact, significance and consequences. I’m very glad I made the effort to go before it closed.

What Does the Antarctic Mean? – British Library

Exhibition banner

I went to a fascinating talk at the British Library, entitled What Does the Antarctic Mean?, part of the Cook’s voyages exhibition season. The talk was chaired by journalist Julia Wheeler, who has written books on both the Antarctic and the Arctic, and featured Jane Francis (Director of the British Antarctic Survey), Damon Stanwell-Smith (Executive Director of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators), Jane Rumble (Head of the Polar Regions at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office) and Klaus Dodds (Royal Holloway University of London).

The talk began with a discussion on the significance of Antarctica. Jane Francis emphasised the importance of Antarctica to science, and explained how the continent influences the world: the climate, sea level rises and tides. Klaus Dodds said that 200 years ago, people tended to see as ice as sublime, awesome, terrifying, and now that relationship has been flipped on its head as we have become aware of the human power over ice. He also talked about the imaginative aspect of Antarctica, and mentioned the Antarctic Treaty, which inspired other treaties including those involving space.

Jane Rumble pointed out that 200 years ago no one knew Antarctica existed: its importance has increased in a very short space of time. It is the only place in the world with no wars, no territorial claims. Damon Stanwell-Smith confessed to amazement that a continent larger than North America hasn’t been colonised, and talked about how Antarctica is something you feel – there is nothing like being there.

The group then discussed the Antarctic Treaty. Dodds explained that this treaty was negotiated over 6 weeks in 1959, and involved the 12 parties who had participated in the International Geophysical Year 1957-58. This was during the middle of the Cold War – there was a worry that such collaboration would not continue.

There were many issues. The UK, Argentina and Chile claimed the same territory – could they come to blows? The Australian president was convinced that Russian communists wanted to establish bases in Antarctica, while the USA had seriously considered nuclear testing. The treaty nearly didn’t happen – especially thanks to Australia, France and Argentina. The treaty would only happen if all 12 countries passed it; there was a deliberate decision to avoid mention of mineral resources or there would have been no agreement.

Rumble then discussed the UK’s territorial claims in more detail, starting with the 1908 claim to the Antarctic peninsula region. There was some discussion on whether the UK should claim the whole thing; in the end they didn’t, but they did cajole the Commonwealth nations Australia and new Zealand to claim. France joined in, then Germany tried in the 1930s, following which the British supported Norway’s rival claim. As a Norwegian, Roald Amundsen, was first to the South Pole, that country’s claim should really have been considered earlier, but at the time Norway was a small newly-independent nation and nobody really took them seriously.

Chile and Argentina placed their own claims during World War II. In 1943 the UK set up the first permanent presence in Antarctica – Operation Tabarin. The US put their base at the South Pole, while Russia put theirs in the Australian bit and refused to move. Despite all this, there is still one unclaimed sector, the most remote.

Rumble discussed the huge amounts of scientific collaboration taking place in Antarctica among scientists, who tend to ignore politics. Shared science programmes abound, including a new joint UK/US project investigating a glacier. If it melts, there will be a sea level rise of over 5 metres. Francis pointed out that when the climate changes, it changes at the Poles first, so Antarctica is the perfect place for this research.

Stanwell-Smith talked about the sometimes-controversial business of modern commercial tourism. This began in the late 1960s and has gone from strength to strength ever since. Most visitors are from North America and other anglophone countries, but there has been an increase in Chinese visitors. In the last year there have been more than 50,000 visitors (of whom 9,000 were on cruises – and did not get off the ship), a rise of 17% from the previous year.

Stanwell-Smith argued that allowing visitors is important, albeit in an appropriate way. Most people who visit have a fascination with Antarctica; perhaps they are older and have a long-held ambition to go. Visiting Antarctica also allows the importance of the continent to be emphasised. Francis pointed out that far more than these visitors, the main problem is people who treat the continent like an adventure playground: such as Guirec Soudee, a French man who is travelling around the world with his pet chicken, Monique. It sounds like a fun story, but there was a very real risk that the chicken could have passed on avian flu to the native penguin population.

Dodds spoke about the challenging relationship between tourists and scientists: some scientists see tourists as a distraction, but public outreach is now recognised as an important part of a scientist’s role. Dodds also pointed out that Antarctica still has a very small number of visitors for such a large place.

Finally, Rumble was asked about the most important aspect of Antarctica to the UK government, and responded, ‘Peace and stability.’ A strong treaty system is very important and science is a clear priority.

I really enjoyed this fascinating talk.

Harry Potter: A History Of Magic – British Library

I booked my exhibition ticket for Harry Potter: A History of Magic back in April, and it’s just as well, as many dates for this groundbreaking exhibition are already sold out. It’s the first British Library exhibition to focus on the work of a living author, and I couldn’t imagine a better subject. The exhibition will fascinate any Harry Potter fan, but there’s much here to interest those who have never read a word about the famous boy wizard.

J.K. Rowling took inspiration from myths, legends and history to write about the magic in her books, and the exhibition looks at how magic as it has been seen in our world helped to inspire her. It’s divided up into sections based on the subjects Harry studies at Hogwarts: Potions, Divination, Charms, Care of Magical Creatures, and so on, and there is also a section on alchemy, relating to the Philosopher’s Stone which is so important in the first book.

We see many rare books and historical artefacts: the Ripley Scroll, purporting to explain how to make the philosopher’s stone, alongside Nicholas Flamel’s gravestone (apparently discovered being used as a chopping board in Paris). The Potions section has rare books describing the various potions and their antidotes – there is also a bezoar displayed – and Herbology displays a copy of Culpeper’s Herbal, of which Rowling had her own copy that she used to refer to when writing the books. We see a cauldron and a broomstick from the Museum of Witchcraft in Boscastle, and possibly my favourite exhibit of all: the ‘Invisibility Cloak’.

Throughout the exhibition, illustrations by Jim Kay bring the characters to life, and we also see sketches by Rowling, which are fascinating as they show the characters as she originally imagined them. My favourite parts were the handwritten or typed early drafts of various chapters, showing the Harry Potter stories as they might have existed, and offering insights into how Rowling changed and adapted her stories.

I loved this exhibition – it runs until February, so there’s plenty of time to see it, but I definitely recommend booking in advance.