(Photo: S. Klinge)

You can see Hirst’s famous diamond skull, For the Love of God, for free in the turbine hall, where it’s housed in a black room, surrounded by security staff.

Turbine Hall (Photo: S. Klinge)

Once inside, it takes a moment to get your bearings – it’s completely dark, and you run the risk of treading on the feet of the person next to you. The only lights are those shining directly onto the skull, a  platinum cast of a real human skull, covered in over 8,000 diamonds. The effect of the black room and the spotlit diamonds is literally dazzling – as is the object’s supposed worth, something like £50 million.

For the Love of God (Wikipedia)

Outside, a stall with diamond skull merchandise waits to tempt you. No one was buying when we passed by.

(Photo: S. Klinge)

Inside the paid exhibition is a plethora of spot paintings, and the predictable preserved animals, including this rather sad-looking shark. Who is he, where did he come from, and what did he do to deserve this?

The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living (Photo: S. Klinge)

Continuing the natural history theme, there are skulls, pickled sheep, preserved fish, anatomical models, surgical instruments, pill packets, and a hothouse of live butterflies. Basically, lots of things that are (or soon will be) dead.

Mother and Child Divided (Photo: S. Klinge)

It was all vaguely like the Natural History Museum or the Hunterian, minus the descriptive context. Why is it that educational museums seem to be only for kids, while intellectually barren modern art galleries are the destination of choice for adults?

Spin Painting (Photo: S. Klinge)

Just to drive home the point that so much of contemporary art is superficial, meaningless bollocks, a giant ashtray full of cigarette packets and butts confronts you, as you approach the exit.

Giant Ashtray (Photo: S. Klinge)

Beyond the butts and hovering beach balls is this anatomical statue, with a butterfly mosaic background, reminiscent of stained-glass windows. To my mind, this is probably the most aesthetically pleasing of the artworks, but that isn’t saying much.

Doorways to the Kingdom of Heaven (Photo: S. Klinge)

In the gift shop, the cheapest item is a £2.50 gift card, but you can also drop tens of thousands of pounds on limited edition Hirst skulls and prints. It’s one last excuse to feel outraged at the state of contemporary art, before taking your leave.

Gift Shop (Photo: S. Klinge)

Damien Hirst exhibition runs until 9 September 2012. For the Love of God is on display in the turbine hall until 24 June 2012.

Read Brian Sewell‘s review of the exhibition here.

Andrea Wulf (Photo: S. Klinge)

A transit of Venus is a rare astronomical event in which the planet Venus crosses in front of the disc of the sun. Transits happen in pairs separated by eight years, and the transit pairs themselves occur over a century apart. Consequently, there have been only five Venus transits since the first one was recorded in 1639. The crucial measurements in any transit of Venus are:

1. The external ingress (when Venus first touches the sun)
2. The internal ingress (when the disc of Venus separates from the edge of the sun)
3. The internal exgress (when Venus touches the other edge of the sun from the inside, at the end of the transit)
4. The external exgress (when the disc of Venus and the disc of the Sun separate)

By combining the timing of transits observed from both the northern and southern hemisphere, trigonometry can be used to calculate the distance from the Earth to the sun. This distance is known as an Astronomical Unit.

Watch this explanatory video for a more detailed description of the phenomenon.

(thanks to www.transitofvenus.org for this video)

The first international collaboration to measure the transit of Venus occurred in 1761, in the midst of the Seven Years War. There were many colourful participants, each of whom encountered trials and tribulations in the field. French astronomer Guillaume Le Gentil (below) endured hurricanes, came under British attack, was forced to observe the transit from a rolling ship’s deck, and spent so long chasing astronomical observations in the southern hemisphere that his French relatives declared him legally dead and divided his estate.

(Image from Wikipedia)

The next transit of Venus, in 1769, was most famously observed by Captain James Cook and his scientific companions in Tahiti, on his first great voyage aboard the HMS Endeavour. A temporary observatory, Fort Venus, was erected for the purpose.

(Image from Wikipedia)

Just down the hall from the Royal Society library stands a pendulum clock, which is believed to be the one used by Captain Cook at Fort Venus in Tahiti.

Photo: S. Klinge

I was lucky to observe the 2004 transit in a sunny Sydney backyard, but now that I’m living in cloudy Britain, my chances aren’t good for seeing the next one, on the 5th/6th of June 2012.  This will be the last chance for any of us to see a transit of Venus, so if you haven’t yet made plans to do so, get cracking.

Andrea Wulf is an author, journalist and design historian. Her previous books include The Brother Gardeners: Botany, Empire and the Birth of an Obsession, and The Founding Gardeners: How the Revolutionary Generation Created an American Eden.

Professor Jerry White (photo: S. Klinge)

White’s talk emphasised the shocking violence that underpinned 18th century society. He began with a reading about John Waller, an informant tried for highway robbery in the Old Baily in 1732, and sentenced to an hour in the pillory at Seven Dials. The crowd attacked him, pelted him with objects, and literally bashed him to death. White gave a graphic account of the incident, finishing with a description of Waller’s brains falling out of his skull and into his mother’s lap, when his broken body was finally returned to Newgate Prison.

John Waller in the pillory (Wikipedia)

One of the main figures in White’s book is the great Samuel Johnson (1709 – 1784), below left, arguably the quintessential 18th century Londoner. Lichfield-born Johnson and his pupil David Garrick (1717 – 1779), below right, decided to make it big in London, and shared a horse to travel there. Johnson rose to fame as a wit, author, and lexicographer. Garrick became a respected actor, but was nevertheless attacked by the mob for revoking the traditional concession which allowed half-price entry during a play’s third act. Crowds rioted, wrecking his theatre, and a pamphlet war ensured. Garrick was forced to back down.

White spoke about the unpopularity of 18th century London clerics, who railed against sin every Sunday, and indulged in it the rest of the week.  William Dodd, Royal Chaplain to George III, was a dandy cleric who earned the nickname ‘Marconi Parson’. To pay the debts that his extravagant lifestyle had accrued, Dodd forged the Earl of Chesterfield’s signature on a bond for £4,200. He was convicted, and became the last forger to be hanged at Tyburn, on 27th June 1777.  Hanging days were public holidays for London apprentices, and 40,000 people witnessed Dodd’s death.

William Dodd's execution (Wikipedia)

The London trilogy took Jerry White 15 years to produce. He carried out research at Yale, the British and Bodleian libraries, and online (where it’s possible to access the Old Bailey’s Court Proceedings, and digitised 18th century newspapers). White has no plans for a fourth instalment in the series (i.e. London in the 17th century), and his next book will focus on London during WWI.

Professor Jerry White (photo: S. Klinge)

The Guardian review by Faramerz Dabhoiwala          The Guardian review by Robert McCrum

Listen to Jerry White talk about the history of London here

For Jerry White’s upcoming events, click here.

For upcoming events at Guildhall Library, click here.

Using Piccadilly Circus as the starting point, head down Piccadilly, staying on the right-hand side. After about 300 meters, you will come to the first stop, Burlington House.

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1.   Burlington House, Piccadilly

Since 1874, Burlington House has been home to five learned societies – the Linnean Society, Geological Society, Royal Astronomical Society, Royal Society of Chemistry, and the Society of Antiquaries - as well as the Royal Academy of Arts. Note the small fountains in the courtyard –  they are said to represent the position of the planets in relation to the stars at the time of artist Sir Joshua Reynolds‘ birth in 1723. Reynolds, whose statue stands before the entrance to the Royal Academy, was its first president. Read more about the history of the Royal Academy here.

Although the antiquaries run something of a closed shop, the other societies hold regular, free public events (with complimentary tea, coffee and biscuits). All have libraries, archives, portraits, and items of interest on display, and while it’s best to see these things in conjunction with an event, it is usually possible to gain entry during normal office hours, in order to see a portrait or a lobby display. A proper tour of each society, access to special collections, and use of their libraries, must be arranged in advance.

a) The Royal Academy

Start by heading straight for the Royal Academy’s main entrance (above), noting the statues of artists and scientists on the building’s exterior as you go. Once inside, climb the stairs and head right until you come to the Reynolds Room. This was the early home of the Linnean Society, and it was here that the first reading of Charles Darwin‘s and Alfred Russel Wallace‘s joint paper on evolution - On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties; and on the Perpetuation of Varieties and Species by Natural Means of Selection - was first read, on 1st July 1858, although neither man was present.  A gold plaque under the front window commemorates the event. This room is free to visit, but its opening times are restricted so it’s best to check ahead. While photography is often not allowed in art galleries and museums, you should be able to snap the plaque without difficulty.

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Further reading:

• Charles Darwin, Vol.1: Voyaging by Janet Browne
• In Darwin’s Shadow: The Life and Science of Alfred Russel Wallace by Michael Shermer
• The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin

b) The Royal Astronomical Society

The Royal Astronomical Society was founded in 1820, to promote ‘the study of astronomy, solar-system science, geophysics and closely related branches of science’. Important holdings include the Herschel Archives, rare books and manuscripts, and a piece of wood from Isaac Newton’s famous apple tree (below right), which you will have to persuade the librarian to fetch from his office. The society was the setting for the confirmation of Albert Einstein‘s theory of general relativity - as measured by astrophysicist Arthur Eddington on his solar eclipse expedition - on November 6th, 1919. Read more about the society’s history here.

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Further reading:

•  Einstein’s Jury: The Race to Test Relativity by Jeffrey Crelinsten
• The History of Astronomy: A Very Short Introduction by Michael Hoskin

c) The Linnean Society

The Linnean Society, founded in 1788, was named after the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus, the father of modern taxonomy (the scientific naming of species). The society holds many of Linnaeus’ books and specimens in its archives, and its motto - ‘Naturae Discere Mores’ – means ‘to learn the ways of nature’.

Highlights of the Linnean Society’s collections include the microscope that botanist and society vice-president Robert Brown - the naturalist on Captain Matthew Flinders‘ 1801 Investigator voyage to Australia -  used to observe Brownian Motion (above right). Find out more about microscopes and Brownian Motion here. Original portraits of Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace (below), hang in the Linnean Society’s meeting room, with historical plaques.

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 Further reading:

• Linnaeus’ Philosophia Botanica by Stephen Freer
• Linnaeus: The Compleat Naturalist by Wilfrid Blunt

d) The Geological Society

The Geological Society, the world’s oldest such organisation, was founded in 1807. While much of its collection is now housed in the Natural History Museum, it still has a large archive, a library with over 300,000 volumes, and papers of prominent geologists such as Sir Roderick Impey Murchison. The society’s collection of images, busts, and photographs includes a portrait of Lyme Regis fossil hunter Mary Anning, which hangs in the entrance lobby, near the fossil skull of an ichthyosaur. Among other things, Anning discovered the first complete ichthyosaur skeleton in about 1811, and the plesiosaur in 1820.

(thanks to ABCRadioNational for this video)

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Further Reading:

• Remarkable Creatures by Tracey Chevalier
• The Dinosaur Hunters: A True Story of Scientific Rivalry and the Discovery of the Prehistoric World by Deborah Cadbury

e) The Royal Society of Chemistry

The Royal Society of Chemistry began life in 1841 as the Chemical Society, ‘for the communication and discussion of discoveries and observations’, and is heavily involved in education, publishing, and scientific conferences. You will  find many busts and portraits of scientists and chemists lining the society’s rooms and corridors.The lavish library was originally designed for the Royal Society (which now occupies buildings on Carlton House Terrace), and is home to the Chemistry Centre, a forum for public lectures, demonstrations and other events.

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Further reading:

• Creations of Fire: Chemistry’s Lively History from Alchemy to the Atomic Age by Cathy Cobb & Harold Goldwhite

 2.   John Murray Publishers, 50 Albemarle St

John Murray Publishers was founded by John Murray I in 1768, and has produced many influential books in the arts and sciences – notably, Romantic poet Lord Byron‘s Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage in 1812; geologist Sir Charles Lyell‘s Principles of Geology in 1830; and naturalist Charles Darwin‘s On the Origin of Species in 1859. The business is now owned by Hachette UK and operates from Euston Rd, but the Albemarle St office remains as an archive. The lovely John Murray VII gave us a personal tour on the day we visited (advance booking essential).  To see his excellent video guide on the building and its archives, click here.

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3.   Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone, Brown’s Hotel, 33 Albemarle St

The five-star Brown’s Hotel, which opened in 1837, claims to be London’s first hotel, but its other claim to fame is much more interesting. Telephone inventor Alexander Graham Bell made Britain’s first successful phone call from here in 1876, and the phone he used still exists in the hotel’s Graham Bell meeting room, at the rear of the lobby. If the room hasn’t been booked for a private conference, a staff member will be happy to show it to you.

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Further reading:

• Reluctant Genius: Alexander Graham Bell and the Passion for Invention by Charlotte Gray
• Electric Universe: How Electricity Switched on the Modern World by David Bodanis

4.   The Royal Institution of Great Britain, Albemarle St

The Royal Institution of Great Britain was created in 1799 at a gathering in Sir Joseph Banks‘ Soho Square home.  The organisation’s purpose was ‘diffusing the knowledge, and facilitating the general introduction, of useful mechanical inventions and improvements; and for teaching, by courses of philosophical lectures and experiments, the application of science to the common purposes of life.’ Two scientists who made the Royal Institution famous were Humphry Davy and Michael Faraday. Davy, the flamboyant Professor of Chemistry, drew such enormous crowds that Albemarle St was turned into London’s first one-way street, in order to cope with the traffic. Faraday began as Davy’s Chemical Assistant in 1813, before progressing to the role of Director of the Laboratory, and Fullerian Professor of Chemistry. For a history of the Royal Institution, click here. The interactive Faraday Museum has free entry, and tours of the building and the museum are available. The Royal Institution holds a plethora of events for members, schools, professionals and the public, such as the one featuring physicist Brian Cox (below).

(thanks to iasedu for this video)

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Further reading:

• Michael Faraday and the Royal Institution: The Genius of Man and place by J. M. Thomas
• Humphry Davy: Poet and Philosopher by T. E. Thorpe

5.   Sir Isaac Newton plaque, 87 Jermyn St

Physicist, alchemist, astronomer, mathematician, and author of Principia Mathematica, Isaac Newton pops up several times on this walking tour. He moved to London following his appointment to the Royal Mint, where he initially served as Warden, and later as Master.  The position came with lodgings at the Tower of London, but Newton found them far from satisfactory, and moved to No. 88 Jermyn St in 1696. In 1700, he moved next door to No. 87, and lived here until 1709. His niece, Catherine Barton, lived with him in Jermyn St for a time. One of the beauties celebrated by the Kit-Kat Club, she married John Conduitt, who succeeded Isaac Newton as Master of the Mint. Be sure to check out the wonderful Paxton & Whitfield cheese shop nearby at No. 93.

Further reading:

• Isaac Newton by James Gleick
• Isaac Newton: The Last Sorcerer by Michael White
• Newton and the Counterfeiter by Thomas Levenson

6.   Ada Lovelace plaque, 12 St James’s Square

Ada Lovelace, the intellectually brilliant daughter of Romantic poet Lord Byron and Anne Isabella Milbanke, is best known for her association with inventor Charles Babbage, who first came up with the idea of a programmable computer.  Babbage called Ada ‘the Enchantress of Numbers’, and she is sometimes cited as the first computer programmer. She was born at what is now 139 Piccadilly. In 1835 she married the Earl of Lovelace, and moved with him to No. 10 St James’s Square (now No. 12). Look out for the unassuming entrance to the London Library - the prestigious private lending library founded in 1841 – a few doors away from Lovelace’s plaque.

(thanks to engtechmag for this video)

(thanks to wired for this video)

Further reading:

• Bride of Science: Romance, Reason and Byron’s Daughter by Benjamin Woolley
• Ada, the Enchantress of Numbers by Betty A. Toole

7.   The Royal Society, 6 – 9 Carlton House Terrace

The Royal Society was created by a group of natural philosophers in 1660 as, ‘a Colledge for the Promoting of Physico-Mathematicall Experimentall Learning’. Founding members included architect Sir Christopher Wren, chemist and physicist Robert Boyle, and mathematician William, 2nd Viscount Brouncker. The polymath Robert Hooke was the first Curator of Experiments, and the roll call of presidents includes diarist Samuel Pepys, Sir Isaac Newton, Sir Joseph Banks, Sir William Henry Bragg and Baron Howard Florey. The current President is Nobel Laureate Sir Paul Nurse. Read more about the history of the Royal Society here. The best way to gain access is by attending one of the regular free events, conferences or exhibitions, or by asking to see and/or use the library.  There are several portraits and objects of interest throughout the building, and an exhibition space downstairs hosts changing displays. Discreet photography is tolerated, and non-flash photography of books and manuscripts from the archive is allowed. The society’s annual Summer Science Exhibition will be held from 3 – 8 July this year.

(thanks to the BBC for this video)

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Further reading:

• Seeing Further: The Story of Science and the Royal Society by Bill Bryson (ed)
• The Fellowship: The Story of the Royal Society and a Scientific Revolution by John Gribbin

8.   Yuri Gagarin statue, Spring Gardens

This monument to Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was unveiled in July 2012, a gift from Roscosmos, the Russian Federal Space Agency. Gagarin became the first person to enter outer space when he orbited the Earth in 1961. He died in a training jet crash, aged only 34, a year before the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969. Read more about the statue here.

 Further reading:

• Starman: The Truth Behind the Legend of Yuri Gagarin by Jamie Doran & Piers Bizony

 9.   Captain James Cook statue, The Mall

Across the road from Gagarin is a monument to another great explorer, Captain James Cook, who is famous for three great voyages which took place between 1768 and 1779. On the first voyage, he observed the transit of Venus, mapped the entire coastline of New Zealand, and charted the east coast of Australia (claiming it for Britain). On his second voyage, he disproved the existence of a great southern continent, a theory popular at the time.  On his third voyage, he attempted to find the North-West Passage, and became the first European to discover the Hawaiian Islands, the scene of his death. The Cook statue stands a stone’s throw from Admiralty Arch.

Further reading:

• James Cook: The Journals by Captain James Cook
• Captain James Cook by Richard Hough

10.   Benjamin Franklin house, 36 Craven St

Benjamin Franklin first visited London as a young printer in 1725. In 1757 he was back, as a diplomat for the Pennsylvania Assembly.  His third visit, a long stay beginning in 1764, was to petition King George III on Pennsylvania’s behalf. During his second and third London sojourns, Franklin lived in Craven St.  Benjamin Franklin House charges an entry fee, and offers both an Historical Experience tour (45 mins) and an Architectural tour (25 mins). Last time we visited, the house was very sparsely furnished and decorated, making it a real ‘bare bones’ experience. If you don’t feel like paying for entry, the black historical plaque is free to admire from the street. There are regular lectures about Franklin and his circle, held both on and off-site. Read more about the house here, and about the history of Craven St here.

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Further reading:

• Autobiography and Other Writings by Benjamin Franklin
• Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson

11.   Sir Robert Boyle’s grave, St-Martin-in-the-Fields

The cafe in the 18th century crypt of St-Martin-in-the-fields church is a good place to stop for a snack. Chemist, physicist, and founder of the Royal Society Robert Boyle is among those buried here, although the exact location of his grave is now lost. Boyle is best known for Boyle’s Law, which states that if the volume of a gas is decreased, the pressure increases proportionally. Read a comprehensive overview of his life and work here. Some of the tablets underfoot in the crypt still have legible epitaphs carved into them, so be sure to look down as you’re sipping your coffee or tea. Nell Gwynne, actress and mistress to King Charles II, is also buried here. For more information on the history of the church, click here.

(thanks to EricParryArchitects for this video)

(thanks to tdewitt451 for this video)

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Further reading:

• The Aspiring Adept: Robert Boyle and his Alchemical Quest by Lawrence Principe
• Boyle: Between God and Science by Michael Hunter

12.   An Experiment with a bird in an air pump, The National Gallery

The National Gallery is one of the world’s leading art museums, and contains important works ranging from the 12th century Virgin and Child with Two Angels, to Paul Cezanne’s Bathers, c. 1900. You could easily spend an entire day wandering its many rooms, but this time, your target is a single picture in room 34 – Joseph Wright of Derby‘s An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump (1768). Wright painted during the scientific enlightenment and  industrial revolution, and many of his works deal directly with natural philosophy and investigations into the unknown. Click here for a short podcast on the painting by historian Jenny Uglow. Entry to the gallery is free, but photography is not allowed – our shot, below, was taken when the room attendant was looking the other way.

(thanks to bwoolley for this video)

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 Further reading:

• The Lunar Men: The Men Who Made the Future 1730-1810 by Jenny Uglow

13.  Science portraits, The National Portrait Gallery

The National Portrait Gallery, right behind the National Gallery, also has free entry. Its collection, arranged by period, includes the Chandos portrait of William Shakespeare, said to be the only portrait of the poet and dramatist actually painted from life. Figures from the sciences and the history of exploration are well represented here, including Sir Joseph Banks, Sir Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Thomas Huxley, Michael Faraday, Captain James Cook, Sir Christopher Wren, Sir Humphry Davy, William Dampier, Sir Hans Sloane, and Alexander Fleming.  The collection is rotated every now and then, so even if you’ve visited before, you’re likely to see new works displayed on subsequent visits. Once again, photography is not allowed, so be quick and discreet with your camera.

(thanks to the NPG for this video)

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14.   Sir Isaac Newton plaque, 35 St Martin’s St

Isaac Newton lived here from 1711 until his death in 1727. He worked on revisions of his Principia Mathematica here, and engaged in stargazing in a small observatory at the top of the house. The building was pulled down in 1913, and the Westminster Reference Library now stands in its place. As well as the commemoration on the library’s exterior, there is a plaque inside, which reads:

‘Here stood the house of Sir Isaac Newton in which he lived from 1710 to 1727 and was visited by his friends Addison, Burnet, Halley, Swift, Wren and other great men. Later it became the home of Dr Charles Burney and his daughter Frances and was the resort of Johnson, Reynolds, Garrick and many others. The library also covers the site of the Leicester Fields chapel, built for the Huguenots in 1693.’

There is also a bust of Isaac Newton in Leicester Square, at the top of the street.

15.   Dr John Hunter bust, Leicester Square

In 1783, surgeon and anatomist Dr John Hunter bought a house on the eastern side of Leicester Square, at No. 28. Behind the house stood his Museum of Comparative Anatomy, completed in 1785, which contained a dissecting room, and curiosities such as a whale skull and the skeleton of ‘giant’ Charles Byrne.

‘Between the smart four-storey townhouse fronting Leicester Square and the inconspicuous, dowdy-looking house at its rear, facing Castle Street, stretched a spectacular brick and glass structure providing a lecture theatre, grand reception room and a purpose-built museum. Accommodating Hunter’s myriad businesses as surgeon, anatomist, teacher and researcher while fostering his continuing connections with London’s underworld, the dual-fronted house would later inspire Robert Louis Stevenson when he was writing his horror story ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’. Although the plot for the story came to Stevenson in a dream, he is said to have based Dr Jekyll’s house – the setting for the melodramatic transformation from good to evil – on Hunter’s Leicester Square home.’ (Wendy Moore)

Hunter’s medical and anatomical collections are now part of the Hunterian Museum.

Further reading:

• The Knife Man: Blood, Body-snatching and the Birth of Modern Surgery by Wendy Moore

16.   John Logie Baird plaque, 22 Frith St

John Logie Baird was a Scottish engineer and inventor who perhaps deserves the same iconic pioneer status given to Tim Berners-Lee - both men invented new forms of communication that literally changed the world. In the case of Berners-Lee, it was the world wide web. With John Logie Baird, it was television. Baird rented rooms here on Frith St, where he lived and had a laboratory.

‘It was weird and wonderful … I was amazed at what he [Baird] had improvised …string, cardboard, and pieces of rough wood with Meccano parts, bits of bicycles and strange scraps of government surplus stores all combined to make a television machine … When he started it up I expected to see the whole crazy contraption fly to pieces or else go up in a flash of blue flame. Nothing happened beyond a grunting and groaning as the various ill-assorted pieces worked together. After adjusting a number of rheostats Mr Baird said: “Now look in there and I will put my head in front.” I watched and sure enough when he had threaded a perilous way to the other end of his apparatus I saw a pale mask of a face appear floating as it were on a whirling black background.’ (R. W. Burns)

(thanks to televisionbb for this video)

Further reading:

• John Logie Baird: A Life by Antony Kamm & Malcolm Baird
• Television and Me: The Memoirs of John Logie Baird by John Logie Baird

17.   Dr John Snow plaque, 53 Frith St

Physician John Snow is famous for tracing an 1854 cholera outbreak to a particular water pump in Soho. Despite believing the miasma theory of disease prevalent at the time, Snow used innovative statistical methodology to study the population, analyse patterns of death and disease, and isolate the outbreak to a specific source. Over 500 people died from the fast-acting infection. Today, John Snow is recognised as one of the fathers of the modern science of epidemiology. Watch author and historian Mike Jay‘s short video summary of John Snow and the Broad St pump, below.

(thanks to WellcomeCollection for this video)

Further reading:

• The Medical Detective: John Snow, Cholera and the Mystery of the Broad Street Pump by Sandra Hempel

18.   Sir Joseph Banks / Robert Brown / David Don plaque, 32 Soho Square

Sir Joseph Banks, the botanist on Captain Cook’s first great voyage, and later the long-serving President of the Royal Society, lived in a house on this site. It housed an extensive library, and an enviable collection of natural history specimens. It was an intellectual salon, and the birthplace of the Linnean Society, who met here for the first time in May 1821. The original fireplace, with its Wedgwood detail,  is now installed in the Royal Institution. Read more about the history of the original building, and Banks’ residency, here. The location is now home to 20th Century Fox. Look out for the information panels in Soho Square, which tell the history of the site.

‘Every Sunday evening Banks opened his house for informal meetings of thirty of so friends and acquaintances; on Thursday mornings, at ten o’clock, he hosted breakfasts in his library – a tradition that he later extended to every day of the week. The panelled room at the back of the house was lined from floor to ceiling with overflowing bookcases holding almost 20,000 natural history titles, while nearly 200 different newspapers, literary journals and scientific publications from societies around the world were laid out on tables and low shelves. Presided over by the portrait of Captain Cook that hung above the fireplace, Banks assembled the greatest minds of his age, providing a platform for natural history and other scientific subjects … The house was always filled with people, talk and laughter … several artists and engravers … worked in the workshop at the back of the house, as well as scholars who used Banks’ books and collections for their studies.’ (Andrea Wulf)

(thanks to the naturalhistorymuseum for this video)

Further reading:

• Sex, Botany and Empire: The Story of Carl Linnaeus and Joseph Banks by Patricia Fara
• The Brother Gardeners: Botany, Empire and the Birth of an Obsession by Andrea Wulf

19.   Dr John Snow’s water pump replica, Broadwick St

A replica pump stands near the original site of the Broad St (now Broadwick St) pump. Look out for the silver information plaque at its base. The pump steps are a popular seat for locals and tourists.

20.   The John Snow pub, Broadwick St

Congratulations, you’ve made it to the final destination! The John Snow pub is a stone’s throw from the replica pump, and actually stands at the site of the original 19th century water pump. Look for the red granite curbstone outside the pub, which pinpoints the old pump’s exact location. Inside the pub are photographs and information panels which tell the John Snow story. The John Snow society, which promotes the work of Snow and the science of epidemiology, stipulates a visit to this pub as a pre-requisite for membership.

Photos by S. Klinge

Further reading:

• The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science by Richard Holmes
• London Science: Museums, Libraries and Places of Scientific, Technological and Medical Interest by Dennis & Sylvia Rosen
• Walking London’s Medical History by Nick Black
• Scientific London by Bernard H. Becker

Cate Blanchett as Lotte (Photo: S. Klinge)

The play, by Botho Strauss, has been translated & updated by Martin Crimp to include references to modern technology and popular culture, but retains its original bleak, post-war German atmosphere of alienation. Lotte begins as a cocktail-sipping tourist in Morocco, thrown askew by martial breakdown and desperate for human connection. By the play’s end, she has descended into mental breakdown, conversing with God, rummaging through bins, sitting in a doctor’s waiting room for company. But the waiting room (a microcosm of the world at large) is only a temporary refuge from the pain of loneliness, and inevitably she is told to leave. The characters Lotte encounters along her journey are plagued by their own demons – are we seeing them as they are, or as Lotte sees them? Is she really so abnormal after all?

Photo: S. Klinge

The excellent cast, directed by Benedict Andrews, comprises Cate Blanchett, Lynette Curran, Anita Hegh, Belinda McClory, Josh McConville, Robert Menzies, Katrina Milosevic, Yalin Ozucelik, Richard Piper, Richard Pyros, Sophie Ross, Chris Ryan, Christopher Stollery and Martin Vaughan.

The Guardian’s review          The Independent’s review

Get your tickets here. Gross und Klein is at the Barbican until April 29.

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Photo: S. Klinge

The house is currently for sale for over £400,000, but is largely derelict inside. To see a Guardian News video tour of the house in its present condition, click here.

Photo: S. Klinge

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So what was van Gogh doing in London?

He arrived in 1873, taking up lodgings with Madame Ursula Loyer in Hackford Road. From here, he walked to and from his workplace, Messrs Goupil & Co, 17 Southampton Street WC2,  just off the Strand in Covent Garden, below. This was an art dealer, gallery and stockroom, but the location doesn’t exist any longer. Van Gogh had previously worked for Goupil & Co in The Hague, and the reason for his transfer to London isn’t clear.

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 Whatever forced van Gogh’s move from Europe, it’s clear from his letters that he enjoyed London, and found happiness here:

“I’ve come by a boarding-house that suits me very well for the present. There are also three Germans in the house who really love music and play piano and sing themselves, which makes the evenings very pleasant indeed … I only have to be in the office from 9 in the morning until 6 in the evening, and on Saturdays I’m finished by 4 o’clock … The countryside here is magnificent, completely different from Holland or Belgium. Everywhere one sees splendid parks with tall trees and shrubs, where one is allowed to walk.” (To Theo van Gogh. London, Friday, 13 June 1873)

“I’m doing well here; I’m seeing a lot of new and beautiful things … I still have a fair amount of time for myself, which I spend very pleasantly walking, reading and writing letters. The neighbourhood where I live is very pretty, and so peaceful and convivial that one almost forgets one is in London. In front of every house is a small garden with flowers or a couple of trees, and many houses are built very tastefully in a sort of Gothic style … In every part of the city there are splendid parks with a wealth of flowers such as I’ve seen nowhere else”. (To Willem and Caroline van Stockum-Haanebeek. London, Wednesday, 2 July 1873)

Photo: S. Klinge

“The countryside here is so beautiful; many people who have their business in L. live in some village or other outside L. and come to the city every day by train. Perhaps I’ll soon be doing that as well, if I can find a cheap room somewhere. But I find moving so terrible that I’ll stay here as long as possible, though things aren’t as nice here as they seemed at first.” (To Willem and Caroline van Stockum-Haanebeek. London, Thursday, 7 August 1873)

“Things are going well for me here, I have a wonderful home and it’s a great pleasure for me to observe London and the English way of life and the English themselves, and I also have nature and art and poetry, and if that isn’t enough, what is?”  (To Theo van Gogh. London, beginning of January 1874)

“I walk here as much as I can, but I’m very busy. It’s absolutely beautiful here (even though it’s in the city). There are lilacs and hawthorns and laburnums &c. blossoming in all the gardens, and the chestnut trees are magnificent. If one truly loves nature one finds beauty everywhere …  I’m doing a lot of gardening and have sown sweet peas, poppies and reseda, now we just have to wait and see what comes of it.” (To Theo van Gogh. London, Thursday, 30 April 1874) 

Of course, van Gogh’s later life was much more turbulent, and sadly ended far too young. For an overview of his life and his art, see the two videos below (thanks to the original You Tube posters).

The Courtauld Institute of Art at London’s Somerset House has some of van Gogh’s work, including the famous Self Portrait with a Damaged Ear, below. Happily, photography is allowed. For a virtual tour of the room where this painting is exhibited, click here.

Photo: S. Klinge

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You can also see several works by van Gogh at the National Gallery on Trafalgar Square – including  A Wheatfield, with Cypresses, and his extremely popular Sunflowers. Photography is NOT allowed, hence these sneaky shots.

Photo: S. Klinge

Photo: S. Klinge

There is a “living wall” outside the National Gallery which strives to emulate A Wheatfield, with Cypresses, on display until the end of October.

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According to Open Plaques, there is another commemorative plaque to Vincent van Gogh in London, on Twickenham Road (a stone’s throw from the local library), Isleworth, TW7.

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Further reading:

Photography is frowned upon by the ushers in the main auditorium, but you can shoot to your heart’s content in the privacy of the box.

To watch some Aida rehearsal clips, click here.

(Photo: S. Klinge)

(Photo: S. Klinge)

(Photo: S. Klinge)

Tiziana Carraro as Amneris, left, and Marc Heller as Radames, right (Photo: S. Klinge)

David Kempster as Amonasro (Photo: S. Klinge)

Indra Thomas as Aida (Photo: S. Klinge)

Conductor Andrew Greenwood (Photo: S. Klinge)

On Friday 2nd March 2012, Oxford Professor of English John Carey interviewed biographer Claire Tomalin about her new book, Charles Dickens: A Life, in a Royal Society of Literature event held at the LSE.

The podcast of this event should soon be available here and is definitely worth a listen.

(Photo by S. Klinge)

John Carey began by asking Claire Tomalin what had motivated her to write biographies of Samuel Pepys, Thomas Hardy and now Charles Dickens – was it their complicated relationships with their wives that attracted her? Tomalin said it was simply that all three men had lived in interesting times – particularly Pepys, who lived through the English civil war, the English Republic, the great plague of London, the great fire of London, and the Restoration. Interestingly, it was mentioned that John Milton (1608 – 1674), Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792 – 1822) and Charles Dickens were all avowed Republicans, a fact forgotten by many who now honour them (Milton was even quoted during the recent Royal Wedding ceremony).

The many biographies of Dickens were discussed, the first and best being The Life of Charles Dickens, written by Dickens’ very close friend John Forster (1812 – 1876). Despite its value, Tomalin pointed out that this book, like many others, was in effect censored by the author, in line with the sensibilities of the time and out of respect for Dickens and his family. Forster was a radical, who studied at Cambridge but left without a degree, since the prerequisite for graduating at that time was membership of the Church of England.

Other worthwhile Dickens biographies mentioned were Phillip Collins’ Charles Dickens: The Critical Heritage, G. K. Chesterton’s Charles Dickens, Robert Patten’s Charles Dickens and His Publishers, Michael Slater’s Charles Dickens, Simon Callow’s Charles Dickens and the Great Theatre of the World, and Peter Ackroyd’s Dickens.

John Carey (photo by S. Klinge)

It was agreed that Dickens suffered from poor parenting, and that his childhood experience in the blacking factory was crucial to his becoming a novelist. Tomalin reminded us, however, that his parents weren’t all bad – his mother taught him to read, and his father supplied him with books. On the other hand, Dickens’ father, continually in debt, often approached his son’s publishers to ask for money – not very admirable behaviour.

Carey & Tomalin speculated that Dickens married Catherine Hogarth (1815 – 1879) on the rebound, following a turbulent early love life. He wanted stability and domestic dedication from Catherine, and sent her a threat during their courtship – “there will be no second warning” – when she once upset him with her behaviour. Catherine had a younger sister, Mary, who died at age seventeen. While it’s not clear whether Mary and Dickens ever had a sexual relationship, he was certainly infatuated with her, and thought of her as some kind of “pure” womanly ideal – he even wanted to be buried with her, upon his own death.

On religion, Tomalin described Dickens as a typical Victorian Christian, not subscribing to much of the doctrine, sometimes dabbling in Unitarianism, but never an outspoken atheist. His many charitable acts were inspired by Christianity – one projects was providing accommodation to ‘fallen women’, rescuing them from the streets, rehabilitating them, sometimes sending them to countries like Australia to start new lives. Dickens was also active in setting up Mechanics Institutes for working class men. Typical of many of his contemporaries, Dickens dabbled in mesmerism – he believed he could communicate with, and even heal people, using his powers at a distance.

Claire Tomalin (Photo by S. Klinge)

Tomalin also spoke of Charles Dickens’ love-hate relationship with America, particularly due to his abhorrence of slavery, and his opposition to the censorship laws which allowed American publishers to profit excessively from his works. Finally, Carey asked Tomalin why she felt she had to write this biography of Dickens, given there are already so many others. She answered that she wanted to to emphasise Dickens’ charity work, and his relationship with John Forster.

Following the event, John Carey kindly autographed our copy of What Good are the Arts?, a book I highly recommend to you all.

To read a recent interview with Claire Tomalin for the Guardian newspaper, click here.

To hear another podcast of John Carey talking about Charles Dickens, this time with Robert Douglas-Fairhurst last month at the British Academy, click here.

(Photo by S. Klinge)

See more photos here.

Photo by S. Klinge

Photo by S. Klinge

Photo by S. Klinge

Kate Williams (photo by S. Klinge)

Kate spoke about her time living in Paris, doing research for an upcoming book on Josephine Bonaparte during the day, and wandering dark, deserted and unfamiliar streets at night. The overwhelming feelings of confusion, loneliness, and fear that she experienced on those Parisian streets inspired the story of The Pleasures of Men, which is set in Victorian London. The novel’s young heroine, Catherine Sorgeuil of Spitalfields, becomes fascinated by a terrifying serial killer, The Man of Crows, and her life becomes dangerously intertwined with his.

We had the chance to speak with Kate following the event, and I am pleased to report that, after a period of “development hell” and budget readjustments, the project to bring Kate’s highly-recommended Emma Hamilton biography to the big screen is still on course, with Hayley Atwell looking certain to play the role of Emma. We took the opportunity to get a signed copy of England’s Mistress, and I’ve added the racy, heart-stopping The Pleasures of Men to my reading list.

For upcoming events at Foyles, click here.