The Convict Who Wrote Letters

Every now and then I find out about a writer I have never heard of before, and the day seems richer because of it. One such is Margaret Catchpole (1762-1819), the convict who wrote letters.

Margaret was a colorful person in her own right. The illegitimate daughter of a laborer employed by a famous breeder of carthorses, she first made her name by riding bareback to fetch a doctor for the breeder's wife, who was gravely ill. It was her riding skills that got her into trouble, when she appropriated her employer's horse to ride to London in pursuit of William Laud, a smuggler who had stolen her affections. For this, she was tried and sentenced to death, but this was commuted to transportation. The idea of Australia was so unappealing that she made a bold escape from Ipswich jail, somehow managing to negotiate the high, spiked wall. After recapture, she was sentenced to death again -- a sentence that was again commuted to transportation, and on 27 May 1801 she embarked on the Nile for New South Wales.

Unexpectedly, the new country suited her. Margaret Catchpole worked for a number of families, gained a good reputation, was pardoned in 1814, and opened a store in Richmond, New South Wales. She was also a midwife and kindly nurse, and died in 1819 after catching influenza from one of her patients.

Throughout, she wrote letters, many to the old employer whose horse she had appropriated. The son of the family used these to write a highly embroidered account of her life, which sold very well. The letters themselves are held at the State Library of New South Wales, and can be read online here.

White House rocks to the sound of verse

The White House jammed and slammed last night, reports Washington Post staff writer, DeNeen L. Brown.

The East Room was packed with poets, playwrights, actors, and musicians, many of them young and rising talents, who produced a glorious mix of jazz and the spoken word.

Michelle Obama confided that she had wanted to do this from day one. She adored the idea of "standing in this room and hearing some poetry."

She heard more than that. Each poem was a performance, including a real performance from James Earl Jones, who recited a long passage from Shakespeare's Othello in a delivery so powerful that it stunned the room to silence.

Harlan Ellison turns down hometown prize

There must be some red faces in Cleveland, Ohio. A local scion, world-famous science fiction writer, critic, and editor Harlan Ellison, 75, was finally recognized for a lifetime achievement award -- even though some of the panel had never heard of him before.

It was then that the series of blunders commenced. First, he was informed that he was expected to pay all the expenses of bringing himself and his wife from their home in California to the ceremony. This was closely followed by a printed e-mail (Ellison -- amazingly for a professional predictor of an exciting, if fictional, future -- does not subscribe to the internet), which arrived by regular post to inform him that his acceptance speech was limited to three minutes. A phone call to explain this, from the Cleveland Arts Prize Executive Director, was punctuated with a startling question -- did Ellison know anyone in Cleveland who might pay to have an advertisement in the events program?

Ellison -- who is also famously prickly and apt to Take a Strong Stand -- turned down the prize.

Was he right to do so?

Are you prepared to pay to learn the latest news?

The real question, says Frank Rich, is for the public, not the journalists: Are we, the people at large, ready to pay for news, whatever form it comes in? It's nice to get news free, over the internet, but hard-headed, impartial, investigative reporting needs money, and no matter how much the likes of Google and Yahoo enjoy putting news headlines on their home pages, they are not going to provide the kind of cash needed. Television used to be "free" -- the advertisers paid for it -- but when it came to the crunch, people were prepared to pay a monthly fee for cable or Sky. So are you likely to feel the same about your daily news?

See today's New York Times for Rich's terrific discussion.

Van Gogh did not cut off his ear

Gauguin was the one who dunnit. Or so a new book claims.

The general understanding is that the mentally ill Dutch painter Van Gogh cut off his ear after falling out with Paul Gauguin rather publicly, outside a brothel in Arles. German academics Hans Kaufmann and Rita Wildegans, after years of painstaking research into the artists' lives and police files, have refuted this in a book called (surprise, surprise) Van Gogh's Ear.

The subtitle tells it all: Paul Gauguin and the Pact of Silence. According to Kaufmann and Wildegans, there was indeed a pact -- both men agreed to tell the self-maiming story to the gendarmerie, to protect Gauguin's reputation.

So what really happened? That comes down to guess and circumstance, but the writers have agreed that the ear was flicked off by Gauguin with a fencing sword, perhaps in the quarrel, or perhaps in a drunken feint. Van Gogh then wrapped it up and handed it to a prostitute called Rachel.

Gauguin moved to Tahiti (to protect what was left of his reputation?), and painted famous portraits of his fourteen-year-old mistress. Van Gogh died in 1890, after shooting himself in the chest.

Fawlty Towers not to be resuscitated

Fawlty Towers must be my favorite comedy show ever. The pace is fast, the characters distinct, the acting superb, and the scripts are just terrific. However -- wisely, in my opinion, John Cleese and his co-writer, Connie Booth, have ruled out a return.

The four stars -- Cleese, Booth, Andrew Sachs, and Prunella Scales -- were reunited for the first time in 30 years, to promote a documentary for TV channel G.O.L.D. Asked the inevitable question, 69-year-old Cleese said they would never make another episode because they are "too old and tired." The pace is too fast, and the expectations too high -- and there is also the memory that it took six intensive weeks to write each half-hour episode.

Last month, the BBC sitcom was named the most "iconic" TV comedy show of all time.

Yet, only 12 episodes were ever made. Cleese said that he and Booth (who played the waitress, Polly) made a joint decision to stop it at that.

"We both felt we'd done our best and we just knew that, if we did it, it wouldn't be as good."

See an interview with Cleese.

Origin of the Species a rare prize

A first edition copy of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection has been sold at auction in Norfolk for thirty-five thousand pounds.

Its value is probably enhanced by the fact that the first print run -- which sold out on the spot -- was just 1,250.

It must be also acknowledged, though, that it must be the most definitive book of biology ever.

The book was purchased by a local book dealer, who undoubtedly expects to make a tidy profit from an ongoing sale.

Read more.

Ongoing crisis on the Boston Globe

The talks drag on.

The owner of the Boston Globe is still talking with unions to try to save the grand old paper from folding. Staff are being asked to take cuts in pay and pensions, and the owner is being asked to give newspaper jobs some permanency.

The Boston Globe is the latest victim of many blows, most emanating from the internet. First and foremost, is the loss of advertising revenue. Perhaps even more grave, as a BBC correspondent points out, is the situation where readers force papers to post instant "Breaking News" on their websites, yet fail to pay to read the same thing in print next day.

The challenge is to devise a business model that copes with the situation. Until one arrives, losses in both revenue and jobs will mount.

Marilyn French dies at 79

Marilyn French, author of feminist classic The Women's Room has passed away.

The 1977 novel, which captured the frustration and fury of a generation ofwomen fed up with society's traditional conceptions of their role, sold 20million copies.

Read more.

First female British poet laureate appointed

It's second time lucky for Carol Ann Duffy, who was reliably rumored to be in strong contention back in 1999, when Andrew Motion was given the job.

Will she enjoy it? That is another matter for contention. Prominent names have ventured the opinion that the post is more stultifying than inspiring.

So, the best of luck to the new voice of verse.