Eliza Ogilvy's commonplace book is missing
@eaho.bsky.social
A Scottish/Florentine literary life; an extraordinary network of artists, writers, engineers, scientists; a micro-history of the East India Company and its overlooked influence on British culture Eaho.substack.com
In poetry but also in prose Eliza Ogilvy had a fondness for the word ‘repine’, a useful rhyming word but one that jars on the modern ear. Interestingly (not surprisingly) the word was already archaic in the 1850s and ‘60s when she was using it. I checked Google ngram, which shows a sharp decline ...
October 30, 2025 at 1:40 PM
In poetry but also in prose Eliza Ogilvy had a fondness for the word ‘repine’, a useful rhyming word but one that jars on the modern ear. Interestingly (not surprisingly) the word was already archaic in the 1850s and ‘60s when she was using it. I checked Google ngram, which shows a sharp decline ...
This is close to home. Who has the answer?
A puzzle for the weekend: Who wrote this salacious little ditty? Retrieved from the ashes of the fire that destroyed the North transept of the Crystal Palace, it's an autograph composition and libretto, 'Un po di bastone' (a little stick). Who then is the composer? eaho.substack.com/p/a-mystery-...
The mystery musical manuscript, charred by the Crystal Palace fire of 1866
Eliza's husband David Ogilvy was a director of the Crystal Palace. After a fire destroyed the north transept he chose to salvage the charred remains of a composition and libretto in Italian. Why?
eaho.substack.com
September 28, 2025 at 10:23 PM
This is close to home. Who has the answer?
Reposted by Eliza Ogilvy's commonplace book is missing
I've decided to re-read Upton Sinclair's Lanny Budd series for the first time in 30 years - 11 novels averaging 650 pp each. The purpose: inspiration for Eliza Ogilvy's Commonplace Book is Missing.. Last time I had time on my hands, not now. If anybody wants to talk me out of this, feel free!
Introducing Eliza Ogilvy (the long edition)
A literary life; a network of artists, writers and scientists; a microhistory of the East India Company and its influence on British culture in the 19th Century.
eaho.substack.com
September 22, 2025 at 6:44 PM
I've decided to re-read Upton Sinclair's Lanny Budd series for the first time in 30 years - 11 novels averaging 650 pp each. The purpose: inspiration for Eliza Ogilvy's Commonplace Book is Missing.. Last time I had time on my hands, not now. If anybody wants to talk me out of this, feel free!
The more ambitious among the once-declining gentlefolk of the East India Company set about establishing themselves as a new aristocracy. This was achieved by grafting onto the old using techniques that will be familiar to readers of the novels of Austen & Thackeray eaho.substack.com/p/2-beauty-l...
2. Beauty lies in the lap of terror
Art legitimises wealth, title and status for the East India Company's little aristocracy
eaho.substack.com
September 22, 2025 at 7:11 PM
The more ambitious among the once-declining gentlefolk of the East India Company set about establishing themselves as a new aristocracy. This was achieved by grafting onto the old using techniques that will be familiar to readers of the novels of Austen & Thackeray eaho.substack.com/p/2-beauty-l...
Now at eaho.substack.com
I've written a 3-part mini-history of Batta mutinies in India in 1H of the 19thC, and the defenestration of Lord Ellenborough by the men of Leadenhall St. In the first, racism is the root cause; in the second, a fatal combination of ambition, arrogance & dishonesty eaho.substack.com/p/10-mutiny-...
10. Mutiny at Ferozepur, 1844
A sepoy rebellion along the North West frontier with Punjab caused a bitter dispute between Sir Robert Dick and Lord Ellenborough, exposing the machinations of both men and empires.
eaho.substack.com
September 18, 2025 at 10:54 AM
Now at eaho.substack.com
After a long pause, two new chapters and one revised chapter in Eliza Ogilvy's commonplace book is missing:
September 4, 2025 at 9:39 AM
After a long pause, two new chapters and one revised chapter in Eliza Ogilvy's commonplace book is missing:
Dear music lovers (especially of opera): This manuscript is said to have been retrieved by David Ogilvy from the Crystal Palace after the fire that destroyed the North Transept in 1866 (hence the burned edges).
July 7, 2025 at 1:42 PM
Dear music lovers (especially of opera): This manuscript is said to have been retrieved by David Ogilvy from the Crystal Palace after the fire that destroyed the North Transept in 1866 (hence the burned edges).
Reposted by Eliza Ogilvy's commonplace book is missing
Tartan swagger: Colonel the Hon. William Gordon, in Huntly tartan, painted during his Grand Tour by Italian artist Pompeo Batoni, Rome 1765.
National Trust Scotland, Fyvie Castle #TartanDay #OTD
National Trust Scotland, Fyvie Castle #TartanDay #OTD
April 6, 2025 at 5:51 AM
Tartan swagger: Colonel the Hon. William Gordon, in Huntly tartan, painted during his Grand Tour by Italian artist Pompeo Batoni, Rome 1765.
National Trust Scotland, Fyvie Castle #TartanDay #OTD
National Trust Scotland, Fyvie Castle #TartanDay #OTD
British witnesses to the destruction of the Emporer's Summe Palace remembered the gardens, not the architecture, which were reminiscent of the English landscape gardens of William Kent, Capability Brown and Humphry Repton.
March 6, 2025 at 11:05 PM
British witnesses to the destruction of the Emporer's Summe Palace remembered the gardens, not the architecture, which were reminiscent of the English landscape gardens of William Kent, Capability Brown and Humphry Repton.
Reposted by Eliza Ogilvy's commonplace book is missing
A treat for Burns night. Two poems by Eliza Ogilvy, one on the meaning & making of the tradition Burns represents, written for the 1859 centenary poetry competition, the other a rage against the competition itself, written 3 weeks before the winner was announced 🤔 open.substack.com/pub/eaho/p/p...
Poems at the Crystal Palace for Burns' centenary, 1859
Eliza Ogilvy wrote two poems for the Burns Centenary: one was her entry for the Crystal Palace competition; the other ridiculed the competition, in a parody of Tennyson's Charge of the Light Brigade.
open.substack.com
January 25, 2025 at 6:35 PM
A treat for Burns night. Two poems by Eliza Ogilvy, one on the meaning & making of the tradition Burns represents, written for the 1859 centenary poetry competition, the other a rage against the competition itself, written 3 weeks before the winner was announced 🤔 open.substack.com/pub/eaho/p/p...
A treat for Burns night. Two poems by Eliza Ogilvy, one on the meaning & making of the tradition Burns represents, written for the 1859 centenary poetry competition, the other a rage against the competition itself, written 3 weeks before the winner was announced 🤔 open.substack.com/pub/eaho/p/p...
Poems at the Crystal Palace for Burns' centenary, 1859
Eliza Ogilvy wrote two poems for the Burns Centenary: one was her entry for the Crystal Palace competition; the other ridiculed the competition, in a parody of Tennyson's Charge of the Light Brigade.
open.substack.com
January 25, 2025 at 6:35 PM
A treat for Burns night. Two poems by Eliza Ogilvy, one on the meaning & making of the tradition Burns represents, written for the 1859 centenary poetry competition, the other a rage against the competition itself, written 3 weeks before the winner was announced 🤔 open.substack.com/pub/eaho/p/p...
Reposted by Eliza Ogilvy's commonplace book is missing
"Pocock was paradoxically under attack for being too liberal, but also for not being liberal enough.Said differently, Pocock was criticised for being too American and for not being American enough –all the more intriguing for a New Zealander" Read my article on JGA Pocock below! tinyurl.com/xtv3maav
History is always political, and contest over it is a good thing | Aeon Essays
In his work on republicanism as a living idea, J G A Pocock showed that contesting history is part of a robust civic life
tinyurl.com
January 15, 2025 at 6:36 AM
"Pocock was paradoxically under attack for being too liberal, but also for not being liberal enough.Said differently, Pocock was criticised for being too American and for not being American enough –all the more intriguing for a New Zealander" Read my article on JGA Pocock below! tinyurl.com/xtv3maav
The Second Opium War of 1856-60 was one of the first to be photographed (the Mexican-US war in 1847 was the first, then Crimea). Today Felice Beato’s images are a powerful reminder of the terrible destruction wrought on the Taku forts east of Beijing by the British Armstrong guns.
January 10, 2025 at 5:14 PM
The Second Opium War of 1856-60 was one of the first to be photographed (the Mexican-US war in 1847 was the first, then Crimea). Today Felice Beato’s images are a powerful reminder of the terrible destruction wrought on the Taku forts east of Beijing by the British Armstrong guns.
Reposted by Eliza Ogilvy's commonplace book is missing
The Second Opium War is one of the hidden histories of the British Empire, involving a cultural crime of immense proportions that has been excised from the curriculum - the total destruction of the Yuanmingyan, the garden of perfect clarity. eaho.substack.com/p/14-looting....
14. Loot and arson - the destruction of the Yuanmingyuan
After the Great Uprising came the Second Opium War. Eliza's brother embarked with his regiment for China, where the British & French armies destroyed the vast cultural complex of the Qing dynasty.
eaho.substack.com
January 7, 2025 at 11:21 AM
The Second Opium War is one of the hidden histories of the British Empire, involving a cultural crime of immense proportions that has been excised from the curriculum - the total destruction of the Yuanmingyan, the garden of perfect clarity. eaho.substack.com/p/14-looting....
The Second Opium War is one of the hidden histories of the British Empire, involving a cultural crime of immense proportions that has been excised from the curriculum - the total destruction of the Yuanmingyan, the garden of perfect clarity. eaho.substack.com/p/14-looting....
14. Loot and arson - the destruction of the Yuanmingyuan
After the Great Uprising came the Second Opium War. Eliza's brother embarked with his regiment for China, where the British & French armies destroyed the vast cultural complex of the Qing dynasty.
eaho.substack.com
January 7, 2025 at 11:21 AM
The Second Opium War is one of the hidden histories of the British Empire, involving a cultural crime of immense proportions that has been excised from the curriculum - the total destruction of the Yuanmingyan, the garden of perfect clarity. eaho.substack.com/p/14-looting....
Reposted by Eliza Ogilvy's commonplace book is missing
It’s interesting that Rogers writes about the positive bias in innovation research. The research is premised on innovation being a good thing. You see this in the classic categories - ‘early adopters’, ‘laggards’. The former are brave, curious, savvy, the latter stubborn, etc. 1/n
December 22, 2024 at 9:58 AM
It’s interesting that Rogers writes about the positive bias in innovation research. The research is premised on innovation being a good thing. You see this in the classic categories - ‘early adopters’, ‘laggards’. The former are brave, curious, savvy, the latter stubborn, etc. 1/n
Reposted by Eliza Ogilvy's commonplace book is missing
For new followers: Eliza Ogilvy (née Dick) was a Victorian Scottish poet, a member of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Florence network, and also the Sydenham set: the group of artists, writers, engineers, musicians & scientists organised around the Crystal Palace at Sydenham in the 1850s and ’60s.
December 11, 2024 at 5:18 PM
For new followers: Eliza Ogilvy (née Dick) was a Victorian Scottish poet, a member of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Florence network, and also the Sydenham set: the group of artists, writers, engineers, musicians & scientists organised around the Crystal Palace at Sydenham in the 1850s and ’60s.
Reposted by Eliza Ogilvy's commonplace book is missing
Season 1 of Winds of Change is almost here! From the East India Company to the "Mutiny" of 1857, through the World Wars, to Independence and Partition, Winds of Change will cover the whole history of the Indian freedom struggle.
Full episodes from 18th November.
www.langnessmedia.com/windsofchange
Full episodes from 18th November.
www.langnessmedia.com/windsofchange
Winds of Change | Sunset on the British Empire
www.langnessmedia.com
November 11, 2024 at 8:18 PM
Season 1 of Winds of Change is almost here! From the East India Company to the "Mutiny" of 1857, through the World Wars, to Independence and Partition, Winds of Change will cover the whole history of the Indian freedom struggle.
Full episodes from 18th November.
www.langnessmedia.com/windsofchange
Full episodes from 18th November.
www.langnessmedia.com/windsofchange
For new followers: Eliza Ogilvy (née Dick) was a Victorian Scottish poet, a member of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Florence network, and also the Sydenham set: the group of artists, writers, engineers, musicians & scientists organised around the Crystal Palace at Sydenham in the 1850s and ’60s.
December 11, 2024 at 5:18 PM
For new followers: Eliza Ogilvy (née Dick) was a Victorian Scottish poet, a member of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Florence network, and also the Sydenham set: the group of artists, writers, engineers, musicians & scientists organised around the Crystal Palace at Sydenham in the 1850s and ’60s.
William Prinsep’s voyage from Singapore to Canton in 1838 was ostensibly to take news of London silk prices to Lancelot Dent. However on arrival his activities focused on learning the secrets of tea: how it was cultivated, processed and prepared for consumption. 1/4
December 3, 2024 at 1:07 PM
William Prinsep’s voyage from Singapore to Canton in 1838 was ostensibly to take news of London silk prices to Lancelot Dent. However on arrival his activities focused on learning the secrets of tea: how it was cultivated, processed and prepared for consumption. 1/4
Reposted by Eliza Ogilvy's commonplace book is missing
Just published: Chapter 9 of Eliza Ogilvy's Commonplace Book is Missing, on William Prinsep's voyage from Singapore to Canton in 1838: a tale of espionage, opium smuggling, tea stealing and a tense meeting with his painting master Geo. Chinnery eaho.substack.com/p/9-william-...
9. William Prinsep in Canton, caught with his hand in the tea bucket
Prinsep's memoir of his voyage to Canton is a tale of espionage, smuggling & culture shock; a narrow escape from the Chinese police; and a tense meeting with his painting master George Chinnery.
eaho.substack.com
November 28, 2024 at 10:39 AM
Just published: Chapter 9 of Eliza Ogilvy's Commonplace Book is Missing, on William Prinsep's voyage from Singapore to Canton in 1838: a tale of espionage, opium smuggling, tea stealing and a tense meeting with his painting master Geo. Chinnery eaho.substack.com/p/9-william-...
Just published: Chapter 9 of Eliza Ogilvy's Commonplace Book is Missing, on William Prinsep's voyage from Singapore to Canton in 1838: a tale of espionage, opium smuggling, tea stealing and a tense meeting with his painting master Geo. Chinnery eaho.substack.com/p/9-william-...
9. William Prinsep in Canton, caught with his hand in the tea bucket
Prinsep's memoir of his voyage to Canton is a tale of espionage, smuggling & culture shock; a narrow escape from the Chinese police; and a tense meeting with his painting master George Chinnery.
eaho.substack.com
November 28, 2024 at 10:39 AM
Just published: Chapter 9 of Eliza Ogilvy's Commonplace Book is Missing, on William Prinsep's voyage from Singapore to Canton in 1838: a tale of espionage, opium smuggling, tea stealing and a tense meeting with his painting master Geo. Chinnery eaho.substack.com/p/9-william-...
October 1838: In Macao with the artist George Chinnery "[William] Jardine was sitting for his portrait but I observed that though his pencil was as true for design as ever, his painting had certainly gone off."
November 28, 2024 at 10:31 AM
October 1838: In Macao with the artist George Chinnery "[William] Jardine was sitting for his portrait but I observed that though his pencil was as true for design as ever, his painting had certainly gone off."
"My first impressions on landing [in Canton/Guangzhou] - What strange figures! what novelty! What entire and complete difference in the form & feature of everything ...The very colour of the atmosphere seemed to be different from that of any part of the world I had ever seen,
November 27, 2024 at 9:28 PM
"My first impressions on landing [in Canton/Guangzhou] - What strange figures! what novelty! What entire and complete difference in the form & feature of everything ...The very colour of the atmosphere seemed to be different from that of any part of the world I had ever seen,
1.10 "Embarked at 2pm from Singapore harbour with Capt Reynell in the Water Witch a charming yacht-like vessel of about 360 tons rigged especially for fast sailing & armed with 5 guns as defence against the pirates of the China Seas, manned by lascars & Manilla men with European officers and mates.
November 27, 2024 at 4:48 PM
1.10 "Embarked at 2pm from Singapore harbour with Capt Reynell in the Water Witch a charming yacht-like vessel of about 360 tons rigged especially for fast sailing & armed with 5 guns as defence against the pirates of the China Seas, manned by lascars & Manilla men with European officers and mates.