Transatlantic Tales

Trollope by Victoria Glendinning Victoria Glendinning’s comprehensive account of the life of Anthony Trollope manages to be both humane and scholarly. His was a life of such stress, such achievement, such tragedy and strain, physically, mentally and emotionally, that it is hard to believe he even survived his 67 years.  His energy and prolific output in the face of impossible odds mirrored that of his mother, Fanny Trollope, who climbed the social ladder through sheer determination and hard work; and his insecurities and suffering – including rejections in both his official Post Office work and often in his writing – was the story of his hopeless, unpopular barrister father. Glendinning illustrates Trollope’s emotional life and illuminates many interesting aspects not covered by his letters or other archives by finding relevant passages in his fiction, always so fitting that her reader cannot question their contribution to our understanding of the man.  Trollope lived in at l...

The Tichborne Claimant: A Victorian Mystery by Douglas Woodruff The case of the Tichborne claimant was a sprawling legal and media story in the second half of the nineteenth century which tied up the courts, worried the establishment and provided an endless source of gossip, argument and outrage for the whole of Britain for several decades – and even, see Zadie Smith’s novel The Fraud (2023), to this day. At its heart was the loss, supposedly at sea off South America in 1854, of the young heir to the Tichborne estate and baronetcy in the south of England. His mother, hoping he was still alive, advertised far and wide for news of her son, offering a reward. A man came forward from a village in Australia called Wagga Wagga, claiming to be the lost Roger Tichborne. From the start, what should have been simple was complicated: the Claimant bore a certain likeness to the lost son but while the son had been slim, this man was huge. And despite having had a good private education, this Roger...

I’ve been trying Google’s Notebook LM to create podcast-like conversations from uploaded academic papers. My reaction to what it came up with reminds me of how I felt when Google itself first came along. Early users were so impressed that Google grew its customer-base by word of mouth alone - my mouth being one of them. I’m not going to be evangelising about NotebookLM in the same way because its practical value is still limited. But it’s still an impressive demonstration of what AI is already capable of. Notebook LM is a service that focuses on the material you give it, in addition to drawing on more general AI knowledge. You provide it with sources in collections it calls Notebooks, which are separate projects each devoted to a particular subject. The sources can be documents, websites, videos or pasted text. These are the ingredients of the meal it will cook for you. Once you have given it material to work with, you have the chance to interact with your project in many ways - aski...

A New Year’s visit to a National Trust property prompts questions about industry, philanthropy and British innovation. Nuffield Place in Oxfordshire was the home of Lord Nuffield (1877-1963), born William Morris, the British car-maker (and not to be confused with William Morris of the Arts and Crafts movement, some forty years his senior). Nuffield was the name of the local village and Morris took it as his name when he was made a peer in 1934. The house, near Henley-on-Thames, is sizeable but modest for a self-made multi-millionaire. Originally called Merrow Mount, it was completed in 1914 for a shipping maganate, Sir John Bowring Wimble. Nuffield added a large billiard room on the end. It was frosty yesterday, but the gardens must be lovely in summer with the wisteria out. Nuffield began his working life repairing bicycles before he began to manufacture them. He was a contemporary and competitor of Henry Ford, who had established the Ford Motor Company in 1903 and by 1911 had opened...

As a PhD student studying the visits of nineteenth century Americans to Britain, it would be great to be able to interview them about their experiences.  Thanks to ChatGPT, and a plugin called Timeport ,  that is almost possible.  Below is my 'interview' with Nathaniel and Sophia Hawthorne, followed by a note about what the AI got right, and where it went wrong.  The prompt I gave was simply: " I'd like to ask questions to Nathaniel and Sophia Hawthorne about their travels in Britain."  Here's the conversation that followed, with my contributions in italics: Nathaniel Hawthorne As you take in your surroundings, a well-dressed gentleman approaches you. He has a sharp, intelligent gaze and a thoughtful demeanor. "Ah, a traveler from afar! My name is Nathaniel Hawthorne, and this is my wife, Sophia. We're here in Britain exploring its wonders. Might you be interested in hearing about our travels?" Thank you. I know you are living in Liverpool, for M...