The most memorable episodes in human history are written in blood, guts and gore; just ask any kid. It’s a truism that author Terry Deary has been demonstrating in spectacular fashion for thirty years since the first volume of Horrible Histories was published in 1993. With more than 30 million book sales in some 30 different languages, Deary has been dubbed the most influential historian of our times and for three decades his closest partner in grime has been illustrator Martin Brown.
Tag: Corfe Castle
Drawing inspiration from horrible history
Horrible Histories illustrator Martin Brown on his Dorset life ‘What I’ve realised since I came to Dorset is that history is not preserved in aspic, it’s part of people’s everyday lives, they live in it – it’s all around us.’ History is something that Martin Brown knows a bit about. Since he teamed up with Read More…
Heritage craftsman Terry’s wheels of feel
With swallows flying overhead, a chicken scratching at the floor and the sounds of not very much passing by outside, wheelwright Terry Jenkins is immersed in the peace of his woody world. ‘It’s not always like this,’ he says. ‘I have the lathe on or what have you and it’s noisy, but there’s no need Read More…
Renovating Corfe Castle – what might have been
It is one of Dorset’s most familiar beauty spots, instant visual shorthand for the Isle of Purbeck. It has been photographed, painted and sketched from every conceivable angle – it even appears on the opening credits of the Disney film, Bedknobs and Broomsticks. Last year a computer animation student digitally restored Corfe Castle, but had Read More…
Keeper of the castle exposed?
As enduring myths go, that of Lady Mary Bankes – and her valiant defence of Corfe Castle during the Civil War – has proved remarkably resilient. Every bit as dramatic as the ruins of her former home, the popular story is one of aristocratic bravery, proof positive that stiff upper lips were never the sole Read More…
Rena Gardiner: Portrait of an artist in Dorset
She was a one-woman publishing house, a self-contained artist, writer, researcher, designer, printer, bookbinder and distributor, running perhaps the definitive cottage industry from her thatched Tarrant Monkton home. She called it The Workshop Press and its imprint is to be found on the series of beautifully handcrafted guidebooks to historic sites and the natural landscape Read More…