Review of Stephen Fry's 'The Fry Chronicles' by Martin Rubin
Martin Rubin reviews Stephen Fry's autobiography in The Washington Times (May 18):
Stephen Fry, “The Fry Chronicles.” New York: Overlook. 438pp. $29.95. Illustrated.
By Martin Rubin
Who else but Stephen Fry could write an autobiography---and a substantial one at that---all organized around the letter C? For this is not just some frivolity tossed off lightly with little thought or engagement. To a remarkable extent, it is a revealing look at a goodly slice of his life, from his schooldays, through university and into the world of theater, film and television. You’d have to be not just very smart but witty, humorous, inventive to have had the career he has, but still more to encapsulate so much of it, playfully yet seriously, in this book. . . .
For Martin's full review, click here or visit washingtontimes.com.
Calvin Hill Day Care Center Newsletter Spring 2012
Click below for the latest newsletter from the Calvin Hill Day Care Center (guaranteed to bring smiles to the faces of all readers):
Calvin Hill Day Care Center Spring 2012
Neal Silverman
Leslie Silverman has written to let us know of the recent passing of her brother Neal. She writes:
"My beloved brother Neal Silverman passed away March 14, 2012.
"Neal passed away as a result of severe lung disease, specifically, pulmonary hypertension. This world has lost a brilliant and talented individual and I have lost a brother with whom I shared unconditional love, trust and devotion."
Our deepest condolences to Neal's family and friends. Classmates who are registered and logged in can visit the In Memoriam section to post remembrances of Neal.
Martin Rubin Reviews 'Below Stairs,' the memoir that inspired 'Upstairs, Downstairs' and 'Downton Abbey’
Margaret Powell, “Below Stairs: The Classic Kitchen Maid’s Memoir that inspired ‘Upstairs, Downstairs’ and ‘Downton Abbey.’” New York: St. Martin’s Press. 212pp. $22.99.
THE WASHINGTON TIMES. MONDAY MARCH 19 2012
By Martin Rubin
For a view of what such a life was actually like for the servants who made gracious living possible for their employers, it is hard to beat Margaret Powell’s hard-headed, unsentimental memoir. And it is all the more amazing because she did not toil in a huge, aristocratic pile but in upper middle-class households. Here, even after the First World War, which so shook up the pecking order at Downton Abbey, these relatively modest establishments employed a staggering number of domestic servants:
“Compared to some of the other houses I worked in, there weren’t so many. There was a butler; a parlourmaid instead of a footman; two housemaids – upper and under; a governess; and a gardener/chauffeur; the cook and me.”
But when you realize that, as kitchen maid (admittedly the lowest position in the house), Powell received only 2 pounds (then under 10 dollars) a month, you see why the Reverend Clydesdale and his demanding wife could run to such an establishment. Three course luncheons and five or six course dinners, featuring the choicest provisions, were de rigueur. . . .
For Martin's full review, click here or visit washingtontimes.com.
Jim Kaplan History Walking Tours July 4 and Oct. 27
Jim Kaplan invites us to his next two walking tours:
ALL NIGHT JULY 4TH REVOLUTIONARY WAR WALKING TOUR---July 4, 2 a.m.-6 a.m. This will be the 10th year of sponsorship by the Fraunces Tavern Museum for this tour of Lower Manhattan sites associated with the Revolutionary War, including Thomas Paine Park, New York City Hall and the statue of Nathan Hale, St. Paul’s Chapel, Fraunces Tavern, and as always the highlight of the tour, the 5 a.m. visit to the unmarked grave of General Horatio Gates in Trinity Church graveyard.
This year my daughter Olivia and I have new material on Nathan Hale, about whom I have recently written a 2800 word article for the historian’s newsletter of the New York Chapter of the DAR (available upon request).
As in prior years, my daughter and I will be giving a pretour lunch lecture at the Fraunces Tavern museum on Nathan Hale, the spy who did not become an American hero until more than 50 years after his death. We expect to present new theories as to how and why Hale became an American hero. Also note: this may be the last year that I will be able to talk about the completely unmarked grave of General Gates, because there is now an effort by the New York State DAR with my assistance (around the anniversary of the battle of Saratoga) in October to place a plaque to him in Trinity Church graveyard.
WALL STREET: THE GREAT CRASHES---October 27, 2012, 48 Wall Street. This year will mark the 25th year that Richard M. Warshauer and I will give our annual tour sponsored by the American Museum of Finance (usually on the Saturday closest to October 29) on the history of Wall Street. Last year Richard and I gave this tour in a driving snowstorm. This year I hope to add new material to the section on recovery from the depression on Frances Perkins, and perhaps to mention somewhat more fully Bruce Wasserstein (about whom I wrote an article in the Museum’s Financial History Magazine last year). By the time of the tour, I hope the issue with my article on Frances Perkins will be out. Previously I wrote articles for the magazine on Henry Hudson and Joseph and Jesse Seligman, who are figures also discussed extensively on the tour.
Martin Rubin on Mimi Alford's 'Once Upon a Secret'
Mimi Alford, “Once Upon a Secret: My Affair with President John F. Kennedy and Its Aftermath.” New York: Random House. 198pp. $25.
Washington Times, March 9, 2012
By Martin Rubin
Even if you have a low tolerance for kiss-and-tell books about famous people, as I do, you might want to take a look at this one. The story it tells is undeniably sensational and the facts tawdry. In the hands of a salacious writer trying to cash in on notoriety, it would be a most unsavory dish. But while Mimi Alford does not soft peddle the details of the affair which she had with President John F. Kennedy which began when she was a nineteen year old intern in the White House Press Office, “Once Upon A Secret” is just as much about the burden which the relationship---and keeping it a secret for so long---put upon her. Her memoir is a hard won, earnest quest to discover how she could have done such a thing and how the consequences of it doomed her marriage and hobbled so many relationships in the decades following it. . . .
For Martin's full review, visit washingtontimes.com.
Martin Rubin Reviews 'An Honourable Englishman'
The Washington Times, February 21, 2012
Adam Sisman, “An Honourable Englishman: The Life of Hugh Trevor-Roper." New York: Random House. $40. 643pp. Illustrated.
Review by Martin Rubin
"Hugh Trevor-Roper (1914-2003) was one of the most famous and admired British historians of his time, holder of Oxford University’s prestigious Regius Professorship. He was also widely known for his best-selling 'Last Days of Hitler,' based on fresh research gathered soon after the Fuhrer’s suicide, and for his many forays in newspapers and journals in his role as public intellectual on the historical and political controversies of his day. . . .
"There is no doubt that Trevor-Roper was in many ways a contradictory character. A devotee of foxhunting, he married the daughter of an earl and duchesses seem more prominent in his social life than historians. . . . Yet when an academic clique at one of Cambridge’s more eccentric colleges [Peterhouse] lured him away from a lifetime at Oxford to become its head, they found, to their consternation, that his views on such controversies as admitting women were surprisingly progressive."
For Martin's full review, click here or visit washingtontimes.com.
Video: Tom Halpin, Violin, Performing Vitali Chaconne
Jean Brenner writes:
Our classmate Tom Halpin has recently posted many of his performances on YouTube. I found this one particularly moving. If you’re interested in seeing and hearing more of Tom’s performances, you can find them by searching “Thomas Halpin” on YouTube. Enjoy!—
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Fd45XgzFmE&feature=channel
Feb Club Emeritus Invitation
From Tim Harkness '87 (follow on Twitter @febclub):
Feb Club Emeritus 2012
The Worldwide Phenomenon Turns Five!
Four score and five years ago (actually just five years ago, but who's counting), an intrepid group of Yale alums, bemoaning the dismal February weather in their corner of the globe, resurrected an undergraduate tradition of dubious origin and initiated a group of casual get-togethers in various cities each night of the year's coldest month.
Three years later, thousands of alums in over 100 cities around the planet celebrated Feb Club Emeritus. Feb Club is nothing more than an excuse for alums of all ages to get together and meet old friends and make new ones in a casual, pressure-free setting---with no speeches, no fundraising, no anything remotely official.
A Feb Club Emeritus party may be large or small, stand-up or sit-down … whatever the host in your town dreams up that year. The one thing all Feb Clubs have in common, though, is their relaxed multi-generational nature … each year, alums from the Classes of the '40's to the '00's meet up and connect at Feb Club Emeritus.
RSVP now at www.febclubemeritus.com to be placed on the guest list for the party in your town. There are many dozens of parties worldwide, so there is sure to be one near you. If your village is feeling left out, fret not---the website will tell you how easy it is to join the hoopla.
See you in February!
Lise Pearlman's Book Party in NYC Jan. 18
Lise Pearlman writes to invite us all to a party celebrating her new book, to be held on Jan. 18 at Barry Scheck's office in Manhattan:
I will be in Manhattan for the wine and cheese party at Neufeld, Scheck and Brustin LLP celebrating the debut of my book The Sky's The Limit: People v. Newton, The Real Trial of the 20th Century? on Wed. Jan. 18, 2012 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Hope you can join us. Lise Pearlman
For more about the book, visit www.therealtrialofthe20thcentury.com.