Alain-Fournier’s timeless novel is one hundred years old

France is celebrating the centenary of the publication of Henri Alain-Fournier’s novel Le Grand Meaulnes. There will be numerous literary events, exhibitions and fêtes galantes – such as a circus performance in Épineuil le Fleuriel, where Fournier grew up. There is even a competition for a sequel to the novel.

Königsberg – a tragic remnant, a reminder – and marzipan

At the end of the First World War, East Prussia was effectively isolated from Germany. At the end of the Second World War, its capital, the medieval city of Königsberg, was obliterated by British bombing and Russian bombardment. It is one of Europe’s bitterest forgotten histories, sweetened only by the citizens’ predilection for marzipan.

Rupert Brooke in exile: “And is there honey still for tea?”

In 1913, after a emotional upset, the English poet Rupert Brooke visited North America. He wrote travel diaries for the Westminster Gazette, an influential Liberal newspaper based in London. Best known for his idealistic poems “The Soldier” and “The Old Vicarage, Grantchester”, he was also a great travel writer.

There’s many a good tune played on an old fiddle

The violin played by the band leader on board the RMS Titanic has been discovered in Yorkshire, England. An engraved silver plate on the tailpiece carries his name and experts say that evidence of corrosion is compatible with it having been immersed in seawater.

Faces that have been lived in

A face that has been “lived in”. It’s an expression that brings a smile of recognition and warmth. Growing older has its drawbacks, but maybe there are compensations too.

Ada Kaleh: A lost way of life

Ada Kaleh (meaning “Island Fortress”) was a small island on the Danube peopled mostly by Turks. It was submerged in 1970 during the construction of the Iron Gates hydroelectric plant. In 1934 it was visited by the young English adventurer Patrick Leigh Fermor.