Any super league of British artists would have to invite William Blake to join but from his grave would come a firm rejection. Averse to hierarchies, he was put on trial in 1804 for making seditious remarks about the monarchy.   Sean Sheehan   He was acquitted but the jury […]

Titles matter. The first English translation of Claude Lévi-Strauss’s seminal “La pensée sauvage” appeared in 1966 as “The Savage Mind” and, until now, this is how the book has been known for English speakers.   Sean Sheehan   But pensée is usually rendered as “thought” and while sauvage can be […]

The outbreak of revolutions in 1848 across Europe (England and Russia were notable exceptions) was a sequel to the French revolution of 1789.   Sean Sheehan   This time, there was more radical intent, property rights that had earlier established the rule of the bourgeoisie were rejected. The June Days […]

“The discomfort of evening” is a story set in the Dutch countryside where a ten-year old child, Jas, is struggling to cope with the crisis that has engulfed her family.   Sean Sheehan   After the death of a brother in a skating accident, the grief has left her parents, […]