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The article focuses on a speech given by historian Thomas Carlyle during a meeting at the Freemasons' Tavern in 1840 wherein he urged the need for a lending library in London, England. Topics include the problems with British Museum according to Carlyle, the support gained by Carlyle from barrister William Dougal Christie leading to the creation of a Committee for a London Subscription Library and the unpublished letters they received stating desire to subscribe to the proposed London Library.

Draws attention to five unrecorded autograph poems by Lord Byron discovered in the Jersey Papers held in Greater London Record Office, England. Variants noted; Background on the poems; Transcriptions of the poems as they appear in the Jersey Papers.

Details additional manuscripts from arch-druid William Stukeley, acquired by the Library at the Masonic Temple in Longacre, in London, England. Includes an exegesis of the first Book of Genesis, dated 1717; `The Order of the Pillars of Solomon's Temple Demonstrated'; `Tabula Isiaca, The iergolyphocs of the Egyptians.'

The article presents information on dramatist and critic George Bernard Shaw's attempts to publish his first novel "Immaturity," in 1879-80, generated partly by a written comment made late in his life. Shaw began searching for a publisher soon after finishing his novel. After several publishers rejected the work he approached publishing firm William Blackwood, and submitted his manuscript to the London office of the firm. Joseph Munt Langford, manager of the London Office and one of William Blackwood's most trusted literary advisers, subsequently looked over the manuscript in early and was impressed by the promise shown in it.

The author proposes that the "brocher of atheisme" referred to in "Groatsworth of witte," is not Niccolo Machiavelli as previously supposed, but more likely to be Thomas Watson. Watson was a playwright and mentor to both Robert Greene and Christopher Marlowe. He spent six months in prison for the violent murder of William Bradley. It is assumed that he, like Greene, died of the plague in London, England in 1592.

The article reports on a historical source found in the archives of the Cecil Papers at Hatfield House in Herfordshire, England related to the February 8, 1601 uprising in London, England led by Robert Devereux, the second Earl of Essex, against the monarchy of British Queen Elizabeth I. The document details a conspiracy by supporters of the Earl of Essex to free the Earl from his imprisonment for treason in the Tower of London planned for February 15, 1601. It reports that the plan was reconsidered and abandoned, but not before crown authorities heard of it and arrested three leaders of the conspiracy.

The article considers the diary of theatrical entrepreneur Philip Henslowe from 1592 to 1600 for accounts of staging practices of plays at the Rose Theater in London, England during the Elizabethan period. For example, the theatrical troop The Admiral's Men performed a different play each day in May of 1594 during their six-day weeks, resulting in the performance of 38 plays, 21 of the plays being new productions.

Focuses on the financial dispute between James Burbage, manager of London, England's first playhouse The Theatre, and his brother-in-law John Brayne during the latter part of the 1500s . Lawsuits and counter lawsuits filed by their surviving heirs and relatives; Outcome of the litigation of the cases filed.

The article reports on research regarding the family history associated with merchant Sir Justus Beck (1679-1722), first Baronet, of London, England. It asserts that he was baptized as Joost on November 8, 1679 at Zuider Church in Amsterdam, the Netherlands to parents Jacob George Beck and his wife Margaretha de Smeth. An overview of Becks biographical details notes he served as a director for the bank of England, he married Rachel Chamberlayne in London in 1701, and died after sustaining large financial losses as a suspected suicide in 1722.

A literary criticism of the books "The Dead Tearme" by Thomas Dekker and "Survey of London" by John Stow is presented. According to the author, Dekker used Stow's book as his chief source of historical information about Westminster, England, London, England, and St. Paul's Cathedral in London. It is suggested that Dekker's use of the book shows its impact on popular history. Topics discussed include nostalgia, citizen values, and the use of first-person perspective in literature.

The article discusses historical accounts of English actor John Lowen found in the manuscript "Accompts of the Overseers of the Poor in Paris Garden 1608-1671" held in the collection of the British Library, although effectively the records cover the period from 1617 to 1635. Lowen was a member of the playing company King's Men, the acting company notable for the fact that English playwright William Shakespeare was a shareholder. Lowen was active in the borough of Paris Garden, Southwark, England as an overseer in 1618 and the account discusses the disbursements of charitable moneys which included fees paid for burials, the distribution of coal, and the maintenance of railings for area's the mill pond.

Points out the possible reference to Boar's Head playhouse in Bishopsgate, London, England, in Thomas Platter's accounts of trips he made to playhouses in the city in 1599. Comparison of translations made by E.K. Chambers and Ernest Schanzer on Platter's Swiss-German text; Inaccuracy of Chambers' reference to the Curtain playhouse.

The article provides information on some of the unpublished letters of Joseph Conrad at the HQS Wellington library in London, England. The museum is famous for its possession of a very tangible memento of Conrad's sea-life--the steering-wheel of the "Otago," which was presented to the Honorable Company of Master Mariners in 1949. The collection of those unpublished letters was brought to light by Captain G.W.S. Miskin, the Master of the Company, who has kindly offered invaluable help and advice in transcribing the letters and in tracing the identity of their probable original owners. The story of the Wellington's Joseph Conrad holdings begins with the two-volume edition of G. Jean-Aubry's Joseph Conrad: Life and Letters," belonging to its library.

The article focuses on great changes registered by the Tower of London, London, England as few other buildings have done. All the events are faithfully mirrored in letters which author Edward Sherburne wrote from the Tower to his friend. A son of the elder Edward Sherburne, who was successively agent to Dudley Carleton, secretary to Lord Keeper Bacon and finally Clerk of the Ordnance of the Tower of London, he had inherited his ties with the Court along with his robust political and religious allegiances.

The article discusses bookseller and author John Lackington, focusing particularly on his membership in the Honourable Artillery Company (HAC), a militia unit based in London, England created to aid in the maintenance of civil authority during periods of social unrest. Lackington joined the HAC in 1781, a period in which Great Britain had engaged in war with the United States colonies, as well as both France and Spain. Other topics include the Gordon Riots of 1780, Lackington's possible membership in the London Military Foot Association militia group, and anti-Catholicism in England during the period.

The article presents information about a fifteenth-century manuscript known as Cecil Papers 281. The manuscript contains chronicles and some documentary material, including some texts in Middle English. It includes the text of a treaty made between Henry V and Charles of France on May 21, 1421; a London chronicle from the time of Richard I to Henry VI; a list of 26 wards of London, England, with taxes they paid; charters of the City of London; advice on health; a Latin chronicle from creation to doomsday with Middle English insertion.

This article profiles Thomas Whately, director of the Bank of England. Whately was born about 1685. His parentage has not been ascertained, but it would seem probable that his family had connections with the "big bourgeoisie" of London, England, from whom the membership of the Levant Co. was largely recruited. Thomas Whately's wife was Mary, daughter of Joseph Thompson, a merchant resident in Hackney. According to a Whately family tradition preserved into the mid-nineteenth century, Thompson was a connection of the first Baron Haversham, the holder of a peerage conferred in 1696, inherited by his son in 1710, and which terminated on the death of the second baron without heirs in 1745. Thomas Whately senior became a director of the Bank of England in 1741. He was now well into his fifties, and over the following years there are hints of his gradual withdrawal from business.

This article presents information about the play "Measure for Measure." J.W. Lever has shown several references to contemporary events in London, England in 1604, as arguments for the play "Measure for Measure" being written in that year. As the play was performed at Court on December 26, 1604, ambiguity in its location might be useful, for King James himself and members of his court figured in the events to which allusion was made. A revival of Catholicism occurred in England from about 1570. Young men from Catholic families went overseas to train for the priesthood, often returning as missionary priests.

The article informs that two manuscripts of writer John Cleveland were found in the Library of the University of Nottingham after consulting the catalogue at the National Register of Archives, Quality Court, London. They were deposited in 1972 by Solicitors of the Duke of Portland and had been found in a boxwith other seventeenth-century documents, including a notebook of Lady Brilliana Harley. They are now in the Portland Collection at the University of Nottingham Library as Pw V 177 and Pw V 178.

The article discusses the play "Sir Thomas More," In the play "Sir Thomas More" a ruffian named Jack Faulkner, a fictitious character, is brought before the Chancellor by a London, England. The incident occurs in both the original text of the play and in an expanded version in addition IV. The version in the addition is somewhat longer and much livelier. The source from which the tale was derived is John Foxe's "The Actes and Monuments."

The article critically analyzes a poem written in honor of Jane Welsh Carlyle, a well-known English poet. The most famous poem written in honor of Jane Welsh Carlyle was Leigh Hunt's "Charming Jenny Kissed Me." In sending the poem to Carlyle in a letter C. E. Walter, apparently a physician at Saint Luke's Hospital, London, wrote that the enclosed lines were suggested by their own memorial and written at the time of Carlyle's death. Walter hoped for some acknowledgement plus permission to print his memorial to Jane along with some other trifles.

The article provides information on an unpublished letter by Washington Irving. This letter by Irving (1783-1859) is one of a small number of individual letters in the Miscellaneous section of the Manuscripts collection at Exeter University Library. It was inadvertently omitted from the relevant volume of the new standard University of Wisconsin Press/Twayne edition of "The Complete Works of Washington Irving" (1969- ), and so is published here for the first time. Written during Irving's period as Secretary to the American Legation in London, England, towards the end of his long and increasingly triumphant sojourn in Europe, it was addressed to Richard Cattermole, secretary of the Royal Society of Literature, to thank him for the award of one of the Society's fifty guinea medals.

The article focuses on Penelope; or The Fair Disconsolate, which was staged at the Little Haymarket. It was described in the newspaper bills only as `a Mock Opera.' The London Stage editor added: `Author not known. Apparently not published.' Penelope had some historical interest. It was the first burlesque opera staged in London. The reasons for Penelope's failure, one now knows that someone thought enough of it to mount the piece again--with an entirely different cast--six years later. Unfortunately, it fared no better on its second and final chance.

This article presents a letter by English novelist, Mrs Elizabeth Gaskell addressed to a relative in Holland. It is part of the autograph collection of Sir Henry Parkes. It is now in the Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales. The letter was clearly written during the writer's brief stay in London, England, with Eliza Fox in June 1853. The letter starts with an apology by the writer on not being able to take the invitation. And that Mrs. Frederick Maurice has asked her to fix an evening on which she could go to them.