Spring has sprung at Gladstone’s Library and Easter is not far behind it!

29 March 2019

Spring has sprung at Gladstone’s Library and Easter is not far behind it!

While researching for this blog, I found myself on all manner of websites, from the Telegraph to Clarion Review, and the websites of both Cadbury and Godiva. 

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What libraries mean by Oliver Emanuel

25 March 2019

What libraries mean by Oliver Emanuel

The first time I lied about my age was not to buy alcohol, to jump on a ride at Chessington World of Adventure, or to join the army. 

It was to get a library card. 

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Play time by Oliver Emanuel

18 March 2019

Play time by Oliver Emanuel

My two year old daughter has been with me at Gladstone’s for the past few days. Like any parent of a toddler will tell you, her desire for play is tireless. Tell me a story. Let’s go outside. Shall we dance? I’m a monster. Rrrr. There is seemingly no end to her enthusiasm and joy for making things up and mucking around.

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Susanna Forrest on walking

12 March 2019

Susanna Forrest on walking

After a certain age your body lets you know that sitting for hours at a desk requires a degree of physical fitness. Via carpal tunnel, twanging hamstrings or a classic ‘bad back’, you discover that you are not, in fact, capable of eight hours on what the Germans call your ‘sitzfleisch’ or ‘seat meat’. 

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W.E. Gladstone and nineteenth-century international law

6 March 2019

W.E. Gladstone and nineteenth-century international law

This month’s display in our History Room focuses around William Gladstone and nineteenth-century international law. This is a large topic and this blog aims to add some extra details that unfortunately wouldn’t fit into the cabinet! 

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Sophie Mackintosh on finding a routine

6 March 2019

Sophie Mackintosh on finding a routine

One of the most beneficial parts about coming to Gladstone’s is the opportunity to be far away from your usual daily routine. It’s amazing how much energy and brain-space is freed up when you take away so many parts of every day life – cooking, cleaning, commuting, and even having a television.

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‘A pretty little woman, a flirt and a rattle’: Impressions of Mary Anne Disraeli

6 March 2019

‘A pretty little woman, a flirt and a rattle’: Impressions of Mary Anne Disraeli

The title quote is one by Benjamin Disraeli from a letter to his sister, describing a Mrs Wyndham Lewis that he met at a party in 1832.

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Sophie Mackintosh on making time to read

25 February 2019

Sophie Mackintosh on making time to read

Having never been a Writer in Residence before, I was extremely excited about the idea of getting an enormous amount of work done before having to head back to inconvenient ‘real life’. Write one book? The library is open from 9am to 10pm every day, after all – the problem will be writing too many books, if anything!

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Tales of the supernatural: the library’s hidden creature features!

4 February 2019

Tales of the supernatural: the library’s hidden creature features!

At Gladstone’s Library we rotate our History Room display every month to focus on an aspect of Gladstone the man, or our extensive library catalogue. This February I decided to give some of our lesser-known collections a little TLC by presenting a display on ‘Tales of the Supernatural: The Library’s Hidden Creature Features!’ Additionally, to give you all some extra background on this exciting topic, I’m writing this blog for our website.

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Collection Spotlight: Beginning with A…

22 January 2019

Collection Spotlight: Beginning with A…

In this regular series, library staff ‘spotlight’ a single item, or a set of items, from the thousands of print and archive items held in the collections here at Gladstone’s Library. Read on and discover more about the items on our shelves…

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