Hear now a curious dream I dreamed last night
Each word whereof is weighed and sifted truth.
What image does the word ‘Empire’ conjure? – like a scene from a Merchant Ivory film, picnics in the shade of an exotic tree in a far-flung land? Spices and wonderous fruits for our delectation which have journeyed to our shores under sail from to the other side of the globe? Or perhaps something a little more sinister – something based on exploitation and hard-nosed business practices taking advantage of a weaker nation or people? ’Empire’, the fabulous Podcast from the authors Anita Anand and William Dalrymple starts with the tale of The East India Company – an English trading entity founded at the beginning of the 17th century which went on to dominate world trade for over 250 years is an extraordinary tale. Left to its own rapacious ambitions, and with little government oversight, EIC cleared away all competition it encountered and looted the lands it conquered. Empires are as old as mankind itself – they are sometimes purely for business, fuelled by market domination and greed; sometimes political, fuelled by ideologies and fear (but with greed lurking in the shadows) – but what is certain with all empires is they eventually wither and fall – the David’s of the world appear to have greater longevity than the Goliath’s.
The podcast ‘Empire’ from Anita Anand and William Dalrymple can be found HERE
‘My Dream’ by Christina Rossetti
Hear now a curious dream I dreamed last night
Each word whereof is weighed and sifted truth.
I stood beside Euphrates while it swelled
Like overflowing Jordan in its youth:
It waxed and coloured sensibly to sight;
Till out of myriad pregnant waves there welled
Young crocodiles, a gaunt blunt-featured crew,
Fresh-hatched perhaps and daubed with birthday dew.
The rest if I should tell, I fear my friend
My closest friend would deem the facts untrue;
And therefore it were wisely left untold;
Yet if you will, why, hear it to the end.
Each crocodile was girt with massive gold
And polished stones that with their wearers grew:
But one there was who waxed beyond the rest,
Wore kinglier girdle and a kingly crown,
Whilst crowns and orbs and sceptres starred his breast.
All gleamed compact and green with scale on scale,
But special burnishment adorned his mail
And special terror weighed upon his frown;
His punier brethren quaked before his tail,
Broad as a rafter, potent as a flail.
So he grew lord and master of his kin:
But who shall tell the tale of all their woes?
An execrable appetite arose,
He battened on them, crunched, and sucked them in.
He knew no law, he feared no binding law,
But ground them with inexorable jaw:
The luscious fat distilled upon his chin,
Exuded from his nostrils and his eyes,
While still like hungry death he fed his maw;
Till every minor crocodile being dead
And buried too, himself gorged to the full,
He slept with breath oppressed and unstrung claw.
Oh marvel passing strange which next I saw:
In sleep he dwindled to the common size,
And all the empire faded from his coat.
Then from far off a winged vessel came,
Swift as a swallow, subtle as a flame:
I know not what it bore of freight or host,
But white it was as an avenging ghost.
It levelled strong Euphrates in its course;
Supreme yet weightless as an idle mote
It seemed to tame the waters without force
Till not a murmur swelled or billow beat:
Lo, as the purple shadow swept the sands,
The prudent crocodile rose on his feet
And shed appropriate tears and wrung his hands.
What can it mean? you ask. I answer not
For meaning, but myself must echo, What?
And tell it as I saw it on the spot.
We’re very much looking forward to welcoming Bea Seton to Coles in a few weeks for Book Club, and we’re equally excited about our title for October – something suitably spooky just on time for Halloween! Shivers are bound to run down the spine with a fabulous collection of chilling short stories curated by Amara Thornton & Katy Soar – whoooooo!
There’s something about Coles Signed Editions – there’s a little bit of magic in a book signed by the author and the magician’s this week are set to dazzle and entertain. First up is 20% of the original Take That line-up – Gary Barlow needs little introduction, he’s become Pop royalty and his new book will make a smashing gift; music from the opposite end of the spectrum is explored by Dave Simpson in ‘I Wanna Be Me’; in amongst the books are Tom Gauld and Shaun Bythell; Lenny Henry pulls back the sheets on the next episode of his life; former politician Alan Johnson and Vera’s creator, Ann Cleeves bring the thrills; Peanut Jones and Percy the Park Keeper are set to entertain our younger readers, along with Holly Webb, TJ Klune and Anthony McGowan for those a few years on; Hayley Mills has her memoir now in paperback; superstar DJ Paul Oakenfold’s signed memoir has now started shipping; Alex Pheby and RF Kuang are otherworldly; Jeremy Bowen shares years of experience in The Making of the Modern Middle East and for all our friends connected to the ‘We Have Ways’ community – Robert Kershaws ‘Dünkirchen 1940’ will be an interesting addition to the library.
The full newsletter with links to books can be found HERE
