... her real ambition was to go to the Congo, and that was where she went next ...

Having just reached the 10th weekly “femmes fatales” post, I thought I’d briefly reflect on the project. Several posters have questioned the project of singling out women bloggers. On that I’m utterly unapologetic. Every new article I read about bloggers that mentions only men, (and perhaps adds a patronising note …

Where are all the female bloggers? Here, in my weekly top ten. The raging debate of the week, at least in the US blogging world, seems to be a return to the Seventies – whether women victims are in any way to be blamed for sexual attacks upon them. (Well …

Where are all the female bloggers? HERE, in my weekly top ten. A perfect first suggestion this week with the tale of a real femme fatale. Laura James’s CLEWS, “The Historic True Crime Blog”, reports on the case of Marie Nicolaiewna Tarnowska, of whom it was said in 1910: ““She …

Where are all the female bloggers? HERE, in my (usually) weekly top ten. To start with some reflection on the practice of the keyboard,Miriam Jones, on The Valve, discusses why how Chinese scholars paid for their brushes and ink matters in considering their writing. Are you writing on a battered …

Where are all the female bloggers? HERE, in my weekly top ten. First, an unmissable if only irregularly updated blog, abortion clinic days, explains why one woman might be forced by circumstances into multiple abortions, being unable to find a workable method of birth control. On a related topic, Brutal …

Apologies. Due to a temporary housing crisis, life is a bit chaotic this week. I’ve sold one flat, and the purchase of another was supposed to follow immediately, but the owners have gone AWOL and refusing to respond to phone calls and messages. It is a mystery, but one I …

I've found the perfect travel book, a collection of Ursula Le Guin short stories tied together by a delightful conceit ...

Where are all the female bloggers?” HERE, in my weekly “top ten.” Why “femmes fatales”? Because these are killer posts, selected for great ideas and great writing, general interest, and variety. First and most importantly I have to point to Uncommon Misconceptions must-read testimony about her decision to have a …

Early Australian history is usually told as a male-dominated story, and it is remarkable how often this is a story of male failure – Burke and Wills et al. The women who do appear are usually painted in lurid colours as prostitutes and slatterns, or as the odd lonely, isolated …