___________

Vol. III

No. 12

issue no 31: November /December 2006

Revised for transfer from www.irishdiaspora.net to www.oscholars.com February 2009

To the Table of Contents | To hub page  | To THE OSCHOLARS home page

The society page

Reports on specialist societies divided into Hero Societies and Subject Societies.

A new Society is added each month, and next month we will add Robert Louis Stevenson.

News of Wilde Societies is in our main pages under the heading

‘Never Speaking Disrespectfully’.

News of Shaw Societies is in our Shavings Section, reached by clicking the cornet

Click on  to see the entry; then on the Society's colophon or banner to reach its website.

Table of Contents
Hero Societies		Subject Societies
1. The Louis Couperus Society		1.  The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings
2. The Ford Madox Ford Society		2.  The Arts & Crafts Society of New York
3. The A.E. Housman Society		3.  The Bedford Park Society
4.  The Ibsen Society of America		4.  The Decorative Arts Society
5.  The Irving Society		5. The Eighteen-Nineties Society
6. The Arthur Machen Society		6.  The Furniture History Society
7. The George MacDonald Society		7. The Association of Historians of Nineteenth Century Art
8. The Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society		8. The Pre-Raphaelite Society
9. The Octave Mirbeau Society		9. The Association for Theatre in Higher Education
10.  The William Morris Society		10. The Society for Theatre Research
11.  The William Morris Society of Canada		11. The Victorian Society
12.  The William Morris Society of the U.S.A		12.  The Victorian Society in America
13. The Association of Literary Societies
Go to top of column 2

We would very much like to receive news of similar Societies from anywhere in the world.

We will gladly publish the names of relevant articles from the Table of Contents of any of these Societies' journals if sent us as e-mail attachments.

I. HERO SOCIETIES

1. The Louis Couperus society

(Louis Couperus Genootschap)

Couperus, who firmly believed in reincarnation, was convinced he had been an ancient Roman in a previous life. His best work in this respect, The Mountain of Light, on the rise and fall of the deified emperor Heliogabalus, became very popular in Germany. On the whole one can say that his psychological novels had more success in England and the USA, whereas his historical works were more appreciated by the German speaking public. Only a few of his books have been translated into French; a new English translation by Paul Vincent of Inevitable has recently been published by Pushkin Press. 320pp. ISBN 1 90128 559 6. £8.99.

The Louis Couperus Genootschap is the biggest literary society in The Netherlands.

Arabesken Number 27

27th issue of The Society’s journal, Arabesken was published in May 2006. The Table of Contents was published in the Society’s entry in our October issue, and we will publish that for no 28 when it appears.

Louis Couperus

[Eva Thienpont]

2. The Ford Madox Ford Society

This international society was founded in 1997 to promote knowledge of and interest in Ford Madox Ford's works and life. Ford, who disliked Wilde, is the link between Wilde and Violet Hunt.

The Society aims to organise at least two events each year, and to publish one or two Newsletters. The latest is Newsletter no. 12 (26 June 2006) and is published on-line. The Society’s latest conference, on 'Ford Madox Ford: Literary Networks and Cultural Transitions' was held at theBirmingham and Midlands Institute, Birmingham, 14th-15th September, 2006; the previous one, ‘Ford Madox Ford, Englishness, and Modernism’, was held on the 17th and 18th December 2004, in the Friends Meeting House, Mount St, Manchester.

For further information, either contact Sara Haslam (Treasurer) at English Department, Chester College, Parkgate Road, Chester CH1 4BJ or e-mail the Chairman, Max Saunders at max.saunders@kcl.ac.uk. The Secretary is Ashley Chantler. Honorary Members include Julian Barnes, Bernard Bergonzi, A. S. Byatt, Hans Magnus Enzensberger, Samuel Hynes, Alan Judd, Sir Frank Kermode, John Lamb, Sylvère Monod, Sergio Perosa, Ruth Rendell, Michael Schmidt, The Hon. Oliver Soskice, John Sutherland, Gore Vidal.

The Society’s very informative website can be reached by clicking on their banner below. A further hyperlink will bring up the Society’s Newsletter, currently no.12.

o We also refer readers to the Ford pages at the University of Birmingham:

http://www.english.bham.ac.uk/fordmadoxford2006/literarycontacts.htm

http://www.rialto.com/fordmadoxford_society/

3. The Housman Society

This was founded in 1973 and exists to promote knowledge and appreciation of the lives and works of A.E. Housman and other members of his family.  The Society also promotes the causes of literature and poetry in general.  It produces an annual Journal (index on line – click their logotype below), organises discussions, visits and poetry readings.   Commemorations are held in Bromsgrove on 26th March (A.E. Housman's birthday) and in Ludlow on the last Saturday in April.  It sponsors an annual lecture under the title 'The Name and Nature of Poetry' at the Hay Festival of Literature in May/June each year. This was given in 2006 by Professor Lisa Jardine, Professor of English and Dean of the Faculty of Arts at Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London.

The programme for 2007 is now published:

Wednesday 7th March 2007 7.30 p.m.

80 New Road, Bromsgrove

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING followed by Elizabeth Oakley talking about her current research into Clemence Housman.

Wine and Refreshments.

Monday 26th March 12.30 p.m.

The Statue, High Street, Bromsgrove

A.E.H. BIRTHDAY COMMEMORATION

Followed by a Buffet Lunch (by kind invitation of the Chairman of Bromsgrove District Council).

Monday 30th April 2007 12.00 noon

Ludlow – by the plaque on the North Wall of St Laurence’s

A.E.H. COMMEMORATION

There will be a ceremony by the tablet on the north wall of St Laurence’s and this will be will be followed by lunch at a venue to be confirmed. The ceremony this year will be taking place on the actual day that A.E.H. died.

Tuesday 29th May 2007

Hay-on-Wye

THE HOUSMAN LECTURE at The Hay Festival of Literature

The Name and Nature of Poetry

Dr Archie Burnett is Co-Director of the Editorial Institute at Boston University and his edition of A.E. Housman’s Letters will be published in March 2007.

Friday 26th to Sunday 28th October 2007

Housman Hall, Bromsgrove

SOCIETY WEEKEND

The opportunity to hold this weekend in Housman Hall, the Housman family home, will make it special. The programme is yet to be finalised but there will be tours of Housman Places in the area and a stimulating programme of talks, readings and discussion. It will include a concert (in conjunction with Bromsgrove Concerts) of Housman settings. Accommodation will be in The Ladybird Lodge, which is a recently built high quality hotel within a few hundred yards of the railway station.

Further details from info@housman-society.co.uk

4. The Ibsen Society of America

To live is - to war with trolls

In the holds of the heart and mind. 

The Ibsen Society of America (ISA) was founded in 1978 at the close of the Ibsen Sesquicentennial Symposium held in New York City to mark the 150th anniversary of Henrik Ibsen's birth. The late Ibsen translator and critic Rolf Fjelde, Professor of Literature at Pratt Institute and the chief organizer of the Symposium, was elected Founding President. In December, 1979, the ISA was certified as a non-profit corporation under the laws of the State of New York.

The purpose of the Ibsen Society of America, as set out in its Bylaws, is to foster through lectures, readings, performances, conferences, and publications an understanding of Ibsen's works as they are interpreted in texts and produced on stage and in film and other media. The Society is The Ibsen Society of America by virtue of its location and the citizenship of most of its members, but it is concerned with Ibsen activities throughout the world. Membership in The Ibsen Society of America is open to anyone with an interest in Ibsen.

The ISA publishes an annual journal, Ibsen News and Comment, distributed free to all members, which reports on Ibsen activities within the ISA and throughout the world. It reviews productions of Ibsen's plays and recent books and articles on Ibsen. Every issue features the only existing critical annotated bibliography of current articles on Ibsen.

The journal is edited by

Joan Templeton, The Ibsen Society of America, Department of English, Long Island University–Brooklyn Campus, One University Plaza, Brooklyn, New York 11201.  E-mail:  joan.templeton@liu.edu or joantmp@aol.com (but e-mail communication is difficult).

The ToC of this can be seen if you click the masthead:

The Society’s meetings for 2006 took place at the annual conference of the affiliate organization, SASS (Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study) at the University of Mississippi, 5th-7th May.  Held under the auspices of the International Ibsen Committee, the International Ibsen Conferences take place every three or four years, with every other conference taking place in Norway. The 10th International Ibsen Conference was the second international Ibsen conference to take place in the United States, at Long Island University, New York in 2003. The earlier venue was Yale University, in 1989.

The Ibsen Society site announces the 11th International Ibsen Conference, held in Oslo on 21st-27th August 2006, as part of the Ibsen Centennial Year in Norway, but gives no details. Information on this conference can be found on www.ibsen.net, which is in Norwegian, German and English.

Click on the image to visit the Ibsen Society’s website, last updated 3rd March 2006

5. The Irving Society

The Irving Society was founded in 1996 to explore the life and times of Sir Henry Irving, the first actor to be knighted and the figure who, more than any other, raised the theatre to the status of a fine art.  The complexity of his character, his mesmeric personality, his personal integrity and messianic intensity still fascinate us nearly a century after his death.  The late Sir John Gielgud was a Founder Patron, and Sir Henry's great-grandson, John H.B. Irving, is a current Patron. Frances Hughes has succeeded Michael Kilgarriff in the chair.

The Society organises functions, trips, lectures, and meetings of various kinds five times a year, besides publishing a quarterly newsletter, The Irvingite, and a half-yearly journal, First Knight. The Irvingite No 37 October 2006 can be downloaded as a .pdf file from their website.

The annual subscriptions  (including publications) are Single - £20.00; Couples - £34.00; Overseas - £24.00 and can be sent (STERLING ONLY) to the Honorary Treasurer, Sylvia Starshine, THE IRVING SOCIETY, Flat 7, 23 Stanhope Road, London N6 5AW, England.

The next event is Sunday 11th February

           Irving Statue, Charing Cross Road      
           Laying of the Birthday Wreath                    14.30

           Concert Artistes' Association, 20 Bedford Street, London W1  
           Eleventh Annual General Meeting               15.00

           Richard Briers CBE and Nicholas Smith     15.45
IN CONVERSATION
                  Moderator: Frances Hughes

            Cutting of the Birthday Cake                     16.30
               Meeting Closes                                         17.30

Admission to IN CONVERSATION Non-Members £3

For more details see the Society’s website (click on the logo).

6. The Arthur Machen Society

‘…Machen’s dismissal from the London Evening News in 1921 was not solely due to the libelling of Lord Alfred Douglas in the premature obituary: the malaise, said Machen, had set in some time before. Machen told John Gawsworth why he believed he was not invited to contribute to The Yellow Book, the famous Nineties periodical: he had expressed enthusiasm for the Sherlock Holmes stories to the editor Henry Harland and felt this counted against him…’

‘The Friends Of Arthur Machen is a fellowship which exists to foster interest in Machen and his work, to aid research, and for the pleasure of its members. The Friends of Arthur Machen grew out of the remains of the British Arthur Machen Society, which was originally formed in the 1980s. The current membership of the Friends is very diverse, reflecting the very diverse currents which have drawn it together. Interest in mysticism, in the occult, in both paganism and Christianity, in the decadence of the 1890s, in the landscapes of Gwent, not to mention love of good reading and good living, are all very variously represented: in fact all that really unites the membership is admiration for a writer who has qualities not found elsewhere.’

The Society publishes Faunus, the literary journal of the Friends, which has appeared twice yearly since the inauguration of The Friends and is now on issue 8. Contents are both articles of interest to admirers of Machen and examples of his work, often articles and pieces not easily available in any other form. Machenalia, the Friends' newsletter, is more informal, less literary in tone and style. It deals with items of topical interest, about Machen, and about the Friends. It too appears twice yearly.

Subscription: £20 or $36 (US). Send to:-

Jeremy Cantwell, Treasurer, 78, Greenwich South Street, Greenwich, London SE10 8UN. e-mail: jrc@amarantus.ndo.co.uk

The website can be reached by clicking the banner:

7. The George MacDonald Society

From their website:

George MacDonald (1824-1905) was one of the most original of nineteenth century thinkers. His writing and lecturing brought him wide recognition in his own day, and into the company of many of the leading Victorians of the time.

MacDonald's writing has an outstanding imaginative power, largely influenced by the German and English Romantics. It is in the realms of fantasy and children's literature, along with his visionary theology, that has made his greatest contribution.

The importance of George MacDonald's work is being rediscovered and the Society works to further this interest. Formed in 1981, it publishes an annual journal, North Wind which carries articles related to his life and work, reviews of new books, and other publications relevant to MacDonald Studies. A quarterly newsletter, Orts is also produced to provide news of events, meetings, lectures, or visits and any other information of interest to members.

A research collection of works on and by MacDonald has been established at King's College, London, where he taught at one time, and is available to anyone wishing to use it.

Membership of the Society is open to all who are interested.

That there are affinities here with Oscar Wilde is apparent; if they have ever been explored, we have yet to learn of it. The home page (last updated as long ago as 4th September 2005) can be reached by clicking on the colophon.

v We note that MacDonald’s The Back of the North Wind was serialised in two parts on the wireless station BBC7, beginning Friday 6th October and Monday 9th October 2006.

8. The Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society

The Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society is an independent, non-profit making charity, established in 1973 to promote and encourage awareness of the Scottish architect and designer, Charles Rennie Mackintosh. The Society has over 1600 members across the world with active groups in Glasgow, Bath, London and the SE, North of England and Japan, and an associate group in Port Vendres. The Director is Stuart Robertson.

In 1999, the Society became owner and long-term custodian of the Mackintosh Church at Queen's Cross. Membership of the Society provides a unique opportunity to support the only church built to Charles Rennie Mackintosh's design.

A Mackintosh Festival was held in Glasgow in September 2006 and a Conference in Novem.

The CRM Society, Queen's Cross Church, 870 Garscube Road, Glasgow G20 7EL. Tel:-(44) 0141-946-6600. Fax:-(44) 0141-945-2321. info@crmsociety.com.

The website (click below) has been redesigned. Its News & Events section can be accessed directly at http://www.crmsociety.com/newsandevents.aspx, and one can now subscribe to an e-newsletter.

9. Société Octave Mirbeau

Founded in Angers on 28th November 1993 and chaired by Dr Pierre Michel, Mirbeau’s editor and biographer, the aim of the Octave Mirbeau Society is to contribute by all the means at its disposal to the knowledge of the life, struggles and work of this great Norman writer (1848-1917). Its principal publication is the annual Cahiers Octave Mirbeau, of which twelve numbers appeared between May 1994 and March 2005, with a total of more than 4,300 pages. Mirbeau both defended Wilde, and satirised him in the Journal d’une femme de chambre.

Website with all membership details and much information about Mirbeau http://membres.lycos.fr/octavemirbeau/

For an early call for papers for an international Conference on Mirbeau, see ‘Being Talked About’.

Cahier 13, 2006 has just been published, and with Dr Michel’s kind permission, we publish the Table of Contents of its 352 pages.

PREMIÈRE PARTIE : ÉTUDES

• Céline Grenaud : « Les Doubles de l’abbé Jules, ou comment un hystérique peut en cacher un autre ».

• Sandor KALAI : « Les Possibilités d’une bibliothèque idéale (L’écriture, le livre et la lecture dans L’Abbé Jules) »

• Robert ZIEGLER : « Vers la mort et la perfection dans Sébastien Roch ».

• Bérangère de GRANDPRÉ : « La Figure de saint Sébastien de Mirbeau à Trakl ».

• Lucie ROUSSEL : « Subir ses peurs, vivre ses rêves : cauchemars et folie chez Mirbeau ».

• Samuel LAIR : « Claudel et Mirbeau orientés ».

• Nelly SANCHEZ : « Victoire la Rouge, source méconnue du Journal d'une femme de chambre ».

• Cécile BARRAUD : «Les 21 jours d’un neurasthénique, À rebours et le “cercle d’infamie contemporaine” ».

• Claude HERZFELD : « Dingo et Bauschan ».

• Pierre MICHEL : « Mirbeau, Ionesco et le théâtre de l’absurde ».

• Irena SKURDENIENE-BUCKLEY : « La Réception de Mirbeau dans la littérature lituanienne au tournant du XX^e siècle ».

DEUXIÈME PARTIE : DOCUMENTS

• José ENCINAS : « À propos de Poison perdu – Un Forain mystificateur ? ».

• Adrien RITCHIE : « Mirbeau et Maupassant – Deux chroniques sur “le crime du Pecq” (1882) ».

• Pierre MICHEL : « L’Enfantement du Calvaire ».

• Pierre DUFIEF : « Correspondance Goncourt – Mirbeau ».

• Lettres d’Edmond de Goncourt à Mirbeau.

• Pierre MICHEL : « Mirbeau, Fénéon et l’anarchiste allemand ».

• Olga AMARIE : « “Mon amitié n’est pas d’occasion, elle est de toujours” (Remy de Gourmont à Octave Mirbeau) ».

• Pierre MICHEL : « Octave, Sarah et Les Mauvais bergers ».

• Émile VAN BALBERGHE : « Le Journal d’une femme de chambre, André Baillon et la revue bruxelloise Le Thyrse ».

• André Baillon : « Le dernier livre d’Octave Mirbeau ».

• Mikaël LUGAN : « Octave Mirbeau et Saint-Pol-Roux ».

• Gilles PICQ : « Un gendelettre oublié : Jean Joseph-Renaud à la rescousse d’Octave Mirbeau ».

• Pierre MICHEL : « Le Foyer à Angers et en chansons – Ernestine Chassebœuf et Octave Mirbeau ».

TROISIÈME PARTIE : BIBLIOGRAPHIE

1. Œuvres d’Octave Mirbeau :

• Dialogues tristes, par Pierre Michel et Samuel Lair.

2. Études sur Octave Mirbeau :

• Isabelle Saulquin, L’Anarchisme littéraire d’Octave Mirbeau.

• Antonia Rutigliani, Deux Phèdre du XIX^e siècle : Renée de Zola et Jane de Mirbeau par Pierre Michel.

• Pierre Michel, Jean-Paul Sartre et Octave Mirbeau, par Jelena Novakovic.

• Pierre Michel, Albert Camus et Octave Mirbeau, par Anita Starón.

• Pierre Michel, Bibliographie d’Octave Mirbeau, par Samuel Lair.

• Max Coiffait, Le Perche vu par Mirbeau et réciproquement, par Arnaud Vareille.

3. Notes de lecture :

• Philippe Dufour, La Pensée romanesque du langage, par Arnaud Vareille.

• Paule Adamy, Les Goncourt, à-côtés – Edmond & Jules de Goncourt pastichés, par Pierre Michel.

• Anna Gural-Migdal et Robert Singer, Zola and Film, Essays on the Art of Adaptation, par Yannick Lemarié.

• Joris-Karl Huysmans, En ménage, par Pierre Michel.

• Pedro Paulo Catharina, Quadros literarios Fin-de-Siècle – Um estudo de Às revessas” de Joris-Karl Huysmans, par Pierre Michel.

• Robert Ziegler, The Mirror of Divinity – The World and Creation in J.-K. Huysmans par Pierre Michel.

• Thibaut d’Anthonay, Jean Lorrain, par Samuel Lair.

• Le Supplice oriental dans la littérature et les arts, par Pierre Michel.

• Le Terroir de Marguerite Audoux, par Serge Duret.

• Jean Ajalbert, Mémoires en vrac - Au temps du symbolisme (1880-1890), par Jean-Pierre Bussereau.

• Jean-Yves Mollier, Le Camelot et la rue. Politique et démocratie au tournant des XIX^e et XX^e siècles, par Geoffrey Ratouis.

• Gérard Unger, Aristide Briand, par Alain Gendrault.

• Roberto Calasso, K., par Claude Herzfeld.

• Jacques Migozzi, Boulevards du populaire, par Arnaud Vareille.

• Particularités physiques et marginalité dans la littérature, par Jean-François Wagniart.

• Cahiers du CERF XX, par Samuel Lair.

• Gilles Heuré, L’Insoumis Léon Werth (1878-1955), par Bernard Garreau.

• Georges Hyvernaud, Voie de garage, par Claude Herzfeld.

• Revue des Lettres et de Traduction, par Pierre Michel.

4. Bibliographie mirbellienne, par Pierre Michel

Nouvelles diverses :

Le site Internet de la Société Octave Mirbeau - Mirbeau au théâtre – Colloque Octave Mirbeau de Cerisy – Le colloque de Strasbourg « autour de La 628-E8 – De nouveaux mystères – Mirbeau en Russie – Précisions – Mirbeau au cinéma – Les Cahiers naturalistes – Excavatio – Cahiers Goncourt – Exposition Marcel Schwob – Eugène Carrière et Jules Renard – Bulletin de la Société Huysmans – Claudel – Bonnard illustrateur – Cahiers Paul Léautaud – Nizan et Hyvernaud –Études célinennes – Les Cris de l’Hélikon – Nos amis publient.

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Bulletin à retourner à la Société Octave Mirbeau - 10 bis rue André Gautier, 49000 - ANGERS

Je soussigné(e) : ___________________________________________ Courriel :__________________________

Adresse :___________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________� souhaite adhérer à la Société Octave Mirbeau pour l’année 2006, ce qui me donne droit à la livraison annuelle des Cahiers Octave Mirbeau : 31 € par an (étudiants et chômeurs : 15,50 €). Correspondants étrangers : 38 €.

� souhaite recevoir le tome I de la Correspondance générale de Mirbeau : 35 € (+ 4) :

� souhaite recevoir le tome II de la Correspondance générale de Mirbeau : 40 € (+ 4) :

Signature : Ci-joint un chèque de :

10. the William Morris Society

Founded in London in 1955, the Society aims to make the life and work of Morris and his associates better known. Its programmes–which involve affiliated groups in Canada and the United States–include lectures, conferences, tours, museum visits, and social gatherings. A Newsletter is published quarterly (two issues with U.S. supplements) and there is a biannual Journal: both free to members. The Society publishes an array of books and pamphlets dealing with Morris. One of the Morris Society's next big projects will be the Morris Online Edition. It is hoped to reproduce and create scholarly editions of nearly all of Morris's writings and make them available to the public for free. Watch http://www.morrisedition.org/ for new developments. This is still in the planning phases.

The website has the following pages:

New in the William Morris Society: Conferences, exhibitions, lectures, and social gatherings in the UK, US, and Canada related to William Morris and his circle.
Current US Newsletter: get involved with your Society!
About the William Morris Society: Society bylaws, history, and membership directory.
The Journal of William Morris Studies: The scholarly organ of the Society since 1961.
The Life and Work of William Morris: Examples of and links to Morris's writings, poetry, and designs.
The Worldwide Morris: Morris in English, Español, Català, Português, Россия, Magyar, Dutch, Dansk, Polska, Česky, Svenska, Deutsch, & Français.
Society Archive: Worldwide announcements (1996 - present) and US newsletters (1988 - present).
 Links to Related Sites: Arts & Crafts · Printing & book arts · Products & services · Victorian links

The Journal of William Morris Studies (formerly the Journal of the William Morris Society) is edited by Dr. Rosie Miles, Editor JWMS, Kelmscott House, 26 Upper Mall, Hammersmith, London, W6 9TA, England. Inquiries welcome: the e-mail address can be activated by clicking on the image below.  The Journal (ISSN: 0084-0254) invites contributions on all subjects relating to William Morris's life and works and his varied circles of influence.

Between 1st January 1996 and 1st January 2006, the Society’s web site had 2,450,396 visitors. On the web site are announced items of interest to scholars, researchers, and everyone interested in William Morris, his circle, and the Pre-Raphaelite movement, such as:

* News of Morris Society events in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and worldwide.

* Events and exhibitions related to the life and works of Morris and his associates.

* Calls for papers and essays for conferences and book collections.

* Biographical information and examples of Morris's works in many media.

* Books by and about William Morris.

* Products and services dealing with William Morris and his circle.

* Links to related web resources.

The Autumn programme is as follows (last updated 22nd July 2006) :

9 December 2006: Poetry Reading: Members of the Society, including Dorothy Coles and Edwin Walters, will give some readings in this annual event.

11. the William Morris Society of Canada

87 Government Road, Toronto, Ontario, M8X 1W4. Tel. 416-233-7686. E-mail: info@wmsc.ca

The Society’s most recent event was ‘Shaw's Debt to Morris’, a Lecture by Ivan Wise on 23rd August 2006 at the Textile Museum of Canada, Toronto, Ontario. Ivan Wise is publisher of ‘The Shavian’, the Journal of the Shaw Society. His current speaking engagements on Shaw, and other literary figures include The International Comedy Conference, Oscar Wilde Society AGM, and the Shaw Festival, Niagara-on-the-Lake , Ontario.

Future events are announced on their website (20th November 2006) and these and other information about the Society can be found by clicking the banner.

12. the William Morris Society of the United States

This Society is not currently maintaining its own website.  The website of the (English) William Morris Society carries a link to the U.S. Society's Newsletter, which carries current (July 2006) information. The Editor extends an invitation for anyone with Morris-related news, in the broadest possible interpretation, to contact her for inclusion in the next issue.  "Morris-related" includes the Pre-Raphaelites, Arts and Crafts, History of the Book, Medievalism, Eco-Socialism, etc.

Also welcome are books for review, news of conferences, book sales, calls for papers, and news of tours.

Shannon L. Rogers, Newsletter Editor

William Morris Society in the United States.

shannonr@ptd.net

William Morris Society Sessions, Modern Language Association Convention Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 27th - 30th December 2006.

Pre-Raphaelitism and the World of Victorian Art: Moderator, Mark Samuels Lasner, University of Delaware

o ‘Eve, Pandora, and the Woman Question in Pre-Raphaelite Art,’ Jude Nixon, Oakland University

o ‘‘Strong Traivelling’: Elizabeth Siddal, Women’s Vision and Female Labor,’ Jill R. Ehnenn, Appalachian State University

o ‘Pre-Raphaelitism, Virginia Woolf and Her Family,’ Evelyn Haller, Doane College

o ‘‘No Life is Complete Without Vice, and Technique’: Late Victorian Reception of Pictorial Form,’ Andrew Marvick, Braithwaite Fine Arts Gallery and Southern Utah University

o Morris and Gender

o Moderator, Florence S. Boos, University of Iowa

o ‘Revisiting the Garden: Fruit and Sexual Expression in the Work of William Morris,’ David Faldet, Luther College

o ‘Pygmalion Swoons: The Æsthetics of Subjection on Pater, Morris, and Wilde,’ Mia L. McIver, University of California-Irvine

o ‘Beyond Gender: The ‘Hand of Healing’ and Figures of Consolation in Morris’s Love Is Enough and Wordsworth’s ‘The White Doe of Rylstone’’

o ‘Morris’s Polyvalent Women: Sexual Violence and the Dramatic Monologue,’ Florence S. Boos

William Morris and the Hammersmith Socialist League

13. The Alliance of Literary Societies

 The Alliance of Literary Societies was formed in 1973 as a result of a correspondence in The Times related to a threatened building with Dickens associations. Mrs. Kathleen Adams, Secretary of the George Eliot Fellowship, suggested that through a close cooperative literary society, societies could provide a more powerful voice in defence of our literary heritage.

The Alliance now has a membership of more than 100 societies and is thus able to provide support and advice on a variety of subjects as well as promoting co-operation between member societies in the preparation of their programmes. Their website (last updated 5th July 2006) lists these.  The Alliance is very much British rooted, and perhaps other nations to not have quite the same zest for banding together to discuss a favourite author.

To contact the Alliance of Literary Societies, please write or phone: The Secretary (Rosemary Culley) 22 Belmont Grove, Havant, Hants. PO9 3PU. Tel: 023 92 475855, fax: 0870056 0330 or rosemary@sndc.demon.co.uk

II. SUBJECT SOCIETIES

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14. The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings.

Founded by William Morris  in 1877 to counteract the highly destructive 'restoration' of mediæval buildings being practised by many Victorian architects. Today it is the largest, oldest and most technically expert national pressure group fighting to save old buildings from decay, demolition and damage.

The Society's events calendar can be found at http://www.spab.org.uk/noticeboard_events.html

37 Spital Square, London E1 6DY. tel 020 7377 1644  fax 020 7247 5296. info@spab.org.uk

15. the Arts & Crafts Society of New YorK

The Society's website maintains a number of fora dedicated to different aspects of Arts and Crafts, and its current (Autumn 2006) newsletter can be downloaded as a .pdf

16. The Bedford Park Society

The Bedford Park Society (a registered charity) was founded in 1963 to protect the amenities of Bedford Park and has been successful in saving the work of Norman Shaw, Godwin, Wilson, May and others.

The Society seeks to protect the amenities of the garden suburb and is therefore primarily interested in matters concerning the buildings, their setting, their maintenance and appropriate development sympathetic to their architectural and historic importance. The Society is not a residents’ association but is nevertheless keenly interested in community matters affecting the amenities of the suburb. The suburb has many buildings designed by Arts and Crafts Architects, including Voysey, Godwin and Norman Shaw.

· No events are apparently planned. The website was last updated on 30th April 2004.

The Bedford Park Society, 31 Priory Avenue, Bedford Park, London W4 1TZ, England.

17. The Decorative Arts Society

Founded in 1975, The Decorative Arts Society encourages the study and appreciation of the applied arts, architecture and interior design on an international basis throughout Europe and America from 1850 to the present.

In its activities and publications the Society embraces all the different media – furniture, ceramics, glass, metalwork, textiles, jewellery and fashion as well as industrial design, stage and film design and the graphic arts.

Membership is international and is open to all who are interested in any aspect of this vast field. No specialist knowledge is required. Existing members comprise collectors, dealers, libraries, museum curators, teachers, students, artists and designers, as well as those from other walks of life, all of whom wish to share their enthusiasm with others. The DAS has an international reputation for its scholarship on the decorative arts which is disseminated world-wide through the annual journal, sent free of charge to all members. This illustrated publication contains authoritative articles based on original research usually collected around a particular theme or topic. With at least 100 pages and over 100 illustrations, many in colour, the Journal is of permanent scholarly value to both institutions and collectors. There is a full cumulative index of past Journals, most of which are still available. The current issue, number 29, is devoted to the life and work of Christopher Dresser.

Back numbers are available through Richard Dennis Publications, The Old Chapel, Shepton Beauchamp, Ilminster, Somerset TA19 OLE, Enland. Tel +44 (0) 1460 240044. books@richarddennispublications.com.

For membership details contact The Membership Secretary, Decorative Arts Society, PO BOX 136, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 1TG, England. The Society now maintains a website at http://www.decorativeartssociety.org.uk/.

18. The Eighteen Nineties Society

Has this last candle of the Nineteenth Century been extinguished? Perhaps a reader can tell us. The old web address of www.1890s.org now brings up a page with the message ‘This page is parked free, courtesy of GoDaddy.com’. The Victorian Society (q.v.) has a link to the Eighteen-Nineties Society, www.1890s.com, but this brings up a page of advertisements for Victoriana. Similarly www.1890s.co.uk is the page of ‘a web development consultancy who specialise in the use of quality generic domain names. We also offer hosting for private clients that use our various business services’, which sounds less than fin-de-siècle. We are baffled.

v We wrote this in October; and in December baffled we remain.

For a bibliography of the Society’s publications, click here.

19. The Furniture History Society

1 Mercedes Cottages, St John's Road, Haywards Heath, West Sussex, RH16 4EH, England. furniturehistorysociety@hotmail.com

The small, and rather reticent, webpage that was at http://www.iserv.net/~plucas/fhsoc.htm no longer exists. A much grander site can now be found (click the banner below). Among the information given on its various pages we cite the following:

Furniture History, the journal of the Furniture History Society, is an extensively illustrated scholarly journal issued annually to members only. It is the only journal devoted to the history of furniture from all parts of the world and is internationally recognized as authoritative. Subjects range from the work of individual makers and designers to aspects of interior decoration, domestic economy and trade practice. Contributions have been made by the foremost scholars in the field, including Edward Joy on the overseas trade, Robert C. Smith on Portuguese furniture, Helena Hayward on the designs of John Linnell, Georg Himmelheber on nineteenth century German furniture, Geoffrey de Bellaigue on the patronage of George IV, Svend Eriksen on neo-classical furniture, Morrison H. Hecksher on Philadelphia Chippendale, and Pierre Verlet on Parisian upholsterers.

From time to time, single issues devoted to individual subjects or notable articles published in special editions for sale to the public. Click Special Publications for a list of available back issues.

The Furniture History Society’s illustrated Newsletter, published four times a year, comprises about 24 pages of notices of the Society’s activities, news items and short articles on current matters of interest, such as recent discoveries, research topics or museum acquisitions. The Newsletter also reports on past visits, lectures and study tours at home and abroad and includes numerous book reviews.

20. The Association of Historians of Nineteenth-Century Art

Founded in 1993, the Association of Historians of Nineteenth-Century Art currently has more than three hundred members. AHNCA's goal is to foster dialogue and communication among those who have a special interest in the field of nineteenth-century art and culture. Nineteenth-century art is broadly defined as all art that was produced between the American Revolution and the Paris International Exposition of 1900, regardless of geographic boundaries.

Current members in good standing receive two newsletters annually and a directory of association members. All memberships run from January to December of the calendar year in which you join or renew.

Website http://www.arthistory-archaeology.umd.edu/ahnca/. Last updated 12th July 2006

21. The Pre-Raphaelite Society

‘The Pre-Raphaelite Society is dedicated to the celebration of the mood and style of art which Ruskin recognised and preserved by his writings, and to the observation of its wide-ranging influence. In co-operation with societies of similar aims world-wide, it seeks to commemorate Pre-Raphaelite ideals by means of meetings, conferences, discussions, publications and correspondence, and to draw attention to significant scholastic work in this field. First and foremost, however, it is a society in which individuals can come together to enjoy the images and explore the personalities of the Pre-Raphaelites and their followers through the medium of fine art, the appreciation of good design and the excellence of the traditional arts.’ (Written for the Society by the late Anthony Hobson – author of J W Waterhouse.)

Membership enquiries: Michael Wollaston 18 Floyd Grove Balsall Common Coventry CV7 7RP England

General enquiries: Barry Johnson 37 Larchmere Drive Hall Green Birmingham B28 8JB England

John Pickard Essay Prize Announcement for 2007

The Society is now inviting entries in the form of a monograph of not more than 2000 words for The John Pickard Essay Prize for 2007. The monograph may be on any individual related to the Pre-Raphaelite Circle.

The winner will receive a £100 prize and publication in the Spring 2007 Review and subsequently the essays of runners-up may also be published. The final decision will be made by the Committee of the Pre-Raphaelite Society.

Entries are to be received by the Editor by 31st December 2006, and may be emailed to Serena Trowbridge or posted to:

Serena Trowbridge, 28 Windermere Road, Moseley, Birmingham B13 9JP, England.

Programme:

Skip to the contentThe Society organises a varied programme of lectures and visits to exhibitions and places of interest each year. Please note that lecture events marked with an asterisk * are Birmingham based. The next event is:

February 2007

The MacDonald Sisters *

Lecture to be given by Ina Taylor. Ina is a contemporary writer — her bestselling publications include ‘The Edwardian Lady: the Story of Edith Holden’, plus ‘Victorian Sisters’. The lecture will consider the remarkable lives of the four MacDonald sisters, who were all connected through marriage with distinguished men of the nineteenth century.

The Review of the PRS

First issued in the Spring of 1993, The Review has appeared three times a year (except in 1998, 2000 and 2003), when special issues on Burne-Jones, Ruskin and Millais each represented two numbers.

Many of the issues are available for sale. Please contact us for an order form.

Tables of Contents of The Review of the PRS are published on the website, from Vol.1, No.1, Spring 1993 to the current issue, with reproductions of the covers.  The series has reached Vol. XIV, No. 2, Summer 2006. [This should not be confused with The Pre-Raphaelite Journal.]

22. The Association for Theatre in Higher Education

The Association for Theatre in Higher Education is an American organization of individuals and institutions that provides vision and leadership for the profession and promotes excellence in theatre education. ATHE actively supports scholarship through teaching, research and practice and serves as a collective voice for its mission through its publications, conferences, advocacy, projects, and through collaborative efforts with other organizations.

ATHE's 1,800 members include post-secondary faculty in theatre and related fields, graduate students, and theatre and performance artists in universities, commercial venues, and community-based and alternative theatres. Organizational members include theatre departments at colleges and universities, training conservatories, and many theatres.

Members receive a variety of benefits including subscriptions to publications, reduced rates at the national conference, a listing in the ATHE directory, a members-only e-mail list, and a chance to participate in specific interest groups.

23. The Society for Theatre Research

Six or more evening meetings are held monthly in London during the winter for members, their guests, and the general public, at which lectures (given by invited speakers) are followed by discussion and refreshments. A special Annual address is given, usually in May, following the Society's Annual General Meeting. This year the Annual Address was ‘Deceptive Masks and Honest Faces?: The Representation of the Actress in mid-19th Century Drama’ by Jan McDonald, MA, FRSE, FRSAMD, Emerita Professor of Drama in the department of Theatre, Film and Television Studies of the University of Glasgow. The lecture considered 19th century drama as a source for the theatre historian, focussing particularly on Masks and Faces by Charles Reade and Tom Taylor, both experienced men of the theatre as well as authors.

The Society promotes further ad hoc activities for members and their guests. These have included Saturday "Study-days", open to the public, when a topic is explored in depth by a series of speakers; day-trips to places of theatrical interest; and commemorative celebrations. The 2006/2007 programme has not yet (22nd September) been published, but the Society’s website can be checked by clicking on their colophon.

The Society also

* Distributes Theatre Notebook, an illustrated journal devoted to the history and technique of the British theatre, worldwide to members.

* Holds an annual Festival in memory of William Poel in which students from leading drama schools perform.

* Acts as an advisory body on theatrical matters and puts on occasional Study Days on particular aspects of theatre.

* Awards research grants to encourage work on theatrical subjects, especially those connected with live theatre.

· Awards an annual Theatre Book Prize for original research into any aspect of the history and technique of the British theatre.

This site was last updated on 29th November 2006.

24. The Victorian Society

The Victorian Society is the national society responsible for the study and protection of Victorian and Edwardian architecture and other arts. It was founded in 1958 to fight the then widespread ignorance of nineteenth and early twentieth century architecture. Among its thirty founder members were John Betjeman and Nikolaus Pevsner.

The January programme is published.

Tuesday 16th January 6.30 p.m.

0701.1 Lecture: Landowners and Plutocrats: the builders of the English country house 1880-1914

First in our lecture series on Edwardian Country Houses. Country houses or houses in the country? Richard Wilson, Professor of Economic and Social History at the University of East Anglia, argues that we cannot ignore the social, economic and political changes in the relationship between the old landed aristocracy and gentry on the one hand, and the new haute bourgeoisie of industrial and commercial wealth on the other, if we are properly to understand the architecture and gardens of Edwardian country houses. At the Art Workers Guild, 6 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AR. Doors open at 6pm and wine is available before the lecture. £7 if booked in advance; £10 on the door. Discounts available if you buy a number of tickets. See flyer.

Saturday 20th January 2 p.m. to about 4 p.m.

0702 Two churches in Belgravia & Pimlico

An afternoon visit to St Mary’s, Bourne Street and St Barnabas, St Barnabas Street. St Mary’s (1873-4 by RJ Withers with additions by HS Goodhart-Rendel) has magnificent fittings. St Barnabas (1847-50, Thomas Cundy II) was saluted by the Ecclesiologist as ‘the most sumptuous church which has been dedicated to the use of the Anglican communion since the revival’, again with magnificent furnishings, much work by G.F. Bodley. The walk will be led by Michael Hall who is working on a biography of Bodley. Meet at St Mary’s, 30 Bourne Street, London, SW1W 8JJ. £5 in advance or £7 on the day.

Wednesday 24th January 6.30 p.m.

0701.2 Lecture: What do Arts and Crafts houses mean?

Second in our lecture series on Edwardian Country Houses. There has been increasing interest recently in symbolism and meaning as an aspect of the Arts and Crafts movement. Taking the patrons of houses as his subject as much as the architects, Alan Powers explores shifts in late Victorian religious belief and world view that supplement the more familiar cultural explanations for the rise and fall of this important style. At the Art Workers Guild, 6 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AR. Doors open at 6 p.m. and wine is available before the lecture. £7 if booked in advance; £10 on the door. Discounts available if you buy a number of tickets. See flyer.

Monday 29th January 6.30 p.m.

0701.3 Lecture: Great Houses of Commuters: the country house in South East England

Third in our lecture series on Edwardian Country Houses. Edwardian bankers, solicitors and millionaires all sought to live lives of ‘comfortably domesticated rusticality’ in ‘ornamented cottages’ in the South East. Dr Richard Morrice, Historic Buildings Inspector in the Kent and Sussex team at English Heritage, compares these houses to the 18th-century and early 19th-century villa tradition, but shows how their architecture was more rooted locally in both the cultural and physical landscape. At the Art Workers Guild, 6 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AR. Doors open at 6pm and wine is available before the lecture. £7 if booked in advance; £10 on the door. Discounts available if you buy a number of tickets. See flyer.

All attendance should be preceded by contact with The Victorian Society, 1 Priory Gardens, Bedford Park, London W4 1TT, England. (If you write and would like a reply, please include a stamped, addressed envelope.) Telephone 020 8994 1019 Facsimile 020 87475899.

For further details of the Society’s programme, click the banner.

25. The Victorian Society in America

The VSA National Office, 205 South Camac Street, Philadelphia, PA  19107

Phone: 215-545-8340; Fax: 215-545-8379. Business Manager, John Cooper. info@victoriansociety.org

With a newly designed banner and website, the VSA seems to be well placed to increase interest in the period with a programme of events that can be found on its site. Click the banner.

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