Endnotes 18 April: Daffodils, Edward Gorey, Artful Piñatas, New P&P, Plaid's History & More

Plus a new episode of The Library of Lost Time

[photo: Yoksel Zok/Unsplash]

Hello, friends!

It’s so springy here in Prague! The cherry trees and lilacs in Vyšehrad are like Impressionist paintings IRL…

[The cherry tree in Vyšehrad that will drop pink confetti soon.]

… and the flower beds in Karlovo náměstí (Charles Square) are filled with dancing yellow daffodils and bright red tulips.

As if to make sure I was paying attention to all the blooms, the poem ‘I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud’ by William Wordsworth showed up in my feed twice this week. I can only assume it’s because I’m meant to share it with you:

I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud by William Wordsworth

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

If you’d like to see daffodils in the States, you might try…

• New York City (and its annual bulb program)

• Boston (ditto)

• Baltimore (and the Maryland Daffodil Society’s 100th daffodil show)

• Washington’s Bainbridge Island (and the sweet story of its roadside daffodils)

• Connecticut’s Aquila’s Nest Vineyards (more than 30 thousand daffodils)

• Gibbs Garden near Atlanta (more than 20 million daffodils)

You could also check out the state of Virginia’s claim that it’s the true daffodil capital of America. (I’m sold! The story of daffodils in VA is surprisingly gripping.)

Finally, I’ll leave you with this thought from Julie Minch, a former president of the Maryland Daffodil Society. She says one of the best things about daffodils is their resilience: ‘They want to live. You can plant one upside down and they will turn it around, figure it out, and bloom.’

Endnotes: 18 April

This is a lovely story about awesome readers. Hundreds of people formed a human chain to move 9,100 books to a new location of a beloved Michigan bookstore.

The Edward Gorey House is about to open for the season, and good stuff is happening! There’s a new exhibit — Concealing
the Art: Edward Gorey’s Mysterious Messages — that ‘showcases the repetition of themes and objects throughout Gorey’s self-authored works. They are the Mysterious Messages embedded into his books. They are mysterious because their placement is oblique, random — and repetitive.’ You can also pre-order the new book E is for Edward, a compilation of materials from the last decade of curated exhibits at the museum. If you can’t get to Yarmouth Port, MA, maybe you’re closer to Texas? The Cushing Memorial Library at Texas A&M is hosting Ubiquitous Edward Gorey, an exhibit of 600 items including drawings and other personal Gorey stuff. It runs until September 2025.

The ‘Dear Atlas’ column on Atlas Obscura is a hoot. Exhibit A: Are there any cool hotels or vacation rentals where one might have a paranormal encounter? (Also good: What Parts of Route 66 Are Worth the Drive?)

These photos of the restored Grand Palais are stunning.

Brighten your day with these whimsical, colorful piñatas by artist Roberto Benavidez.

Brontë-related updates: One of Charlotte Brontë’s tiny books of poetry is being published for us grown-ups — and a rare watercolor by Emily Brontë was just purchased at auction and will be displayed at the Brontë Parsonage Museum.

[The North Wind by Emily Brontë (1842). photo: Forum Auctions]

Sorta related: Heathcliff’s gold tooth and Catherine’s widow’s weeds!

In other adaptation news: I was meh about another version of Pride and Prejudice until I learned it stars Olivia Colman (Mrs. Bennett), Emma Corrin (Elizabeth), and Jack Lowden (Mr. Darcy). Now I’m all in.

Pop quiz: How many walled cities around the world can you identify?? I got 5/10.

Make your ‘night at the museum’ dreams come true! You can enter a drawing to spend the night at the UK National Gallery. ‘…you’ll experience your very own private late-night tour of the collection with one of our esteemed National Gallery curators. After all the excitement, you can get tucked into bed adorned by the M&S X National Gallery collection, in a bespoke bedroom surrounded by the world’s greatest artists as you drift off to sleep. To top off this incredible experience, you’ll wake up to breakfast in bed…’

Recently on The Library of Lost Time, I talked about the ‘living memorial’ of the Witches of Scotland tartan. If that made you curious about tartan, treat yourself to this episode of the History Extra podcast about plaid’s checkered history.

This new annotated version of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is so cool.

Whoa. The Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí — you probably know his buildings, the Sagrada Familia Basilica and Casa Batlló — may become a saint.

In today’s episode of The Library of Lost Time, I talked about the new Laurent Binet novel Perspective(s). You can read an excerpt here.

There’s Still More to Learn About Anne Frank. The New Republic reviews a new biography of Anne Frank, her remarkable diary, and the legacy of both.

New Episode of The Library of Lost Time

In each mini-podcast episode, we discuss two books at the top of our TBR, then share a fun book- or travel-related distraction. Get all the episodes and books galore here.

[photo: Carolien van Oijen/Unsplash]

In this episode, we get excited about two new books: Perspective(s): A Novel by Laurent Binet and The Impossible Thing by Belinda Bauer. Then Dave shares the app that’s decoding nature’s secrets in his favorite park.

listen + show notes | transcript

Corny but true: Don’t forget to stop and smell the flowers.