NEWS

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On Art is now available and copies, priced at £15.99 + pp, can be purchased via the website bookshop. A collection of 38 articles, some published for the first time. Fully referenced with a list of featured artworks that can be easily viewed online, plus a complete bibliography and index for those wishing to pursue their interest further. The book also has a useful guide to looking at art.

In the press

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Round and Around: Selected Poems 1978 - 2023, is now SOLD OUT! (more copies available in 2025).

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Duty of Candour - The Memoirs of Edward Stanton-Ross, 3rd Earl of Hanwell, Vol 1, is now available and copies, priced at £9.99 + pp, can be obtained via the website bookshop.

In the press

 

"Friday 28 January 1916. Western Front. Vimy, France. Captain Edward Stanton-Ross, 3rd Earl of Hanwell, is about to lead his comrades in arms over the top. The Great War has been raging for eighteen months and he is consumed with misery whilst at the same time venting contempt for the strategic military leadership located behind the lines..."

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Remorse for the Rising Sun - The Memoirs of Edward Stanton-Ross, 3rd Earl of Hanwell, Vol 2, is scheduled for publication in Spring/Summer 2025.​

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A Miscellany - The Memoirs of Edward Stanton-Ross, 3rd Earl of Hanwell, Vol 3, is scheduled for publication in Spring/Summer 2026.​

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A new academic study shall be published in 2027, bringing together art historians with artworks - perfect for the academic art history student or art enthusiast. More news anon. 

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Night Lights: Another round of selected poems is scheduled for publication in 2025. All proceeds will go to charity.

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A Poet At War, a novel. Originally available as a limited edition manuscript in 2018, is to be re-published - date to be announced.

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Art History and Teaching 

 

Qualifications:

MA in Art History (The Open University) 

BSc in Humanities (The Open University) 

TQUK Level 3 Education and Teaching Award (RQF)

 

I teach a range of courses in Art History and Fine Art Studies (Introductory and Foundation level) and Creative Writing with Art. 

 

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An English history research project:

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'Englishness' in the eighteenth century. A mistaken identity or new identity?

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How has art and art history portrayed the identity of Englishness? As we look at the stately homes and erroneaously accept them to be "quintessentially English" in their design, functionality and art collections, are we really seeing an identity of a nation or one that has been recreated and remodelled with influences from Europe and beyond? 

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Following my Art History MA dissertation in 2023, which discussed Thomas Coke (1697 - 1759) and his Grand Tour - how Coke's collection of art and his architectural plans for the rebuilding of Holkham Hall, Norfolk, influenced a change in the perceived identity of Englishness; this initial research is now being extended to assess the contributions made by the owners of Dyrham Park, Kedleston Hall, Stourhead, Stowe, and West Wycombe Park.

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The intended publication of this research is 2028. Details to follow.

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The Altair Press

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The Altair Press publish all of my books. All published titles available by direct order from myself.

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• Round and Around: Selected Poems 1978-2023 (published: 31 March 2023) - all proceeds to charity.

• Duty of Candour: The Memoirs of Edward Stanton Ross, Vol 1 (published: 6 November 2023).

• On Art: Selected Articles (Published: 7 October 2024) - all proceeds to charity.

• Night Lights: Another round of selected poems (due for publication in 2025) - all proceeds to charity.

• Remorse for the Rising Sun: The Memoirs of Edward Stanton Ross, Vol 2 (to be published: Spring / Summer 2025)

• Exploring The Stars (to be published in 2026) - all proceeds to charity.

• A Miscellany: The Memoirs of Edward Stanton Ross, Vol 3 (to be published: Spring / Summer 2026)

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My Writing Journey

 

I started writing "seriously" from the age of 12; and over the last forty years have successfully been published in magazines, journals, newspapers, and newsletters.  

 

My first historical fiction novel was completed in 2018 which is a sequel to a very famous quinessential 20th century English novel. It is hoped this book shall be published in the near future. Another novel, A Poet At War, was completed in the same year and made available as a limited edition manuscript for critique purposes. A Poet At War will be re-published in due course, date to be announced.

 

A slim volume of poetry spanning the years 1978 - 2023, entitled Round and Around was published by The Altair Press on 31 March 2023. All proceeds donated to Peace Hospice Care, Watford. A second volume Night Lights: Another round of selected poems, is due for publication in 2025; again, all proceeds to charity.

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Duty of Candour: The Memoirs of Edward Stanton Ross, 3rd Earl of Hanwell, was published on 6 November 2023 by The Altair Press. This is the first in a trilogy - the second instalment is due for publication in Spring / Summer 2025; and the final instalment in Spring / Summer 2026.

 

I have plans to write a book titled Exploring The Stars, which shall be an amateur astronomer's guide to observing stars and based on a book of the same title by the late Patrick Moore - whilst this is a project enveloped in nostalgia, it shall be written in a way that encourages the amateur to perhaps go-on to reach a higher level of study in astronomy. 

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A book, titled On Art, was published by The Altair Press, on 7 October 2024. This book brings together some of my previously published articles, albeit revised and updated, plus unpublished work as well as a host of interviews and anecdotes.

 

I am married to Louise who is an artist and writer; and we live in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire.

 

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The Bookshelf

 

As writers, we are all influenced by books we read. Do we read books cover-to-cover? In most cases, yes, but in my world most of my books are reference / non-fiction works that are to be dabbled in and out of. Sources, primary and secondary, are extracted and used appropriately. Like music collections, bookshelves can reveal a person's character and mine is no different. Here are a few random highlights that present their bindings on my bookshelf:​

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• Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh

• The Long Weekend: Life in the English Country House between the Wars by Adrian Tinniswood

• The Fall and Rise of the Stately Home by Peter Mandler

• Diaries (9 vols) by James Lees Milne (some edited by Michael Bloch)

• Serious Pleasures: The Life of Stephen Tennant by Philip Hoare

• Henry 'Chips' Channon - The Diaries (3 vols) Edited by Simon Heffer

• Coffee with Hitler by Charles Spicer

• Not Far From Brideshead: Oxford Between the Wars by Daisy Dunn

• King Edward VIII by Philip Ziegler

• Traitor King: The Scandalous Exile of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor by Andrew Lownie

• The King Who Had To Go:  Edward VIII, Mrs Simpson and the Hidden Politics of the Abdication Crisis by Adrian Phillips

• Edward VIII by Frances Donaldson

• Vermeer and the Delft School, edited by Walter Liedtke

• Pieter de Hooch (1629 - 1684) by Peter Sutton

• Paris 1919 by Margaret Macmillan

• Siegfried Sassoon by Max Egremont

• The War Poems by Robert Graves

• The Scientific Works of William Herschel (2 vols), edited by J L E Dreyer.

• The Amateur Astronomer by Patrick Moore (Eighth Edition is the best!)

• Attention All Shipping by Charlie Connelly 

• Vangelis: The Unknown Man - An Unauthorised Biography by Mark T Griffin 

• The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions by Mark Lewisohn

• Bob Dylan: All The Songs - The Story Behind Every Track by Jean Michel Guesdon and Philippe Margotin

• Miles Davis: The Definitive Biography by Ian Carr

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Membership

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I am a member of:

 

• Association for Art History ​

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and, one excellent writing group:

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• Watford Writers 

 

 

and just for fun... my Desert Island Discs:

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In My Life by The Beatles

Rio de Janeiro Blue by Randy Crawford

Reve by Vangelis

The Golden Time of Day (Hammersmith Odeon version, March 1982) by Maze feat. Frankie Beverly

Vienna by Ultravox

Don't Think Twice, It's All Right by Bob Dylan

Blue Moon of Kentucky by Elvis Presley

Ombra Mai Fu (Handel) sung by Andreas Scholl

 

Favourite Book: Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh

Inanimate object: Binoculars 

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Main interests / past times...

 

Dutch art of the seventeenth century (especially the work of Godfried Schalcken). I am also interested in the work of the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists; and American artists Edward Hopper, Mark Rothko, and Jackson Pollock. I have a keen interest in astronomy that reaches back to my very early years; and finally, I love music - in particular the music of Vangelis; though my favourite genre these days is classical.