We have noted the popular fascination with Catherine the Great. While the Russian Empress may be among the trendier rulers from this period, historian Catherine Curzon points out that the Georgian era (1914-1837) was rife with “unique, eccentric and flamboyant monarchs.”…
An excerpt from The Tsarina’s Lost Treasure appeared in the Daily Beast! “A ghostly shipwreck, a lost masterpiece painting, a lustful tsarina, the news of the Vrouw Maria’s discovery stirred imaginations in the summer of 1999. It also sparked questions, namely:…
Somerville, Mass – Things are starting to get real! Our book, The Tsarina’s Lost Treasure, now has a website AND a few book reviews. Most recently, Jerry and I gave an interview on The Tsarina’s Lost Treasure for the excellent…
Somerville, Mass – What? Why yes, that is Publisher’s Weekly calling our book a “meticulously researched history” and an “intriguing portrait of an art world mystery.” (It doesn’t really rhyme in the review. That was my unintentional poetic flare.) Read…
Gloucester, Mass – A few months ago, I was out for long walk on one of the first warm days of spring. It was the first day that I actually got hot. I daydreamed about cooling off with a dip…
I couldn’t get my kids to go hiking with me this week, but the agreed to join me biking along the Charles River. This is closer to home than some of our other pandemic field trips, but it definitely counts.…
Saugus, Mass – Continuing our series of pandemic field trips to destinations within a 30-minute drive of our house, we went hiking at Breakheart Reservation, another Massachusetts state park that I did not know existed. At 652 acres, Breakheart is…
Somerville, Mass – Way back in 2013, I wrote about embarking on a new project with Daddio. We had this crazy idea to write a book together–not a guidebook, not an academic book, but a narrative nonfiction book. About a…
Milton, Mass – Less than 10 miles south of Boston, Blue Hills Reservation is a 7000-acre state park with myriad opportunities for hiking, biking, swimming, and even skiing. The state park offers 125 miles of hiking trails (of which, the…
Andover, Mass – We took our first pandemic field trip to Harold Parker State Forest. Unlike some other states, in Massachusetts, we are not stuck at home. At least not yet. State parks and some private reserves are still open…