Ivan hutchinson mini biography princesses

1During the years of the Anglo-Soviet Alliance (1941-45), Britain brimmed with an unprecedented enthusiasm for all things Russian. This short-lived approbation was expressed both formally—through government aid and overwhelmingly positive media coverage—and also more personally, through the gifts offered by Britons to their Soviet allies. This chapter investigates the financial gifts proffered by the British public to the USSR and the Soviet response, in order to tease out the complex political tensions that underlay the wartime gift exchange between allies.

2In broad terms, scholars have interpreted gift exchange according to two paradigms. First, dating from anthropologist Marcel Mauss,1 gift exchange has been examined as a way of establishing and reiterating social solidarity within and among different social groups. In this approach, the significance of the gift lies in its symbolic, rather than utilitarian, value. More recently, sociologists such as Jean Baudrillard2 have analysed giftgiving instead as a form of challenge—the challenge to reciprocate. In this conceptualization, gift-giving reveals an inequality between the actors in the exchange: the donors exercise their material power and demonstrate their social status through their ability to sacrifice something to the benefit of the recipient, who is then indebted to the donors. I will demonstrate here how both aspects of gift-giving—solidarity and challenge—were present in the wartime gift exchange between Britain and the Soviet Union.

3From the very outbreak of war on the Eastern Front, Britain expressed unswerving support for the USSR, with the popular press breaking news of the German invasion with headlines declaring that ‘We pledge all our aid to Russia’, and ‘All aid for the Soviet’.3 The press gleaned these phrases from Prime Minister Winston Churchill himself in his 22 June 1941 radio broa

Written by Jukka M. Heikkilä
Review by Riitta Steiner

This novel, written in Finnish, is set in the period 310-240 BC, when great political powers contended for dominance in the Mediterranean and Near East after the era of Alexander the Great. Agathocles, King of Sicily, marries his daughter, Princess Lanassa, to Pyrrhus, King of Epirus. She becomes a pawn in a political intrigue, charged with bearing sons and putting up with her husband’s other wives.

But Lanassa, fed up with her selfish husband’s lust for power, leaves him. She marries her husband’s enemy, Demetrius, King of Macedonia. In the process, she becomes the first goddess of the Hellenes, worshipped and adored by the common people. She experiences fabulous luxury in a world where even the gods seem to be utterly brutal.

In this work, the Finnish author, Jukka M. Heikkilä, who has a deep knowledge of ancient history, skilfully opens a window into the antique world. Familiar historic names come to life in a new way. He describes life in the age of warriors and kings from a woman’s point of view.

If you didn’t like school history books, here’s a book that will make history accessible and spark your interest in a new way. This story is easy to read and inspiring.

French noblewoman and courtier (1500–1566)

Diane de Poitiers (9 January 1500 – 25 April 1566) was a French noblewoman and courtier who wielded much power and influence as King Henry II's royal mistress and adviser until his death. Her position increased her wealth and family's status. She was a major patron of French Renaissancearchitecture.

Early life

Diane de Poitiers was born on 9 January 1500, in the Château de Saint-Vallier, Drôme, France. Her parents were Jean de Poitiers, Seigneur de Saint Vallier, and Jeanne de Batarnay. She became a keen athlete, and frequently went riding and swimming for exercise.

When still a girl, Diane was briefly in the retinue of Princess Anne de Beaujeu, King Charles VIII's eldest sister who skillfully held the regency of France during his minority. Like her fellow charges, Diane was educated according to the principles of Renaissance humanism, including Greek and Latin, rhetoric, etiquette, finance, law, and architecture.

Grand Seneschal of Normandy

On 29 March 1515, at the age of 15, Diane was married to Louis de Brézé, seigneur d'Anet, Count of Maulévrier, and Grand Seneschal of Normandy, who was 39 years her senior. He was a grandson of King Charles VII by his mistress Agnès Sorel and served as a courtier to King Francis I. They had two daughters, Françoise (1518–1574) and Louise (1521–1577).

Shortly after her marriage, Diane became lady