Martyn Lyons – författare

This book examines the fascinating survival of Andorra, one of Europe''s micro-states nestled between France and Spain. Despite its medieval institutional framework, Andorra endured into the late 20th century without an army, police, currency, or customs barriers. The book uncovers how Andorra skilfully exploited its strategic position between two powerful neighbours, using its unique dual sovereignty to navigate the pressures of the modern nation-state era and secure its survival.

Exploring a range of historical events, the book delves into the misconceptions found in European travel writing about Andorra, the eccentric 1934 episode when Boris Skossyreff crowned himself King, and the country’s pivotal role as an escape route during World War II. It also highlights Andorra''s transformation into a prosperous modern society, built on tourism and commerce. The narrative provides a detailed account of how Andorra evolved from a medieval holdover to a thriving micro-state in the contemporary world.

A valuable resource for students of modern French and Spanish history, this book will also appeal to specialists in border studies and anyone interested in the endurance of Europe’s micro-states.

This book examines the fascinating survival of Andorra, one of Europe''s micro-states nestled between France and Spain. Despite its medieval institutional framework, Andorra endured into the late 20th century without an army, police, currency, or customs barriers. The book uncovers how Andorra skilfully exploited its strategic position between two powerful neighbours, using its unique dual sovereignty to navigate the pressures of the modern nation-state era and secure its survival.

Exploring a range of historical events, the book delves into the misconceptions found in European travel writing about Andorra, the eccentric 1934 episode when Boris Skossyreff crowned himself King, and the country’s pivotal role as an escape route during World War II. It also highlights Andorra''s transformation into a prosperous modern society, built on tourism and commerce. The narrative provides a detailed account of how Andorra evolved from a medieval holdover to a thriving micro-state in the contemporary world.

A valuable resource for students of modern French and Spanish history, this book will also appeal to specialists in border studies and anyone interested in the endurance of Europe’s micro-states.

This book captures the intensity of the relationship between writers and their typewriters from the 1880s, when the machine was first commercialized, to the 1980s, when word-processing superseded it. Drawing on examples from the United States, Britain, Europe, and Australia, The Typewriter Century focuses on "celebrity writers," including Henry James, Jack Kerouac, Agatha Christie, Georges Simenon, and Erle Stanley Gardner, who wrote prolifically and mechanically, developing routines in which typing, handwriting, and dictation were each allotted important functions.

The typewriter de-personalized the text; the office typewriter bureaucratized it. At the same time, some authors found a new and disturbing distance between themselves and their compositions while others believed the typewriter facilitated spontaneous and automatic typing. The Typewriter Century provides a cultural history of the typewriter, outlining the ways in which it can be considered an agent of change as well as demonstrating how it influenced all writers, canonical and otherwise.

This book captures the intensity of the relationship between writers and their typewriters from the 1880s, when the machine was first commercialized, to the 1980s, when word-processing superseded it. Drawing on examples from the United States, Britain, Europe, and Australia, The Typewriter Century focuses on "celebrity writers," including Henry James, Jack Kerouac, Agatha Christie, Georges Simenon, and Erle Stanley Gardner, who wrote prolifically and mechanically, developing routines in which typing, handwriting, and dictation were each allotted important functions.

The typewriter de-personalized the text; the office typewriter bureaucratized it. At the same time, some authors found a new and disturbing distance between themselves and their compositions while others believed the typewriter facilitated spontaneous and automatic typing. The Typewriter Century provides a cultural history of the typewriter, outlining the ways in which it can be considered an agent of change as well as demonstrating how it influenced all writers, canonical and otherwise.

What did Australians read? This book answers this question in terms of books rather than newspapers and considers the long nineteenth century, interpreted as running from 1788 to 1901. In the wake of this primary question, several others arise: how did Australians acquire the books they read, and how did readers in the outback overcome the handicaps of distance and remoteness? Did they read for pleasure, instruction, self-edification, or spiritual sustenance? More importantly, how did Australian readers respond to the books they read? The evidence is drawn from autobiographical sources, in which individual readers related their personal reading experiences and responses.At the same time, the book pursues a second and related question: What did Australians write? Reference is made here not to the kind of writing we know as ‘literature’, but to the non-literary writing which cultural historians call ‘ordinary writings’. These are the writings of everyday life, represented in this book by diaries, journals, hand-written newspapers and correspondence. The focus is wide enough to include the everyday cultural practices of people of low social status and little education. The writing practices of the partially literate, including writing delegated to a third party, have their place here.In this double investigation, the book draws on evidence from a cohort of 101 nineteenth-century readers and writers. They are a heterogeneous group of autobiographers, coming from Melbourne and Sydney to rural Queensland and Western Australia. They come from the city and the bush, from coastal towns and the interior, from sheep stations, gold diggings and city offices. They show us the perennial importance of Shakespeare and the Bible, the popularity of the English canon, the prestige of poetry and the importance of religious reading. Books held the Empire together but, as they travelled, their meanings changed according to the local cultural environment. This book registers such nuances in the Australian context. The writing of this group is represented by some prolific diarists and correspondents. In the late-nineteenth century, the eastern colonies became world leaders in sending letters. The postal environment which made this possible is also examined.