1914 Centennials Theme
Robert Aickman
Robert Fordyce Aickman (1914-1981) was a distinguished British author of stories of the supernatural. He published a number of books including The Late Breakfasters, Cold Hand in Mine, Intrusions, and an acclaimed autobiography entitled The Attempted Rescue. The grandson of the noted Victorian novelist Richard Marsh, Aickman won the World Fantasy Award in 1975.
Tartarus Press New Aickman Edition
Tartarus Press has published a new edition of Robert Aickman's autobiographical The River Runs Uphill – A Story of Success and Failure, with a reinstated chapter and other passages not present in the first edition. An extensive press release and a pdf of the novel's Foreword are available.
BBC Aickman Program
In this 30 minute program, The Unsettled Dust: The Strange Stories of Robert Aickman, screenwriter Jeremy Dyson praises the supernatural stories of British author and conservationist Robert Aickman and argues they should receive greater recognition for their contribution to literature.
Faber Publishing – Four Aickman Collections
Faber Publishing has recently released four of Robert Aickman's story collections, including "Cold Hand in Mine" and "The Wine Dark Sea." They have posted a video of a reading of Aickman by Reece Shearsmith and Jeremy Dyson that was held at the Freud Museum.
Revenant Aickman?
The Independent's Boyd Tonkin lightly reviews both Robert Aickman and several of his 'strange stories.'
London Aickman Exhibition
This June, Printroom Gallery in London had an exhibition of Aickman related prints by seven artists. The exhibition was accompanied by a series of talks, readings, performances, and events. Their press release has the details.
Aickman Art Prints
Spineless Classics takes entire novels and prints them on a single sheet.
We've arranged to have poster-sized, framable art prints of Aickman's "Swords" and "The Inner Room" for sale at $ 10 apiece, including the mailing tube. Put something to read on your own inner walls.
Virgil Finlay
Virgil Warden Finlay (1914-1971) was a science fiction and horror illustrator. He became famous for his beautifully detailed pen-and-ink and scratchboard techniques. He created more than 2600 drawings using everything from pen-and-ink to scratchboard to gouache to oils. He was known especially for his cross-hatching and abundant stippling, which were very labor-intensive and time-consuming. During World War II he saw extensive combat in the South Pacific theatre.
Our masthead image is Finlay's "Golden Atlantis." Most of the other spot illustrations around this web site are small sections of Finlay images, enlarged to show the precise detail and power of his work.
The Collectors Book of Virgil Finlay
We will be hosting the premier of "The Collectors Book of Virgil Finlay" by Robert T. Garcia, a new hardcover from five extensive collections of Finlay art, featuring some of the finest reproductions of his B&W work to date. The launch will be during the Art Show Reception, Saturday, 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. in the Regency Ballroom Foyer.
Lail Finlay Remembers Her Father
Lail Finlay Hernandez wrote a 'Foreword' to "Virgil Finlay's Women of the Ages," and we reprint it here with her permission. It provides a daughter's loving glimpse of a man who was as great a dad as he was an artist.
The Great War
While J R R Tolkien and Robert Graves survived, William Hope Hodgson and Saki were lost in the war. In addition, Ambrose Bierce vanished into the Mexican Revolution that year.
Hugo Award winning author Edward James is gathering material on Science Fiction and Fantasy writers' participation in WWI, and we plan to have a display of his work at the convention.
~ 1914 ~
| Dec 25-Jan 18, 1915 | Battle of Ardahan. |
| Dec 24-Dec 25 | In some sectors of the Western Front, an unofficial Christmas truce is observed between German and British forces. Details |
| Dec 22-Jan 2, 1915 | The Russians win the Battle of Sarikamis, Caucasia. Details |
| Dec 22 | Fighting begins at Noyon. |
| Dec 20-17 March 1915 | First Battle of Champagne. Details |
| Dec 20 | Fighting begins at Perthes. Details |
| Dec 18-Dec 22 | Battle of Givenchy. |
| Dec 16 | The German fleet shells Scarborough and Hartlepool, England. Details |
| Dec 10 | Hill 60 captured by the Germans. Details |
| Dec 8 | Battle of the Falklands. Von Spee's German cruiser squadron is defeated by the Royal Navy. Details |
| Dec 3-Dec 9 | Battle of Qurna. |
| Dec 1-Dec 13 | Battle of Limanowa. |
| Dec-Jan, 1915 | First Battle of Artois. |
| Nov 16-Dec 15 | Battle of Kolubara, Austro-Hungarians leave Serbia. |
| Nov 11-Dec 6 | Battle of Lódz (aka Silesian Offensive). Details |
| Nov 11- | Battle of Basra. Details |
| Nov 11 | Sultan Mehmed V declares Jihad on the Allies. Details |
| Nov 9 | Battle of Cocos, northeast Indian Ocean. The Australian cruiser Sydney destroys the German cruiser Emden. Details |
| Nov 6 | Fao Landing, British and Indians besiege the fortress at Fao. |
| Nov 5 | France and the United Kingdom declare war on the Ottoman Empire. |
| Nov 3- | Von Lettow-Vorbeck's German colonial forces defeat the British at the Battle of Tanga, German East Africa. Details |
| Nov 3 | Montenegro declares war on the Ottoman Empire. Battle of Kilimanjaro. |
| Nov 2- | Bergmann Offensive, first military engagement in the Caucuses of the First World War. |
| Nov 2 | The United Kingdom begins the naval blockade of Germany. Details |
| Nov 1 | Russia declares war on the Ottoman Empire. Battle of Coronel. Von Spee's German cruiser squadron defeats a Royal Navy squadron under Christopher Cradock. Details |
| Oct 19- | The First Battle of Ypres ends the Race to the Sea. The Germans are prevented from reaching Calais and Dunkirk. Details |
| Oct 16- | Battle of the Yser. French and Belgian forces secure the coastline of Belgium. Details |
| Oct 13- | Battle of Armentieres. |
| Oct 12- | First Battle of Messines. Details |
| Oct 10- | Battle of La Bassee. |
| Oct 9- | Central powers control Belgrade. Details |
| Oct 1- | First Battle of Arras. Details |
| Oct 1914- | Battle of Rufiji Delta, German cruiser Königsberg destroyed. |
| Sept 29- | Battle of the Vistula River, aka Battle of Warsaw. Details |
| Sept 28- | The Germans besiege and capture Antwerp, Belgium. Details |
| Sept 25- | First Battle of Albert Details |
| Sept 24 | The Siege of Przemysl begins Details |
| Sept 22- | First Battle of Picardy. |
| Sept 20 | Battle of Zanzibar, German naval victory. |
| Sept 19- | Battle of Flirey |
| Sept 14 | Erich von Falkenhayn replaces Helmuth von Moltke the Younger as German Chief of Staff. Details |
| Sept 13- | The First Battle of the Aisne ends in a substantial draw. The Race to the Sea begins. Details |
| Sept 13 | Troops from South Africa begin invading German South-West Africa. Details |
| Sept 11 | Australian forces occupy German New Guinea. Details |
| Sept 9 | Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg lays out Germany's war aims. Details |
| Sept 7- | First Battle of the Masurian Lakes: The Russian Army of the Neman withdraws from East Prussia with heavy casualties. Details |
| Sept 6- | Battle of Drina. |
| Sept 6- | Battle of the Marshes of Saint-Gond, a phase of the First Battle of the Marne. Battle of Vitry, a phase of the First Battle of the Marne. Battle of Revigny, a phase of the First Battle of the Marne. |
| Sept 5- | First Battle of the Marne. The German advance on Paris is halted, marking the failure of the Schlieffen Plan. Details Battle of the Ourcq, a phase of the First Battle of the Marne. Battle of the Two Morins. |
| Sept 4- | Battle of Grand Couronne, a phase of the Battle of the Frontiers. |
| Sept 2- | Austro-Hungarian defeat at the Battle of Rava Russka, a phase of the Battle of Lemberg. Details |
| Sept 1 | Action at Nery Details |
| Aug 30 | New Zealand occupies German Samoa (later Western Samoa). Details |
| Aug 29- | Battle of Saint Quentin, aka Battle of Guise. Orderly Allied retreat. Details |
| Aug 28 | The Royal Navy wins the First Battle of Heligoland Bight, North Sea. Details |
| Aug 27- | Battle of Tsingtao: British and Japanese forces capture the German-controlled port of Tsingtao in China. Details |
| Aug 27 | Battle of Étreux. Details |
| Aug 26- | Battle of Komarow, part of the Battle of Lemberg. Details |
| Aug 26- | Battle of Gnila Lipa, a phase of the Battle of Lemberg. |
| Aug 26- | Battle of Le Cateau. Allied retreat. Details |
| Aug 26 | British and French forces conquer Togoland, a German protectorate in West Africa. Details Battle of Le Grand Fayt. |
| Aug 25 | Japan declares war on Austria-Hungary. |
| Aug 24- | The Allied Great Retreat to the River Marne. |
| Aug 24- | The Germans besiege and capture the Maubeuge Fortress. Details |
| Aug 24 | Action of Elouges. Battle of the Mortagne, a phase of the Battle of Lorraine. |
| Aug 23- | Battle of Krasnik, a phase of the Battle of Lemberg. The Austro-Hungarian First Army defeats the Russian Fourth Army. Details |
| Aug 23- | Battle of Lemberg. The Russians capture Lviv. Details |
| Aug 23- | Battle of Tannenberg: the Russian army undergoes a heavy defeat by the Germans. Details |
| Aug 23 | Japan declares war on Germany. Details Battle of Mons, a phase of the Battle of the Frontiers. |
| Aug 22 | Austria-Hungary declares war on Belgium. |
| Aug 21- | Battle of the Ardennes, a phase of the Battle of the Frontiers. |
| Aug 21 | Battle of Charleroi, a phase of the Battle of the Frontiers. |
| Aug 20 | The Germans attack the Russians in East Prussia, the Battle of Gumbinnen. The attack is a failure in addition to being a deviation from the Schlieffen Plan. Details The Germans occupy Brussels. Battle of Morhange, a phase of the Battle of Lorraine. Battle of Sarrebourg, a phase of the Battle of Lorraine. |
| Aug 17 | The Russian army enters East Prussia. Battle of Stalluponen. Details |
| Aug 16- | The Serbs defeat the Austro-Hungarians at the Battle of Cer. Details |
| Aug 14- | Battle of Lorraine, a phase of the Battle of the Frontiers. |
| Aug 12 | The United Kingdom declares war on Austria-Hungary. Battle of Haelen, a phase of the Battle of the Frontiers. |
| Aug 11 | France declares war on Austria-Hungary. |
| Aug 9 | Montenegro declares war on Germany. The Togoland Campaign begins. |
| Aug 7- | Battle of Mulhouse, a phase of the Battle of the Frontiers. |
| Aug 7- | Battle of the Frontiers. The Germans obtain a victory against the British Expeditionary Force and France's Fifth Army. |
| Aug 7 | The British Expeditionary Force arrives in France. Details |
| Aug 6 | Austria-Hungary declares war on Russia. Serbia declares war on Germany. |
| Aug 5 | Montenegro declares war on Austria-Hungary. The Ottoman Empire closes the Dardanelles. |
| Aug 4–16 | The Germans besiege and then capture the fortresses of Liège, Belgium. Details |
| Aug 4 | Germany invades Belgium to outflank the French army. Details Britain protests the violation of Belgian neutrality, guaranteed by a treaty; German Chancellor replies that the treaty is just a chiffon de papier (a scrap of paper). The United Kingdom declares war on Germany. Details The United States declares neutrality. |
| Aug 3 | Germany declares war on France. Belgium does not allow German arms through to the French border. |
| Aug 2-26 | Germany sieges and captures fortified Longwy "the iron gate to Paris" near the Luxembourg border, opening France to mass German invasion |
| Aug 2 | Germany invades Luxembourg. Details Skirmish at Joncherey, first military action on the Western Front |
| Aug 1 | Germany declares war on Russia. Italy declares its neutrality. Germany and the Ottoman Empire sign a secret alliance treaty. Details |
| July 31 | Germany warns Russia to stop mobilizing. Russia says mobilization is against Austria-Hungary only. |
| July 28 | Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia. Russia mobilizes. |
| July 23 | Austria-Hungary sends an ultimatum to Serbia. The Serbian response is seen as unsatisfactory. Details |
| July 5 | Austria-Hungary seeks German support for a war against Serbia in case of Russian reaction. Germany gives assurances of support. |
| June 28 | Assassination of Austro-Hungarian Empire Heir Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife heightens existing tensions between Austro-Hungary and Serbian protector Russia. Details |
| Most text from Wikipedia under Creative Commons license. | |
