Illustrated talk on Conan Doyle and his ‘Magnificent Mdivani’ by David Gigauri from his upcoming book The Mdivani Saga.

The talk was part of Worldwide Doyle Talks hosted by the Conan Doyle Collection (Portsmouth) and supported by the Sherlock Holmes Society of London and the Arts Council of England.

What do Sherlock Holmes, Coco Chanel, Rudolph Valentino, and the world’s richest girl have in common? – The Mdivanis.

In August 1936, the son of Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle, Denis married Nina Mdivani. Although unknown now, Nina was one of the five Mdivani siblings who captivated the world in their era. Fleeing a communist takeover in …

Before diving into the scandalous lives of the Mdivani siblings in the upcoming book "The Mdivani Saga", whet your appetite with a little taster of their story through Chicken Tchakhokbili, or "Prince Mdivani Special" as it became known in the U.S.

In 1938, acclaimed celebrity restaurateur George Mardikian opened Omar Khayyam in San Francisco, attracting a star-studded clientele. Though the Mdivani family's zenith of their fame had passed, their name retained its allure. Said to be a favorite of David Mdivani, a California resident, Chef Mardikian renamed the traditional Georgian dish Chicken Chakhokhbili as "Prince Mdivani Special." This recipe even found …

Friday 25th - Sunday 27th October 2024: the famous (and infamous) Wee Crime Festival, Grantown-on-Spey, Inverness-shire

Saturday 9th November 2024, 1030 - 1330: FOKL Authors and Artists, Kennington, Oxfordshire

Thursday 14th November 2024, 1800 - 1900: Author talk with Colin Wade, Abingdon Library, Oxfordshire

Author Andrew Goss explains the story behind his powerful new novel

THE STORY BEHIND Cold Coffee in Asmara was initially suggested by my wife. Claire had worked in Eritrea for four years as a nurse, overseeing health programming in remote areas to the west of the capital Asmara, where the mountains sweep to arid plains all the way to the Sudanese border.

The country lies just above the Horn of Africa, sandwiched between Sudan, Ethiopia and Djibouti. Its location so close to Arabia, just across the Red Sea, makes it a fascinating …

"Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad but it's the only way you can do anything really good."

This quote by the celebrated American writer, William Faulkner - a Nobel laureate and Pulitzer Prize winner - seemed an apt metaphor for me as I stared at a blank laptop screen and the chasm of uncertainty that accompanied it. Sure, I'd read a couple of best-selling "How To Write A Thriller" books, hoping to arm myself with sufficient tools for the task ahead and to distil some of the more nuanced guidelines of the genre. But, at some …