Professor Calculus

I am now of an age where people tend to find it difficult to buy me birthday presents because they assume that I already have everything that I need ... but today I received one from my old friend Tony Hawkins that not only surprised me but also gave me tremendous pleasure! Tony knows that I am a long-term devote of Hergé’s Tintin books (I blame Hergé for my ongoing interest in the interwar era and little known conflicts between small nations) and he sent me a copy of Michael Farr’s book about Professor Calculus.

I knew that Hergé based the character Cuthbert Calculus on the famous Swiss scientist Auguste Piccard … but until I read this book I had not realised how similar they were in so many ways. I understand that Michael Farr has written books about all the major characters who appear in the Tintin books … and I hope to add some of them to my collection in the very near future. Many thanks Tony; your present helped to make my birthday a special one!