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A Very English Scandal
''A Very English Scandal'' is a true crime non-fiction novel by John Preston. It was first published on 5 May 2016 by Viking Press and by Other Press in the United States. The novel details the 1970s Thorpe affair in Britain, in which former Liberal Party leader Jeremy Thorpe was tried and acquitted of conspiring to murder his alleged former lover, Norman Scott. Synopsis In 1979, former Member of Parliament Jeremy Thorpe stood trial over accusations that he hired a hitman to kill his alleged ex-lover, Norman Scott. ''A Very English Scandal'' chronicles Thorpe's early, secretive love life, at a time when sexual activity between men was illegal, and his subsequent public exposure. The novel also details Thorpe's trial and eventual acquittal. Reception Nicholas Shakespeare, writing in ''The Telegraph'', gave the novel five stars out of five, noting that Preston "tells this complicated story of cack-handed assassins, buffoonish policemen, dodgy Home Secretaries and sozzled judges ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Preston (English Author)
John Preston (born 1953) is an English journalist and novelist. Career John Preston attended Marlborough College in Wiltshire from 1967 to 1971. He worked as the Arts Editor of ''The Evening Standard'' and ''The Sunday Telegraph''. He was ''The Sunday Telegraph''s television critic for ten years and one of its chief feature writers. Preston wrote four novels between 1996 and 2007. All are set in England in the recent past: ''Ghosting'' in the world of radio and television in the 1950s; ''Ink'' in the dying days of Fleet Street's importance in journalism in the 1980s; ''Kings of the Roundhouse'' in strife-torn London in the 1970s; and '' The Dig'' in the 1930s. Preston wrote ''The Dig'', a novelised account of the Sutton Hoo archaeological dig, after discovering that his aunt had been one of the key participants. ''The Dig'' has been made into a feature film starring Ralph Fiennes, Carey Mulligan, and Lily James, released on Netflix in 2021. ''A Very English Scandal'', Preston ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nicholas Shakespeare
Nicholas William Richmond Shakespeare FRSL (born 3 March 1957) is a British novelist and biographer, described by the ''Wall Street Journal'' as "one of the best English novelists of our time". Biography Born in Worcester, England to diplomat John William Richmond Shakespeare and his wife Lalage Ann, daughter of the travel writer and journalist S. P. B. Mais, Shakespeare grew up in the Far East and in South America, including Brazil, where his father worked at the British Embassy between 1966 and 1969. John Shakespeare was later chargé d'affaires at Buenos Aires, before serving as Ambassador to Peru from 1983 to 1987, and Ambassador to Morocco from 1987 to 1990. Nicholas was educated at the Dragon School preparatory school in Oxford, then at Winchester College and at Magdalene College, Cambridge. He worked as a journalist for BBC television and then on ''The Times'' as assistant arts and literary editor. From 1988 to 1991, he was literary editor of ''The Daily Telegraph'' and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fiction Set In The 1970s
Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditional narrow sense, "fiction" refers to written narratives in prose often referring specifically to novels, novellas, and short stories. More broadly, however, fiction encompasses imaginary narratives expressed in any medium, including not just writings but also live theatrical performances, films, television programs, radio dramas, comics, role-playing games, and video games. Definition Typically, the fictionality of a work is publicly marketed and so the audience expects the work to deviate in some ways from the real world rather than presenting, for instance, only factually accurate portrayals or characters who are actual people. Because fiction is generally understood to not fully adhere to the real world, the themes and conte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hugh Grant
Hugh John Mungo Grant (born 9 September 1960) is an English actor. He established himself early in his career as both a charming, and vulnerable romantic lead and has since transitioned into a dramatic character actor. Among his numerous accolades, he has received a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, Volpi Cup, and an Honorary César. , his films had grossed a total of nearly US$3 billion worldwide. In 2022 ''Time Out'' magazine listed Grant as one of Britain's Greatest Actors of all time. Grant first received attention for his early roles in acclaimed costume dramas such as Merchant-Ivory's ''Maurice'' (1987), for which he won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor, and ''The Remains of the Day'' (1993), as well as ''Sense and Sensibility'' (1995) and ''Restoration'' (1995). Grant then reached global stardom as a leading man in Richard Curtis's romantic comedy film ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' (1994), whereupon he received the Golden Globe Award and the BAFT ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stephen Frears
Stephen Arthur Frears (born 20 June 1941) is an English director and producer of film and television often depicting real life stories as well as projects that explore social class through sharply drawn characters. He's received numerous accolades including three BAFTA Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award as well as nominations for two Academy Awards. In 2008, ''The Daily Telegraph'' named Frears among the 100 most influential people in British culture. In 2009 he received the Commandeur de l' Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Born in Leicester and educated at Gresham's School and Trinity College, Cambridge, Frears started his career working as an assistant director in theatre and film while directing numerous television plays. In 1971, he directed his first feature film, '' Gumshoe''. He received acclaim for his early films such as ''My Beautiful Laundrette'' (1985), ''Prick Up Your Ears'' (1987), and ''Dangerous Liaisons'' (1988). He received Academy Award for Best Director nom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Russell T Davies
Stephen Russell Davies (born 27 April 1963), better known as Russell T Davies, is a Welsh screenwriter and television producer whose works include '' Queer as Folk'', '' The Second Coming'', ''Casanova'', the 2005 revival of the BBC One science fiction franchise ''Doctor Who'', ''Cucumber'', ''A Very English Scandal'', '' Years and Years'' and ''It's a Sin''. Born in Swansea, Davies had aspirations as a comic artist before focusing on being a playwright and screenwriter. After graduating from Oxford University, he joined the BBC's children's department, CBBC, in 1985 on a part-time basis and held various positions, which included creating two series, '' Dark Season'' and ''Century Falls''. He eventually left the BBC for Granada Television, and in 1994 began writing adult television drama. His early scripts generally explored concepts of religion and sexuality among various backdrops: '' Revelations'' was a soap opera about organised religion and featured a lesbian vicar; '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, primetime drama and entertainment, and live BBC Sport events. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution. It was renamed BBC TV in 1960 and used this name until the launch of the second BBC channel, BBC2, in 1964. The main channel then became known as BBC1. The channel adopted the current spelling of BBC One in 1997. The channel's annual budget for 2012–2013 was £1.14 billion. It is funded by the television licence fee together with the BBC's other domestic television stations and shows uninterrupted programming without commercial advertising. The television channel had the highest reach share of any broadcaster in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miniseries
A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format has increased in both streaming services and broadcast television. The term " serial" is used in the United Kingdom and in other Commonwealth nations to describe a show that has an ongoing narrative plotline, while "series" is used for a set of episodes in a similar way that "season" is used in North America. Definitions A miniseries is distinguished from an ongoing television series; the latter does not usually have a predetermined number of episodes and may continue for several years. Before the term was coined in the US in the early 1970s, the ongoing episodic form was always called a " serial", just as a novel appearing in episodes in successive editions of magazines or newspapers is called a serial. In Britain, miniseries are often ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andrew Lycett
Andrew Michael Duncan Lycett (born 1948) FRSL is an English biographer and journalist. Early life Born at Stamford, Lincolnshire to Peter Norman Lycett Lycett and Joan Mary Duncan (née Day), Lycett spent some of his childhood in Tanganyika, where his father established a preparatory school, The Southern Highlands School. Peter Lycett's mother was of the Burns-Lindow family of Ingwell anEhen Hall Cumbria. Lycett was educated at Charterhouse School and studied history at Christ Church, Oxford. Career Lycett worked for a while for ''The Times'' as a correspondent in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. He has written several well-received biographies and he is best known for his biography of Ian Fleming, ''Ian Fleming: The Man Behind James Bond''. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2009 and he is a Fellow in 2014. He lives and writes in London. Bibliography Books * * * ''Ian Fleming'' (W&N, 1995); US title, ''Ian Fleming: The man behind James Bond'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Spectator
''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The Daily Telegraph'' newspaper, via Press Holdings. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture. It is politically conservative. Alongside columns and features on current affairs, the magazine also contains arts pages on books, music, opera, film and TV reviews. Editorship of ''The Spectator'' has often been a step on the ladder to high office in the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom. Past editors include Boris Johnson (1999–2005) and other former cabinet members Ian Gilmour (1954–1959), Iain Macleod (1963–1965), and Nigel Lawson (1966–1970). Since 2009, the magazine's editor has been journalist Fraser Nelson. ''The Spectator Australia'' offers 12 pages on Australian politics and affairs as well as the full UK maga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marilyn Stasio
Marilyn Stasio is a New York City author, writer and literary critic. She has been the "Crime Columnist" for ''The New York Times Book Review'' since about 1988,"Up Front: Marilyn Stasio" '''', January 29, 2009 having written over 650 reviews as of January 2009. She says she reads "a few" crime books a year professionally (about 150) and many more for pleasure. She also writes for '''', '' |
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid digital subscribers. It also is a producer of popular podcasts such as '' The Daily''. Founded in 1851 by Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones, it was initially published by Raymond, Jones & Company. The ''Times'' has won 132 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any newspaper, and has long been regarded as a national " newspaper of record". For print it is ranked 18th in the world by circulation and 3rd in the U.S. The paper is owned by the New York Times Company, which is publicly traded. It has been governed by the Sulzberger family since 1896, through a dual-class share structure after its shares became publicly traded. A. G. Sulzberger, the paper's publisher and the company's chairman, is the fifth generation of the family to head the pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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