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An Instance Of The Fingerpost
''An Instance of the Fingerpost'' is a 1997 historical mystery novel by Iain Pears. Synopsis A murder in 17th-century Oxford is related from the contradictory points of view of four of the characters, all of them unreliable narrators. The setting of the novel is 1663, just after the restoration of the monarchy following the English Civil War, when the authority of King Charles II is not yet settled, and conspiracies abound. Most of the characters are historical figures. Two of the narrators are the mathematician John Wallis and the historian Anthony Wood. Other characters include the philosopher John Locke, the scientists Robert Boyle and Richard Lower, spymaster John Thurloe, inventor Samuel Morland and the Anglican cleric Thomas Ken, who was later Bishop of Bath and Wells. The plot is at first centred on the death of Robert Grove but later takes in the conspiracies of John Mordaunt and William Compton (of Compton Wynyates), and the politics of Henry Bennet and Lord Cla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iain Pears
Iain George Pears (born 8 August 1955) is an English art historian, novelist and journalist. Personal life Pears was born on 8 August 1955 in Coventry, England. He was educated at Warwick School, an all-boys public school in Warwick. He studied at Wadham College, Oxford, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree, and at Wolfson College, Oxford, graduating with a Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) degree. In 1985, Pears married Ruth Harris, a historian and academic. Together they have two sons. He currently lives with his wife and children in Oxford. Career Before writing, he worked as a reporter for the BBC, Channel 4 (UK) and ZDF (Germany) and correspondent for Reuters from 1982 to 1990 in Italy, France, UK and US. In 1987 he became a Getty Fellow in the Arts and Humanities at Yale University. Pears first came to international prominence with his best selling book ''An Instance of the Fingerpost'' (1997), which was translated into several languages. He is known for experimen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thomas Ken
Thomas Ken (July 1637 – 19 March 1711) was an English cleric who was considered the most eminent of the English non-juring bishops, and one of the fathers of modern English hymnody. Early life Ken was born in 1637 at Little Berkhampstead, Hertfordshire. His father was Thomas Ken of Furnival's Inn, of the Ken family of Ken Place, in Somerset; his mother was the daughter of little known English poet John Chalkhill. In 1646 Ken's stepsister, Anne, married Izaak Walton, author of ''The Compleat Angler'', a connection which brought Ken under the influence of this gentle and devout man. In 1652 Ken entered Winchester College, and in 1656 became a student of Hart Hall, Oxford. He gained a fellowship at New College in 1657, and proceeded B.A. in 1661 and M.A. in 1664. He was for some time tutor of his college; but the most characteristic reminiscence of his university life is the mention made by Anthony Wood that in the musical gatherings of the time Thomas Ken of New College ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and drama. From the twentieth century, it has expanded further into various media, including film, television, graphic novels, manga, animations and video games. Fantasy is distinguished from the genres of science fiction and horror fiction, horror by the respective absence of scientific or macabre themes, although these genres overlap. In popular culture, the fantasy genre predominantly features settings that emulate Earth, but with a sense of otherness. In its broadest sense, however, fantasy consists of works by many writers, artists, filmmakers, and musicians from ancient mythology, myths and legends to many recent and popular works. Traits Most fantasy uses magic (paranormal), magic or other supernatural elements as a ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scientific Method
The scientific method is an empirical method for acquiring knowledge that has characterized the development of science since at least the 17th century (with notable practitioners in previous centuries; see the article history of scientific method for additional detail.) It involves careful observation, applying rigorous skepticism about what is observed, given that cognitive assumptions can distort how one interprets the observation. It involves formulating hypotheses, via induction, based on such observations; the testability of hypotheses, experimental and the measurement-based statistical testing of deductions drawn from the hypotheses; and refinement (or elimination) of the hypotheses based on the experimental findings. These are ''principles'' of the scientific method, as distinguished from a definitive series of steps applicable to all scientific enterprises. Although procedures vary from one field of inquiry to another, the underlying process is frequently the sa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medieval Philosophy
Medieval philosophy is the philosophy that existed through the Middle Ages, the period roughly extending from the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century until after the Renaissance in the 13th and 14th centuries. Medieval philosophy, understood as a project of independent philosophical inquiry, began in Baghdad, in the middle of the 8th century, and in France, in the itinerant court of Charlemagne, in the last quarter of the 8th century. It is defined partly by the process of rediscovering the ancient culture developed in Greece and Rome during the Classical period, and partly by the need to address theological problems and to integrate sacred doctrine with secular learning. The history of medieval philosophy is traditionally divided into two main periods: the period in the Latin West following the Early Middle Ages until the 12th century, when the works of Aristotle and Plato were rediscovered, translated, and studied upon, and the "golden age" of the 12th, 13th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sealed Knot
The Sealed Knot was a secret Royalist association which plotted for the Restoration of the Monarchy during the English Interregnum. The group was commissioned by King Charles II between November 1653 and February 1654 from his exile in Paris for the purpose of coordinating underground Royalist activity in England and preparing for a general uprising against the Protectorate. Its original founding members were: * John Belasyse, 1st Baron Belasyse (1614–1689) * Sir William Compton (1625–1663; third son of Spencer Compton, 2nd Earl of Northampton) * Henry Hastings, 1st Baron Loughborough (1610–1666) * Col. John Russell (1620–1687) * Col. Sir Edward Villiers (1620–1689; father of Edward Villiers, 1st Earl of Jersey) * Sir Richard Willis (sometimes spelt 'Willys') (1613/14–1690) Additional members include: * Susan Hyde ( 1607 – 1656) * Elizabeth Maitland, Lady Tollemache (unclear) *William Maynard, 2nd Baron Maynard The Sealed Knot made ten attempts between 1652 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Willis (spy)
Sir Richard Willis, 1st Baronet (sometimes spelt 'Willys') (13 January 1614 – December 1690) was a Royalist officer during the English Civil War, and a double agent working for the Parliamentarians during the Interregnum. Early life Willis was the younger brother of Thomas Willys, both being sons of Richard Willys, a lawyer and Lord of the Manors of Fen Ditton and Horningsey, Cambridgeshire, by Jane, daughter and heir of William Henmarsh, of Balls, in Ware, Hertfordshire. Both were created baronets of Fen Ditton in Cambridgeshire by Charles I. Career Willis went up to Christ's College, Cambridge in 1631, and was admitted to Gray's Inn in the same year. As a younger son, he stood to inherit little, so became a career soldier, enlisting in the Dutch military and serving at the Siege of Breda in 1637, returning to serve under King Charles I in the Bishops' Wars from 1639 to 1640. Prior to the outbreak of civil war, Willis was a member of the King's Guard based at Whitehall under ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Medical Journal
''The BMJ'' is a weekly peer-reviewed medical trade journal, published by the trade union the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world's oldest general medical journals. Originally called the ''British Medical Journal'', the title was officially shortened to ''BMJ'' in 1988, and then changed to ''The BMJ'' in 2014. The journal is published by BMJ Publishing Group Ltd, a subsidiary of the British Medical Association (BMA). The editor-in-chief of ''The BMJ'' is Kamran Abbasi, who was appointed in January 2022. History The journal began publishing on 3 October 1840 as the ''Provincial Medical and Surgical Journal'' and quickly attracted the attention of physicians around the world through its publication of high-impact original research articles and unique case reports. The ''BMJ''s first editors were P. Hennis Green, lecturer on the diseases of children at the Hunterian School of Medicine, who also was its f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anne Greene
Anne Greene (1659) was an English domestic servant who was accused of committing infanticide in 1650. She survived her attempted execution and was revived by physicians from the University of Oxford. Trial and punishment Greene was born around 1628 in Steeple Barton, Oxfordshire. In her early adulthood, she worked as a scullery maid in the house of Sir Thomas Read, a justice of the peace who lived in nearby Duns Tew. She later claimed that in 1650 when she was a 22-year-old servant, she was seduced by Sir Thomas's grandson, Geoffrey Read, who was 16 or 17 years old. She became pregnant, though she later claimed that she was not aware of her pregnancy until she miscarried in the privy after seventeen weeks. She tried to conceal the remains of the fetus but was discovered and suspected of infanticide. Sir Thomas prosecuted Greene under the "Concealment of Birth of Bastards" Act 1624, under which there was a legal presumption that a woman who concealed the death of her illegit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edward Hyde, 1st Earl Of Clarendon
Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon (18 February 16099 December 1674), was an English statesman, lawyer, diplomat and historian who served as chief advisor to Charles I during the First English Civil War, and Lord Chancellor to Charles II from 1660 to 1667. Hyde largely avoided involvement in the political disputes of the 1630s until elected to the Long Parliament in November 1640. Like many moderates, he felt attempts by Charles to rule without Parliament had gone too far but by 1642 felt its leaders were, in turn, seeking too much power. A devout believer in an Episcopalian Church of England, his opposition to Puritan attempts to reform it drove much of his policy over the next two decades. He joined Charles in York shortly before the First English Civil War began in August 1642, and initially served as his senior political advisor. However, as the war turned against the Royalists, his rejection of attempts to build alliances with Scots Covenanters or Irish Catholics led to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henry Bennet, 1st Earl Of Arlington
Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington, KG, PC (1618 – 28 July 1685) was an English statesman. Background and early life He was the son of Sir John Bennet of Dawley, Middlesex, by Dorothy, daughter of Sir John Crofts of Little Saxham, Suffolk. He was the younger brother of John Bennet, 1st Baron Ossulston; his sister was Elizabeth Bennet who married Sir Robert Carr (or Kerr). He was baptized at Little Saxham, Suffolk, in 1618, and was educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford. He gained some distinction as a scholar and a poet, and was originally destined for holy orders. In 1643, he was secretary to Lord Digby at Oxford, and was employed as a messenger between the queen and Ormonde in Ireland. Subsequently, he took up arms for the king, and received a wound on the bridge of his nose in the skirmish at Andover in 1644. The scar resulting from this wound must have been prominent because Arlington took to covering it with black plaster. After the defeat of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Compton Wynyates
Compton Wynyates is a Tudor country house in Warwickshire, England, a Grade I listed building. The Tudor period house is constructed of red brick and built around a central courtyard. It is castellated and turreted in parts. Following action in the Civil War, half timbered gables were added to replace damaged parts of the building. Today, set in its topiary gardens and green lawns, its appearance of idealized English country life contrasts sharply with the story of the family that has lived there for over five hundred years, a story inextricably linked to the history of the house as both have prospered, declined and prospered simultaneously. The Compton family, who still live today in this private house, appear in records as resident on the site as early as 1204. The family continued to live in the manor house as knights and squires of the county until Sir Edmund Compton (who died c. 1493) decided, c. 1481, to build a new family home. Edmund Compton's house Edmund Compto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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