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At Bertram's Hotel
''At Bertram's Hotel'' is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 15 November 1965Chris Peers, Ralph Spurrier and Jamie Sturgeon. ''Collins Crime Club – A checklist of First Editions''. Dragonby Press (second edition) March 1999 (p. 15) and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company the following year. The UK edition retailed at sixteen shillings (16/-) and the US edition at $4.50. It features the detective Miss Marple. Miss Marple takes a two-week holiday in London, at Bertram's Hotel, where she stayed in her youth. The hotel has a personality of its own, and a niche clientele of important church people, older women who lived through the Edwardian age, and girls looking for a safe place to stay in London. Miss Marple enjoys her trips around London, and learns that she cannot go back: life moves forward. She witnesses the complex lives of an estranged mother and daughter, and as always works with the police to solve cr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery ''The Mousetrap'', which has been performed in the West End since 1952. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime". She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. ''Guinness World Records'' lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies. Christie was born into a wealthy upper middle class family in Torquay, Devon, and was largely home-schooled. She was initially an unsuccessful writer with six co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maître D'hôtel
The ''maître d'hôtel'' (; ), head waiter, host, waiter captain, or ''maître d ( , ) manages the public part, or "front of the house", of a formal restaurant. The responsibilities of a ''maître d'hôtel'' generally include supervising the waiting staff, welcoming guests and assigning tables to them, taking reservations, and ensuring that guests are satisfied. In large organizations, such as certain hotels, or cruise ships with multiple restaurants, the ''maître d'hôtel'' is often responsible for the overall dining experience, including room service and buffet services, while head waiters or supervisors are responsible for the specific restaurant or dining room they work in. Food writer Leah Zeldes writes that the role of ''maître d’hôtel'' originated as a kind of combined "host, headwaiter and dining-room manager" and, in the past, persons with this role were sometimes responsible for such operations as tableside boning of fish and mixing of salads. Traditionally, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brigid Brophy
Brigid Antonia Brophy, Lady Levey (12 June 19297 August 1995) was a British writer and campaigner for social reforms, including the rights of authors, and animal rights. The first of her seven novels was ''Hackenfeller's Ape'' (1953), a story concerning the ethics of sending a captive ape, Percy, into space. Brophy's ''The Snow Ball'' (1964), is considered her masterpiece: set at a costume ball on New Year's Eve, it is a glittering piece which weaves together sex, death and Mozart. ''In Transit'' (1969), is her most radical fiction in form and handling, and was in the vanguard of gender-fluid literary conceptualisations. The novel is considered to be a pioneering work of post-modernism and an iconic feminist surrealist fantasia. (For a list of her books, see ''Writings'', below.) Brophy's articles, together with frequent appearances on television in the 1960s–1970s, created the image of her as the ''enfant terrible'' of British literature. She was eloquent and forthright in he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anthony Boucher
William Anthony Parker White (August 21, 1911 – April 29, 1968), better known by his pen name Anthony Boucher (), was an American author, critic, and editor who wrote several classic mystery novels, short stories, science fiction, and radio dramas. Between 1942 and 1947, he acted as reviewer of mostly mystery fiction for the ''San Francisco Chronicle''. In addition to "Anthony Boucher", White also employed the pseudonym " H. H. Holmes", which was the pseudonym of a late-19th-century American serial killer; Boucher would also write light verse and sign it "Herman W. Mudgett" (the murderer's real name). In a 1981 poll of 17 detective story writers and reviewers, his novel ''Nine Times Nine'' was voted as the ninth best locked room mystery of all time. Background White was born in Oakland, California, and went to college at the University of Southern California. He later received a master's degree from the University of California, Berkeley. After a friend told him that "Willia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Toronto Star
The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. The newspaper's offices are located at One Yonge Street in the Harbourfront, Toronto, Harbourfront neighbourhood of Toronto. The newspaper was established in 1892 as the ''Evening Star'' and was later renamed the ''Toronto Daily Star'' in 1900, under Joseph E. Atkinson. Atkinson was a major influence in shaping the editorial stance of the paper, with the paper having reflected his values until his death in 1948. The paper was renamed the ''Toronto Star'' in 1971. The newspaper introduced a Sunday edition in 1973. History The ''Star'' was created in 1892 by striking ''Toronto News'' printers and writers, led by future mayor of Toronto and social reformer Horatio Clarenc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. History Origins The first issue, published on 4 December 1791 by W.S. Bourne, was the world's first Sunday newspaper. Believing that the paper would be a means of wealth, Bourne instead soon found himself facing debts of nearly £1,600. Though early editions purported editorial independence, Bourne attempted to cut his losses and sell the title to the government. When this failed, Bourne's brother (a wealthy businessman) made an offer to the government, which also refused to buy the paper but agreed to subsidise it in return for influence over its editorial content. As a result, the paper soon took a strong line against radicals such as Thomas Paine, Francis Burdett and Joseph Priestley. 19th century In 180 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anthony Berkeley Cox
Anthony Berkeley Cox (5 July 1893 – 9 March 1971) was an English crime writer. He wrote under several pen-names, including Francis Iles, Anthony Berkeley and A. Monmouth Platts. Early life and education Anthony Berkeley Cox was born 5 July 1893 at Watford, son of medical practitioner Dr Alfred Edward Cox (1861–1936), of Monmouth House and The Platts, two adjoining properties on Watford High Street, and Sybil Maud (died 1924), née Iles, who ran a school at Monmouth House. His paternal grandfather was a Derby wine merchant. Cox had two younger siblings: Stephen Henry Johnson Cox (1899–1960), who became a schoolmaster, and Cynthia Cicely Cox (born 1897). With his brother, Cox was educated at Rose Hill School, Banstead, Surrey, and from the age of 14 was educated at Sherborne School and University College, Oxford. Career As an ex-cadet of the Officer Training Corps, Cox was commissioned as a temporary second lieutenant in the British Army on 19 September 1914. He was p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Guardian Media Group, owned by the Scott Trust. The trust was created in 1936 to "secure the financial and editorial independence of ''The Guardian'' in perpetuity and to safeguard the journalistic freedom and liberal values of ''The Guardian'' free from commercial or political interference". The trust was converted into a limited company in 2008, with a constitution written so as to maintain for ''The Guardian'' the same protections as were built into the structure of the Scott Trust by its creators. Profits are reinvested in journalism rather than distributed to owners or shareholders. It is considered a newspaper of record in the UK. The editor-in-chief Katharine Viner succeeded Alan Rusbridger in 2015. Since 2018, the paper's main news ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oxford Dictionary Of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September 2004 in 60 volumes and online, with 50,113 biographical articles covering 54,922 lives. First series Hoping to emulate national biographical collections published elsewhere in Europe, such as the '' Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (1875), in 1882 the publisher George Smith (1824–1901), of Smith, Elder & Co., planned a universal dictionary that would include biographical entries on individuals from world history. He approached Leslie Stephen, then editor of the ''Cornhill Magazine'', owned by Smith, to become the editor. Stephen persuaded Smith that the work should focus only on subjects from the United Kingdom and its present and former colonies. An early working title was the ''Biographia Britannica'', the name of an earlier eightee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flemings Mayfair
Flemings Mayfair is a boutique hotel located in Mayfair, London. History In 1851, Robert Fleming owned and ran a lodging house at number 10 Half Moon Street (believed to have originated in 1730). Robert Fleming started running what he called a 'private hotel' in 1855, at 9 & 10 Half Moon Street Post Office London Directory (Small Edition), 1852 From 1855 to 1857, George Hudson, MP for Sunderland, owned apartments in the hotel. Hudson, famed as the 'Railway King', was a fraudster who had his downfall when he was discovered to have falsified railway company share prices. He stayed at Flemings when it was not possible for him to be arrested due to his appointment as MP The Railway King: A Biography of George Hudson by Robert Beaumont, 2002, Headline Review In 1964, Agatha Christie published ''At Bertram's Hotel'', about an up-market hotel which serves as a front for organised crime. Christie's official biography claims Flemings as the model for the eponymous hotel, based on corres ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Janet Morgan, Lady Balfour Of Burleigh
Janet Patricia Morgan, Lady Balfour of Burleigh CBE, FRSE (born December 1945) is a Canadian-born English writer and historian. The daughter of Dr. Frank Morgan and Sheila Saddler, she was born Janet Morgan in Montreal while her father was working on a top-secret British atomic research project, the Montreal Laboratory. She returned to England with her family before the end of World War II. She earned a MA and PhD. She was named a Commander in the Order of the British Empire in 2008. She is a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. In 1993, she married Robert Bruce, Lord Balfour of Burleigh. She has been chair of the Scottish Cultural Resources Access Network, the Nuclear Liabilities Fund and the Nuclear Trust. She has served as a director of the Scottish Oriental Smaller Companies Trust and Murray International Trust. Morgan wrote a biography of Agatha Christie that was authorized by the writer's family. She also wrote biographies of Edwina Mountbatten and George Bruc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brown's Hotel
Brown's Hotel is a luxury hotel in Mayfair, London, established in 1837 and owned by Rocco Forte Hotels since 3 July 2003. It is considered one of London's oldest existing hotels. History Brown's Hotel was founded in 1837, by James and Sarah Brown. The architecture of the 11 Georgian townhouses mean that each room is distinctly different from another. In 1889, the hotel was unified with the neighbouring St George's Hotel, as they backed onto each other and were eventually merged to allow for a throughway between Dover Street and Albemarle Street. Historian John Lothrop Motley stayed at the hotel in 1874, as shown in a letter he wrote on 17 June that year, to Dutch historian Groen van Prinsterer. Celebrated Victorian writers Oscar Wilde, Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson, JM Barrie and Bram Stoker were also all regular visitors. The hotel was the location of the first successful telephone call in Europe, made by Alexander Graham Bell on a phone which can be seen in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
