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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] |
Albemarle Street
Albemarle Street is a street in Mayfair in central London, off Piccadilly. It has historic associations with Lord Byron, whose publisher John Murray was based here, and Oscar Wilde, a member of the Albemarle Club, where an insult he received led to his suing for libel and to his eventual imprisonment. It is also known for its art galleries and the Brown's Hotel is located at 33 Albemarle Street. History Albemarle Street was built by a syndicate of developers headed by Sir Thomas Bond. The syndicate purchased a Piccadilly mansion called Clarendon House from Christopher Monck, 2nd Duke of Albemarle in 1684, which had fallen into ruin due to neglect caused by the dissolute duke's spendthrift ways. It was sold for £20,000, a fifth less than the duke had paid for it only nine years previously despite the land values in the area increasing in the intervening period. The house was demolished and the syndicate proceeded to develop the area. At that time the house backed onto op ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haile Selassie I Of Ethiopia
Haile Selassie I ( gez, ቀዳማዊ ኀይለ ሥላሴ, Qädamawi Häylä Səllasé, ; born Tafari Makonnen; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia (''Enderase'') for Empress Zewditu from 1916. Haile Selassie is widely considered a defining figure in modern Ethiopian history, and the key figure of Rastafari, a religious movement in Jamaica that emerged shortly after he became emperor in the 1930s. He was a member of the Solomonic dynasty, which claims to trace lineage to Emperor Menelik I, believed to be the son of King Solomon and Makeda the Queen of Sheba. Haile Selassie attempted to modernize the country through a series of political and social reforms, including the introduction of the 1931 constitution, its first written constitution, and the abolition of slavery. He led the failed efforts to defend Ethiopia during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War and spent most of the period of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Terence Donovan (photographer)
Terence Daniel Donovan (14 September 1936 – 22 November 1996) was an English photographer and film director, noted for his fashion photography of the 1960s. A book of his fashion work, ''Terence Donovan Fashion'', was published 2012. He also directed many TV commercials and oversaw the music video to Robert Palmer (singer), Robert Palmer's "Addicted to Love (song), Addicted to Love" and "Simply Irresistible (song), Simply Irresistible". ''The Guardian'' labelled “Addicted to Love“ as being "fashion's favourite video" since it was released. Early life and education Donovan was born in Stepney, London, Stepney in the East End of London to lorry driver Daniel Donovan and (Lilian) Constance Violet (née Wright), a cook. He took his first photo at the age of 15. He had a fractured education, but between the ages of 11 and 15 studied at the London County Council School of Photoengraving and Lithography. Career The bomb-damaged industrial landscape of his home town became the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Afternoon Tea
Tea (in reference to food, rather than the drink) has long been used as an umbrella term for several different meals. English writer Isabella Beeton, whose books on home economics were widely read in the 19th century, describes meals of various kinds and provides menus for the "old-fashioned tea", the "at-home tea", the "family tea", and the "high tea". ''Teatime'' is the time at which this meal is usually eaten, which is mid-afternoon to early evening. Tea as a meal is associated with the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, and some Commonwealth countries. Some people in Britain and Australia refer to their main evening meal as "tea" rather than "dinner" or "supper", but generally, with the exception of Scotland and Northern England, "tea" refers to a light meal or a snack. A ''tea break'' is the term used for a work break in either the morning or afternoon for a cup of tea or other beverage. The most common elements of the tea meal are the drink itself, with cakes o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michelin Guide
The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin star (classification), stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of a star or stars can have dramatic effects on the success of a restaurant. Michelin also publishes the Green Guides, a series of general guides to cities, regions, and countries. History In 1900, there were fewer than 3,000 cars on the roads of France. To increase the demand for cars and, accordingly, car tyres, car tyre manufacturers and brothers Édouard Michelin (born 1859), Édouard and André Michelin published a guide for French motorists, the Michelin Guide. Nearly 35,000 copies of this first, free edition of the guide were distributed. It provided information to motorists, such as maps, tyre repair and replacement instructions, car mechanics listings, hotels, and petrol stations throughout France. In 1904, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Olga Polizzi
Olga Polizzi (born February 1946) is a British hotelier and interior designer. She is a former Westminster City Council councillor, representing Lancaster Gate ward for the Conservative Party. Family She is the mother of the broadcaster and ''The Hotel Inspector'' presenter Alex Polizzi and Charlotte, who is married to Oliver Peyton. Her brother is Sir Rocco Forte, and their father was Charles Forte, Baron Forte. She is married to William Shawcross William Hartley Hume Shawcross (born 28 May 1946, in Sussex, England) is a British writer and commentator, and a former Chairman of the Charity Commission for England and Wales. Education Shawcross was educated at St Aubyns Preparatory School ... (m. 1993), following her former marriage to Count Alessandro Polizzi (m. 1966–1980) until his death. References Living people British people of Italian descent British hoteliers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Daughters of life peers Forte family 1946 birth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Victorian Era
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardian period, and its later half overlaps with the first part of the '' Belle Époque'' era of Continental Europe. There was a strong religious drive for higher moral standards led by the nonconformist churches, such as the Methodists and the evangelical wing of the established Church of England. Ideologically, the Victorian era witnessed resistance to the rationalism that defined the Georgian period, and an increasing turn towards romanticism and even mysticism in religion, social values, and arts. This era saw a staggering amount of technological innovations that proved key to Britain's power and prosperity. Doctors started moving away from tradition and mysticism towards a science-based approach; medicine advanced thanks to the adoption ... [...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] |
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] |
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] |
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high standing in pop culture, his books have sold more than 350 million copies, and many have been adapted into films, television series, miniseries, and comic books. King has published 64 novels, including seven under the pen name Richard Bachman, and five non-fiction books. He has also written approximately 200 short stories, most of which have been published in book collections.Jackson, Dan (February 18, 2016)"A Beginner's Guide to Stephen King Books". Thrillist. Retrieved February 5, 2019. King has received Bram Stoker Awards, World Fantasy Awards, and British Fantasy Society Awards. In 2003, the National Book Foundation awarded him the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He has also received awards for his cont ... [...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] |
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