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Dandy Gilver
Dandy Gilver is the protagonist of a historical mystery series by Catriona McPherson. The stories are set in Scotland in the interwar period, beginning shortly after World War I and extending into the mid-1930s. Overview The novels feature dry humor and colorful characters in the cozy mystery tradition. The novels are well-researched and full of period details, and the books address the rapidly changing social order, economic challenges before and during the Great Depression in the United Kingdom, and ongoing class tensions. , 15 books have been published in this series. Several books in the series have won awards, including the Agatha Award for Best Historical Novel. Dandy (short for Dandelion) is an upper-class Englishwoman whose career as a private detective fills the void in her comfortable but unfulfilled life within a world of landownership and child-rearing for which she is temperamentally unsuited.Kemp, Viccy (2014-10-01) "A Deadly Measure of Brimstone: A Dandy Gilver ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Catriona McPherson
Catriona McPherson (born October 22, 1965) is a Scottish writer. She is best known for her Dandy Gilver series. Her novels have won an Agatha Award (2012), two Macavity Awards (2012, 2015), seven Lefty Awards (2013), and two Anthony Awards (2014). Biography McPherson was born October 22, 1965, in South Queensferry, Scotland and remained in Scotland until 2010 when she moved to California. She received a Master of Arts degree in English Language and Linguistics and Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics, both from the University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 .... Before committing herself to writing full-time in 2005, McPherson worked in banking, libraries, and academia. Awards and honors Publications Standalone novels * '' As She Left It' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Traveling Circus
A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclists as well as other object manipulation and stunt-oriented artists. The term ''circus'' also describes the performance which has followed various formats through its 250-year modern history. Although not the inventor of the medium, Philip Astley is credited as the father of the modern circus. In 1768, Astley, a skilled equestrian, began performing exhibitions of trick horse riding in an open field called Ha'Penny Hatch on the south side of the Thames River, England. In 1770, he hired acrobats, tightrope walkers, jugglers and a clown to fill in the pauses between the equestrian demonstrations and thus chanced on the format which was later named a "circus". Performances developed significantly over the next fifty years, with large-scale thea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Macbeth
''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those who seek power. Of all the plays that Shakespeare wrote during the reign of James I, ''Macbeth'' most clearly reflects his relationship with King James, patron of Shakespeare's acting company. It was first published in the Folio of 1623, possibly from a prompt book, and is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy. A brave Scottish general named Macbeth receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan and takes the Scottish throne for himself. He is then wracked with guilt and paranoia. Forced to commit more and more murders to protect himself from enmity and suspicion, he soon becomes a tyrannical ruler. The bloodbath and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Convent
A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican Communion. Etymology and usage The term ''convent'' derives via Old French from Latin ''conventus'', perfect participle of the verb ''convenio'', meaning "to convene, to come together". It was first used in this sense when the eremitical life began to be combined with the cenobitical. The original reference was to the gathering of mendicants who spent much of their time travelling. Technically, a monastery is a secluded community of monastics, whereas a friary or convent is a community of mendicants (which, by contrast, might be located in a city), and a canonry is a community of canons regular. The terms abbey and priory can be applied to both monasteries and canonries; an abbey is headed by an abbot, and a priory is a lesser dependent ho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Insane Asylum
The lunatic asylum (or insane asylum) was an early precursor of the modern psychiatric hospital. The fall of the lunatic asylum and its eventual replacement by modern psychiatric hospitals explains the rise of organized, institutional psychiatry. While there were earlier institutions that housed the "insane", the conclusion that institutionalization was the correct solution to treating people considered to be "mad" was part of a social process in the 19th century that began to seek solutions outside of families and local communities. History Medieval era In the Islamic world, the '' Bimaristans'' were described by European travellers, who wrote about their wonder at the care and kindness shown to lunatics. In 872, Ahmad ibn Tulun built a hospital in Cairo that provided care to the insane, which included music therapy. Nonetheless, physical historian Roy Porter cautions against idealising the role of hospitals generally in medieval Islam, stating that "They were a drop in the oce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herring Fishery
Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae. Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans, including the Baltic Sea, as well as off the west coast of South America. Three species of ''Clupea'' (the type genus of the herring family Clupeidae) are recognised, and comprise about 90% of all herrings captured in fisheries. The most abundant of these species is the Atlantic herring, which comprises over half of all herring capture. Fish called herring are also found in the Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean, and Bay of Bengal. Herring played an important role in the history of marine fisheries in Europe, and early in the 20th century, their study was fundamental to the development of fisheries science. These oily fish also have a long history as an important food fish, and are often salted, smoked, or pickled. Herring are also known as "sil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Doric Dialect (Scotland)
Doric, the popular name for Mid Northern Scots or Northeast Scots, refers to the Scots language as spoken in the northeast of Scotland. There is an extensive body of literature, mostly poetry, ballads, and songs, written in Doric. In some literary works, Doric is used as the language of conversation while the rest of the work is in Lallans Scots or British English. A number of 20th and 21st century poets have written poetry in the Doric dialect. Nomenclature The term "Doric" was formerly used to refer to all dialects of Lowland Scots, but during the twentieth century it became increasingly associated with Mid Northern Scots. The name possibly originated as a jocular reference to the Doric dialect of the Ancient Greek language. Greek Dorians lived in Laconia, including Sparta, and other more rural areas, and were alleged by the ancient Greeks to have spoken laconically and in a language thought harsher in tone and more phonetically conservative than the Attic spoken in Athens. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spa Town
A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath in 1668. He became interested in the curative properties of the hot mineral waters there and in 1676 wrote ''A discourse of Bathe, and the hot waters there. Also, Some Enquiries into the Nature of the water''. This brought the purported health-giving properties of the waters to the attention of the aristocracy, who started to partake in them soon after. The term ''spa'' is used for towns or resorts offering hydrotherapy, which can include cold water or mineral water treatments and geothermal baths. Argentina *Termas de Rio Hondo *Presidencia Roque Sáenz Peña Australia There are mineral springs in the Central Highlands of Victoria. Most are in and around Daylesford and Hepburn Springs. Daylesford and Hepburn Springs call themselves 'Spa Countr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moffat
Moffat ( gd, Mofad) is a burgh and parish in Dumfriesshire, now part of the Dumfries and Galloway local authority area in Scotland. It lies on the River Annan, with a population of around 2,500. It was a centre of the wool trade and a spa town. Moffat is around to the southeast of Glasgow, southwest of Edinburgh, northeast of Dumfries and northwest of Carlisle. The Moffat House Hotel, located at the northern end of the High Street, was designed by John Adam. The nearby Star Hotel, a mere 20 ft (6 m) wide, was listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the narrowest hotel in the world. Moffat won the Britain in Bloom contest in 1996. Moffat is home to Moffat toffee. The town is held to be the ancestral seat of Clan Moffat. The Devil's Beef Tub near Moffat was used by the members of Clan Moffat and later the members of Clan Johnstone to hoard cattle stolen in predatory raids. Early tourism as a spa town From 1633 Moffat began to grow from a small village into a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boarding School
A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now extend across many countries, their functioning, codes of conduct and ethos vary greatly. Children in boarding schools study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers or administrators. Some boarding schools also have day students who attend the institution by day and return off-campus to their families in the evenings. Boarding school pupils are typically referred to as "boarders". Children may be sent for one year to twelve years or more in boarding school, until the age of eighteen. There are several types of boarders depending on the intervals at which they visit their family. Full-term boarders visit their homes at the end of an academic year, semester boarders visit their homes at the end of an acade ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malice Domestic
The Agatha Awards, named for 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 fictiona ..., are literary awards for mystery and crime writers who write in the traditional mystery subgenre: "books typified by the works of Agatha Christie . . . loosely defined as mysteries that contain no explicit sex, excessive gore or gratuitous violence, and are not classified as 'hard-boiled.'" At an annual convention in Washington, D.C., the Agatha Awards are handed out by Malice Domestic Ltd, in six categories: Best Novel; Best First Mystery; Best Historical Novel; Best Short Story; Best Non-Fiction; Best Children's/Young Adult Mystery. Additionally, in some years the Poirot Award is presented to honor individuals other than writers who have made outstanding contributions to the mystery g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agatha Awards
The Agatha Awards, named for Agatha Christie, are literary awards for mystery and crime writers who write in the traditional mystery subgenre: "books typified by the works of Agatha Christie . . . loosely defined as mysteries that contain no explicit sex, excessive gore or gratuitous violence, and are not classified as 'hard-boiled.'" At an annual convention in Washington, D.C., the Agatha Awards are handed out by Malice Domestic Ltd, in six categories: Best Novel; Best First Mystery; Best Historical Novel; Best Short Story; Best Non-Fiction; Best Children's/Young Adult Mystery. Additionally, in some years the Poirot Award is presented to honor individuals other than writers who have made outstanding contributions to the mystery genre, but it is not an annual award. Early meetings of the Malice Domestic Committee occurred in fall 1987, with the first convention held on April 21–23, 1989, in Silver Spring, MD. Malice Domestic Ltd was incorporated in 1992. It is governed by a v ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
