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Goldfinger (novel)
''Goldfinger'' is the seventh novel in Ian Fleming's James Bond series. Written in January and February 1958, it was first published in the UK by Jonathan Cape on 23 March 1959. The story centres on the investigation by the British Secret Service operative James Bond into the gold smuggling activities of Auric Goldfinger, who is also suspected by MI6 of being connected to SMERSH, the Soviet counter-intelligence organisation. As well as establishing the background to the smuggling operation, Bond uncovers a much larger plot: Goldfinger plans to steal the gold reserves of the United States from Fort Knox. Fleming developed the James Bond character in ''Goldfinger'', presenting him as a more complex individual than in the previous novels, and bringing out a theme of Bond as a St George figure. This theme is echoed by the fact that it is a British agent sorting out an American problem. In common with his other Bond stories, Fleming used the names of people he knew, or knew of, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ian Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer who is best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., and his father was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Henley from 1910 until his death on the Western Front in 1917. Educated at Eton, Sandhurst, and, briefly, the universities of Munich and Geneva, Fleming moved through several jobs before he started writing. While working for Britain's Naval Intelligence Division during the Second World War, Fleming was involved in planning Operation Goldeneye and in the planning and oversight of two intelligence units, 30 Assault Unit and T-Force. He drew from his wartime service and his career as a journalist for much of the background, detail, and depth of his James Bond novels. Fleming wrote his first Bond novel, '' Casino Royale'', in 1952. It was a success, with three print runs being commissio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Open Championship
The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later the venue rotated between a select group of coastal links golf courses in the United Kingdom. It is organised by the R&A. The Open is one of the four men's major golf tournaments, the others being the Masters Tournament, the PGA Championship and the U.S. Open. Since the PGA Championship moved to May in 2019, the Open has been chronologically the fourth and final major tournament of the year. It is held in mid-July. It is called The Open because it is in theory "open" to all, i.e. professional and amateur golfers. In practice, the current event is a professional tournament in which a small number of the world's leading amateurs also play, by invitation or qualification. The success of the tournament has led to many other open golf tournam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reculver
Reculver is a village and coastal resort about east of Herne Bay on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. It is in the ward of the same name, in the City of Canterbury district of Kent. Reculver once occupied a strategic location at the north-western end of the Wantsum Channel, a sea lane that separated the Isle of Thanet and the Kent mainland until the late Middle Ages. This led the Romans to build a small fort there at the time of their conquest of Britain in 43 AD, and, starting late in the 2nd century, they built a larger fort, or ''castrum'', called ''Regulbium'', which later became one of the chain of Saxon Shore forts. Following the withdrawal of the Western Roman Empire in ca. early C4th, the Brythons again took control of the lands until Anglo-Saxon invasions shortly afterward. By the 7th century Reculver had become a landed estate of the Anglo-Saxon kings of Kent. The site of the Roman fort was given over for the establishment of a monastery dedi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bank Of England
The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government of the United Kingdom, it is the world's eighth-oldest bank. It was privately owned by stockholders from its foundation in 1694 until it was nationalised in 1946 by the Attlee ministry. The Bank became an independent public organisation in 1998, wholly owned by the Treasury Solicitor on behalf of the government, with a mandate to support the economic policies of the government of the day, but independence in maintaining price stability. The Bank is one of eight banks authorised to issue banknotes in the United Kingdom, has a monopoly on the issue of banknotes in England and Wales, and regulates the issue of banknotes by commercial banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland. The Bank's Monetary Policy Committee has devolved responsibility for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
M (James Bond)
M is a codename held by a number of fictional characters in Ian Fleming's James Bond book and film series; the characters are the current or past Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service, the agency known as MI6. Fleming based the character on a number of people he knew who commanded sections of British intelligence. M has appeared in the novels by Fleming and seven continuation authors, as well as appearing in twenty-four films. In the Eon Productions series of films, M has been portrayed by four actors: Bernard Lee, Robert Brown, Judi Dench and Ralph Fiennes, the incumbent; in the two independent productions, M was played by John Huston, David Niven and Edward Fox (actor), Edward Fox. Background Fleming based much of M's character on Rear Admiral John Henry Godfrey, John Godfrey, who was Fleming's superior at the Naval Intelligence Division (United Kingdom), Naval Intelligence Division during the Second World War. After Fleming's death, Godfrey complained "He turned me in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Canasta
Canasta (; Spanish for "basket") is a card game of the rummy family of games believed to be a variant of 500 Rum. Although many variations exist for two, three, five or six players, it is most commonly played by four in two partnerships with two standard decks of cards. Players attempt to make melds of seven cards of the same rank and "go out" by playing all cards in their hands. It is "the most recent card game to have achieved worldwide status as a classic". History The game of Canasta was devised by attorney Segundo Sanchez Santos and his Bridge partner, architect Alberto Serrato in Montevideo, Uruguay, in 1939,American Heritage Dictionar''Spanish Word Histories and Mysteries: English Words That Come from Spanish'' Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (2007), in an attempt to design a time-efficient game that was as engaging as Bridge. They tried different formulas before inviting Arturo Gomez Hartley and Ricardo Sanguinetti to test their game. After a positive reception of Canasta at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Casino Royale (novel)
''Casino Royale'' is the first novel by the British author Ian Fleming. Published in 1953, it is the first List of James Bond novels and short stories, ''James Bond'' book, and it paved the way for a further eleven novels and two short story anthology, collections by Fleming, followed by numerous continuation Bond novels by other authors. The story concerns the British secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond, gambling at the casino in Royale-les-Eaux to bankrupt Le Chiffre, the treasurer of a French union and a member of the Russian secret service. Bond is supported in his endeavours by Vesper Lynd, a member of his own service, as well as Felix Leiter of the Central Intelligence Agency, CIA and List of James Bond allies#René Mathis, René Mathis of the French Deuxième Bureau. Fleming used his wartime experiences as a member of the Naval Intelligence Division (United Kingdom), Naval Intelligence Division, and the people he met during his work, to provide plot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sir Ian McKellen
Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. His career spans seven decades, having performed in genres ranging from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. Regarded as a British cultural icon, he has received various accolades, including six Laurence Olivier Awards, a Tony Award, and a Golden Globe Award. The BBC states that his "performances have guaranteed him a place in the canon of English stage and film actors". McKellen began his professional career in 1961 at the Belgrade Theatre as a member of their highly regarded repertory company. In 1965, McKellen made his first West End appearance. In 1969, he was invited to join the Prospect Theatre Company to play the lead parts in Shakespeare's ''Richard II'' and Marlowe's ''Edward II'', and he firmly established himself as one of the country's foremost classical actors. In the 1970s, McKellen became a stalwart of the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Toby Stephens
Toby Stephens (born 21 April 1969) is an English actor who has appeared in films in the UK, US and India. He is known for the roles of Bond villain Gustav Graves in the 2002 James Bond film ''Die Another Day'' (for which he was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor), of William Gordon in the 2005 '' Mangal Pandey: The Rising'' film, Edward Fairfax Rochester in a BBC television adaptation of ''Jane Eyre'' and as Captain Flint in the Starz television series '' Black Sails''. Stephens was one of the leads in the Netflix science fiction series ''Lost in Space'', which began streaming in 2018. Early life Stephens, the younger son of actors Dame Maggie Smith and Sir Robert Stephens, was born on 21 April 1969 at the Middlesex Hospital in Fitzrovia, London. He was educated at Aldro School and Seaford College. He then trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). Career Stephens began his film career with the role of Othello in 1992, in Sal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering the majority of musical genres, as well as local radio stations covering local news, affairs and interests. It also oversees online audio content. Of the national radio stations, BBC Radio 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 Live are all available through analogue radio ( AM or FM (with BBC Radio 4 LW on longwave) as well as on DAB Digital Radio and BBC Sounds. The Asian Network broadcasts on DAB and selected AM frequencies in the English Midlands. BBC Radio 1Xtra, 4 Extra, 5 Sports Extra, 6 Music and the World Service broadcast only on DAB and BBC Sounds, while Radio 1 Dance and Relax streams are available only online. All of the BBC's national radio stations broadcast from bases in London and Manchester, usually in or near to Broadcasting House ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sean Connery
Sir Sean Connery (born Thomas Connery; 25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond on film, starring in seven Bond films between 1962 and 1983. Originating the role in '' Dr. No'', Connery played Bond in six of Eon Productions' entries and made his final appearance in '' Never Say Never Again''. Following his third appearance as Bond in '' Goldfinger'' (1964), in June 1965 ''Time'' magazine observed "James Bond has developed into the biggest mass-cult hero of the decade". Connery began acting in smaller theatre and television productions until his breakout role as Bond. Although he did not enjoy the off-screen attention the role gave him, the success of the Bond films brought Connery offers from notable directors such as Alfred Hitchcock, Sidney Lumet and John Huston. Their films in which Connery appeared included ''Marnie'' (1964), '' The Hill'' (1965), ''Murder on the Orient Express'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eon Productions
Eon Productions Ltd. is a British film production company that primarily produces the ''James Bond'' film series. The company is based in London's Piccadilly and also operates from Pinewood Studios in the UK. ''Bond'' films Eon was started by film producers Albert R. “Cubby” Broccoli and Harry Saltzman in 1961, at the same time they became partners and sought financing for '' Dr. No''. The year before they formed Danjaq, which for legal reasons became Eon's holding company, from which it licenses the rights to produce the ''Bond'' films. Broccoli had been interested in the ''Bond'' novel rights for several years but was dissuaded from pursuing the project by his former partner. When they dissolved their relationship he was free to pursue the property, for which Saltzman, a novice to film production, had taken a gamble to acquire. The two were introduced by a New York writer who was acquainted with both, and formed a partnership within a week of meeting. The enterpri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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