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Jack Spratt (fictional Detective)
John Reginald "Jack" Spratt, Detective Inspector, Nursery Crime Division, Oxford and Berkshire Constabulary, Officer Number 8216. Jack Spratt is the protagonist in a series of alternate history science fiction fantasy novels by Jasper Fforde. He was named after the character from the English nursery rhyme. As revealed in ''The Big Over Easy'', for example, he hates eating fat, and was once married to a woman who ate nothing else (hence, she died). Character Spratt is an obvious satire on the general detective stereotype. Whereas famous detectives such as Sam Spade, Philip Marlowe and Sherlock Holmes have been portrayed as confident, successful, substance-abusing loners, Spratt does not have a substance abuse problem, and is happily married with five children. In addition, he is shown in the beginning of ''The Big Over Easy'' to be an experienced and accomplished police detective, but low on self-confidence, virtually incapable of securing convictions and never recognized for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Big Over Easy
''The Big Over Easy'' is a 2005 novel written by Jasper Fforde. It features Detective Inspector Jack Spratt and his assistant, Sergeant Mary Mary. It is set in an alternate reality similar to that of his previous books: ''The Eyre Affair'', ''Lost in a Good Book'', ''The Well of Lost Plots'' and ''Something Rotten''. According to Fforde, ''The Big Over Easy'' is the result of the book ''Caversham Heights'' featured in ''The Well of Lost Plots'' and includes a possible cameo appearance of the author's heroine Thursday Next, thus verifying this claim. The book was the first novel Fforde wrote, however, he failed in its publication. It was massively re-written following the success of the Thursday Next novels. A follow-up, entitled '' The Fourth Bear'', was published in July 2006. The book is satirical, based on many nursery rhymes, fables, and the like. The main character Jack Spratt is based on Jack Sprat, and the secondary character is Mary Mary, both from nursery rhymes. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes () is a fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a " consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with observation, deduction, forensic science and logical reasoning that borders on the fantastic, which he employs when investigating cases for a wide variety of clients, including Scotland Yard. First appearing in print in 1887's ''A Study in Scarlet'', the character's popularity became widespread with the first series of short stories in ''The Strand Magazine'', beginning with " A Scandal in Bohemia" in 1891; additional tales appeared from then until 1927, eventually totalling four novels and 56 short stories. All but one are set in the Victorian or Edwardian eras, between about 1880 and 1914. Most are narrated by the character of Holmes's friend and biographer Dr. John H. Watson, who usually accompanies Holmes during his investigations and often shares quarters with him at the ad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Fourth Bear
''The Fourth Bear'' is a mystery/fantasy novel by Jasper Fforde published in July 2006. It is Jasper Fforde's sixth novel, and the second in the Nursery Crimes series (also known as the Jack Spratt series). It continues the story of Detective Inspector Jack Spratt from ''The Big Over Easy''. Plot DCI Jack Spratt heads the Berkshire Nursery Crime Division, handling all inquiries involving nursery rhyme characters and other PDRs (persons of dubious reality). After doubts arise concerning his handling of the Great Red-Legg'd Scissorman's arrest and the Red Riding Hood affair, he is suspended pending a mental health review. His DS Mary Mary promises to consult him on all cases, to bypass the suspension. They begin an investigation of porridge-smuggling by anthropomorphic bears. Jack's troubles increase when the argumentative Punches move in next door and his son adopts a sly and sticky-fingered pet. He is forced to reveal to his shocked wife that he is himself a PDR. Furthermore, hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2005 In Literature
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 2005. Events *January 16 – This is the 400th anniversary of Miguel de Cervantes' publication of the first part of ''Don Quixote'' in Spain. *February 25 – Canada Reads selects ''Rockbound'' by Frank Parker Day as the novel to be read across the nation. *March 26 – The classic U.K. science fiction series ''Doctor Who'' returns to television with a script by Russell T Davies, the executive producer. * April 23 – The Grande Bibliothèque at the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec is officially opened. It actually opens on April 30. *June 13 – The poet Dannie Abse is injured and his wife Joan killed in an accident on the M4 in South Wales. *August 15 – An integrated National Library of Norway opens to readers in Oslo for the first time. New books Fiction *Tariq Ali – ''A Sultan in Palermo'' *Rajaa Alsanea – ''Girls of Riyadh'' (بنات الرياض, ''Banat al-Riyadh'') * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Well Of Lost Plots
''The Well of Lost Plots'' is a novel by Jasper Fforde, published in 2003. It is the third book in the Thursday Next series, after ''The Eyre Affair'' and ''Lost in a Good Book''. Plot summary Apprentice Jurisfiction agent and SpecOps-27 operative Thursday Next is taking a vacation inside ''Caversham Heights'', a never-published detective novel inside the titular Well of Lost Plots, while waiting for her child to be born. In the book, she encounters two Generics, students of St Tabularasa's who have yet to be assigned to a book, and DCI Jack Spratt, a detective who partners with her in investigating a murder. Since Thursday is an "Outlander", a "real" person rather than a fictional character, Spratt hopes that she will help them appeal to the Council of Genres to prevent the disassembling of ''Caversham Heights'', a fate inevitable for books which languish unpublished in the real world. Using a ''Caversham Heights'' as her base of operations, Thursday continues her apprentice ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thursday Next
Thursday Next is the protagonist in a series of comic fantasy, alternate history mystery novels by the British author Jasper Fforde. She was first introduced in Fforde's first published novel, ''The Eyre Affair'', released on 19 July 2001 by Hodder & Stoughton. , the series comprises seven books, in two series.Special features for ''First Among Sequels'' – note that a code word (from the novel) is required to access this page. The first series is made up of the novels '''', '''', '' |
Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary
"Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary" is an English language, English nursery rhyme. The rhyme has been seen as having religious and historical significance, but its origins and meaning are disputed. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 19626. Lyrics The most common modern version is: Mary, Mary, quite contrary, How does your garden grow? With silver bells, and Cockle (bivalve), cockle shells, And pretty maids all in a row. The oldest known version was first published in ''Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book'' (1744) with the lyrics that are shown here: Mistress Mary, Quite contrary, How does your garden grow? With Silver Bells, And Cockle Shells, And so my garden grows. Several printed versions of the 18th century have the lyrics: Mistress Mary, Quite contrary, How does your garden grow? With Silver Bells, And Cockle Shells, Sing cuckolds all in a row. The last line has the most variation including: Primula veris, Cowslips all in a row [sic]. and With lady bells all in a row. Mean ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reading, Berkshire
Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, Southeast England, southeast England. Located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the rivers River Thames, Thames and River Kennet, Kennet, the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway serve the town. Reading is east of Swindon, south of Oxford, west of London and north of Basingstoke. Reading is a major commercial centre, especially for information technology and insurance. It is also a regional retail centre, serving a large area of the Thames Valley with its shopping centre, the The Oracle, Reading, Oracle. It is home to the University of Reading. Every year it hosts the Reading and Leeds Festivals, Reading Festival, one of England's biggest music festivals. Reading has a professional association football team, Reading F.C., and participates in many other sports. Reading dates from the 8th century. It was an important trading and ecclesiastical centre in the Middle Ages, the site of Reading Abbey, one of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philip Marlowe
Philip Marlowe () is a fictional character created by Raymond Chandler, who was characteristic of the hardboiled crime fiction genre. The hardboiled crime fiction genre originated in the 1920s, notably in ''Black Mask'' magazine, in which Dashiell Hammett's The Continental Op and Sam Spade first appeared. Marlowe first appeared under that name in ''The Big Sleep'', published in 1939. Chandler's early short story, short stories, published in pulp magazines such as ''Black Mask (magazine), Black Mask'' and ''Dime Detective'', featured similar characters with names like "Carmady" and "John Dalmas", starting in 1933. Some of those short stories were later combined and expanded into novels featuring Marlowe, a process Chandler called "cannibalization of fiction, cannibalizing", which is more commonly known in publishing as a fix-up. When the original stories were republished years later in the short-story collection ''The Simple Art of Murder'', Chandler did not change the names of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protagonist
A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a story contains a subplot, or is a narrative made up of several stories, then each subplot may have its own protagonist. The protagonist is the character whose fate is most closely followed by the reader or audience, and who is opposed by the antagonist. The antagonist provides obstacles and complications and creates conflicts that test the protagonist, revealing the strengths and weaknesses of the protagonist's character, and having the protagonist develop as a result. Etymology The term ''protagonist'' comes , combined of (, 'first') and (, 'actor, competitor'), which stems from (, 'contest') via (, 'I contend for a prize'). Ancient Greece The earliest known examples of a protagonist are found in Ancient Greece. At first, dramatic pe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sam Spade
Sam Spade is a fictional character and the protagonist of Dashiell Hammett's 1930 novel '' The Maltese Falcon''. Spade also appeared in four lesser-known short stories by Hammett. ''The Maltese Falcon'', first published as a serial in the pulp magazine '' Black Mask'', is the only full-length novel by Hammett in which Spade appears. The character, however, is widely cited as a crystallizing figure in the development of hard-boiled private detective fiction—Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe, for instance, was strongly influenced by Spade. Spade was a departure from Hammett's nameless and less-than-glamorous detective, The Continental Op. Spade combined several features of previous detectives, most notably his detached demeanor, keen eye for detail, and unflinching determination to achieve his own justice. Portrayals Spade was a new character created specifically by Hammett for ''The Maltese Falcon''; he had not appeared in any of Hammett's previous stories. Hammett says abo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jack Sprat
"Jack Sprat" (or "Jack Spratt") is an English language nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 19479. Rhyme The most common modern version of the rhyme is: Origins The name "Jack Sprat" was used of people of small stature in the 16th century. This rhyme was an English proverb from at least the mid-17th century. It appeared in John Clarke's collection of sayings in 1639 in the form: As with many nursery rhymes, "Jack Sprat" may have originated as a satire on a public figure: history writer Linda Alchin suggests that Jack was King Charles I, who was left "lean" when parliament denied him taxation, but with his queen Henrietta Maria he was free to "lick the platter clean" after he dissolved parliament—Charles was a notably short man. An alternative explanation comes from the popular Robin Hood legend, applying it to the disliked King John and his greedy queen Isabella. The saying entered the canon of English nursery rhymes when it was printed in ''Mother G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
