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Mr. Wickham
George Wickham is a fictional character created by Jane Austen who appears in her 1813 novel ''Pride and Prejudice''. George Wickham is introduced as a militia officer who has a shared history with Mr. Darcy. Wickham's charming demeanour and his story of being badly treated by Darcy attracts the sympathy of the heroine, Elizabeth Bennet, to the point that she is warned by her aunt not to fall in love and marry him. It is revealed through the course of the story that George Wickham's true nature is that of a manipulative unprincipled layabout, a ne'er-do-well wastrel, compulsive liar and a degenerate, compulsive gambler, a seducer and a libertine, living the lifestyle of a rake. Lacking the finances to pay for his lifestyle, he gambles regularly (not just because he is a degenerate compulsive gambler and has no sense of economy) and cons credit from tradesmen and shopkeepers and skips out on paying-up. Jane Austen's inspiration for the plot developed around the character ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jane Austen
Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots often explore the dependence of women on marriage in the pursuit of favourable social standing and economic security. Her works critique the novels of sensibility of the second half of the 18th century and are part of the transition to 19th-century literary realism. Her use of biting irony, along with her realism and social commentary, have earned her acclaim among critics, scholars and readers alike. With the publication of ''Sense and Sensibility'' (1811), '' Pride and Prejudice'' (1813), ''Mansfield Park'' (1814), and '' Emma'' (1816), she achieved modest success but only little fame in her lifetime since the books were published anonymously. She wrote two other novels—''Northanger Abbey'' and '' Persuasion'', both published posthumou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The History Of Tom Jones, A Foundling
''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', often known simply as ''Tom Jones'', is a comic novel by English playwright and novelist Henry Fielding. It is a ''Bildungsroman'' and a picaresque novel. It was first published on 28 February 1749 in London and is among the earliest English works to be classified as a novel. It is the earliest novel mentioned by W. Somerset Maugham in his 1948 book '' Great Novelists and Their Novels'' among the ten best novels of the world. The novel is highly organised despite its length. Samuel Taylor Coleridge argued that it has one of the "three most perfect plots ever planned", alongside ''Oedipus Tyrannus'' and ''The Alchemist''. It became a best seller with four editions published in its first year alone. It is generally regarded as Fielding's greatest book and as an influential English novel. Plot The novel's events occupy eighteen books. It opens with the narrator stating that the purpose of the novel will be to explore "human nature". The k ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Wickham (1761–1840)
William Wickham (11 November 1761 – 22 October 1840) was a British spymaster and a director of internal security services during the French Revolutionary Wars. He was credited with disrupting radical conspiracies in England but, appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland, failed in 1803 to anticipate a republican insurrection in Dublin. He ended his career in government service in 1804, resigning his post in Ireland where, privately, he denounced government policy as "unjust" and "oppressive". Early years Born into wealth in Cottingley, Yorkshire, England, he was the eldest son of Henry Wickham, Esq., of Cottingley, Lieutenant-Colonel in the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards, and a justice of the peace for the West Riding. His mother was Elizabeth, daughter of William Lamplugh, vicar of Cottingley. Wickham attended Harrow School and Christ Church, Oxford, where he was a protégé of Cyril Jackson. He took a law degree in Geneva, Switzerland in 1786. He was also called to the b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Claire Tomalin
Claire Tomalin (née Delavenay; born 20 June 1933) is an English journalist and biographer, known for her biographies of Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy, Samuel Pepys, Jane Austen and Mary Wollstonecraft. Early life Tomalin was born Claire Delavenay on 20 June 1933 in London, the daughter of English composer Muriel Herbert and French academic Émile Delavenay. Education Tomalin was educated at Hitchin Girls' Grammar School, a former state grammar school in Hitchin in Hertfordshire, at Dartington Hall School, a former boarding-school in Devon, and at Newnham College at the University of Cambridge. Career Tomalin has written several noted biographies. * In 1974 she published her first book ''The Life and Death of Mary Wollstonecraft'', which won the Whitbread Book Award. Since then she has published: * '' Shelley and His World'' (1980) * ''Katherine Mansfield: A Secret Life'' (1987) *''The Invisible Woman: The story of Nelly Ternan and Charles Dickens'' (1990) NCR Book Aw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henry Thomas Austen
Henry Thomas Austen (8 June 1771 – 12 March 1850) was a militia officer, clergyman, banker and the brother of the novelist Jane Austen.Grey, David J. "Henry Austen: Jane Austen's "Perpetual Sunshine"." ''Persuasions Occasional Papers'', No. 1, Jane Austen Society of North America, 1984, pp. 9-12, http://www.jasna.org/persuasions/printed/opno1/grey.htm. He died in 1850 and was buried in Woodbury Park Cemetery, Tunbridge Wells. Early life Family Henry Thomas Austen was born in 1771 in Steventon, Hampshire. He was the fourth son born to his parents, Rev. George Austen and Cassandra Leigh. He had five brothers; James (1765–1819), George (1766–1838), Edward (1768–1852), Francis William (Frank) (1774–1865), Charles John (1779–1852), and two younger sisters, Cassandra and Jane. In Steventon, he spent most of his time growing up with his Hancock family cousins at their family barn, where he and his siblings were under the supervision of their aunt, Philadelphia Auste ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The School For Scandal
''The School for Scandal'' is a comedy of manners written by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. It was first performed in London at Drury Lane Theatre on 8 May 1777. Plot Act I Scene I: Lady Sneerwell, a wealthy young widow, and her hireling Snake discuss her various scandal-spreading plots. Snake asks why she is so involved in the affairs of Sir Peter Teazle, his ward Maria, and Charles and Joseph Surface, two young men under Sir Peter's informal guardianship, and why she has not yielded to the attentions of Joseph, who is highly respectable. Lady Sneerwell confides that Joseph wants Maria, who is an heiress, and that Maria wants Charles. Thus she and Joseph are plotting to alienate Maria from Charles by putting out rumours of an affair between Charles and Sir Peter's new young wife, Lady Teazle. Joseph arrives to confer with Lady Sneerwell. Maria herself then enters, fleeing the attentions of Sir Benjamin Backbite and his uncle, Crabtree. Mrs. Candour enters and ironically talks ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Esau
Esau ''Ēsaû''; la, Hesau, Esau; ar, عِيسَوْ ''‘Īsaw''; meaning "hairy"Easton, M. ''Illustrated Bible Dictionary'', (, , 2006, p. 236 or "rough".Mandel, D. ''The Ultimate Who's Who in the Bible'', (.), 2007, p. 175 is the elder son of Isaac in the Hebrew Bible. He is mentioned in the Book of Genesis and by the prophets Obadiah and Malachi. The Christian New Testament alludes to him in the Epistle to the Romans and in the Epistle to the Hebrews. According to the Hebrew Bible, Esau is the progenitor of the Edomites and the elder brother of Jacob, the patriarch of the Israelites.Metzger & Coogan (1993). ''Oxford Companion to the Bible'', pp. 191–92. Jacob and Esau were the sons of Isaac and Rebecca, and the grandsons of Abraham and Sarah. Of the twins, Esau was the first to be born with Jacob following, holding his heel. Isaac was sixty years old when the boys were born. Esau, a "man of the field", became a hunter who had "rough" qualities that distinguished him fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jacob
Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Jacob first appears in the Book of Genesis, where he is described as the son of Isaac and Rebecca, and the grandson of Abraham, Sarah, and Bethuel. According to the biblical account, he was the second-born of Isaac's children, the elder being Jacob's fraternal twin brother, Esau. Jacob is said to have bought Esau's birthright and, with his mother's help, deceived his aging father to bless him instead of Esau. Later in the narrative, following a severe drought in his homeland of Canaan, Jacob and his descendants, with the help of his son Joseph (who had become a confidant of the pharaoh), moved to Egypt where Jacob died at the age of 147. He is supposed to have been buried in the Cave of Machpelah. Jacob had twelve sons through four ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Two Gentlemen Of Verona
''The Two Gentlemen of Verona'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1589 and 1593. It is considered by some to be Shakespeare's first play, and is often seen as showing his first tentative steps in laying out some of the themes and motifs with which he would later deal in more detail; for example, it is the first of his plays in which a heroine dresses as a boy. The play deals with the themes of friendship and infidelity, the conflict between friendship and love, and the foolish behaviour of people in love. The highlight of the play is considered by some to be Launce, the clownish servant of Proteus, and his dog Crab, to whom "the most scene-stealing non-speaking role in the canon" has been attributed. ''Two Gentlemen'' is often regarded as one of Shakespeare's weakest plays. It has the smallest named cast of any play by Shakespeare. Characters * Valentine – young man living in Verona * Proteus – his closest friend * Silvia – falls ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Squire
In the Middle Ages, a squire was the shield- or armour-bearer of a knight. Use of the term evolved over time. Initially, a squire served as a knight's apprentice. Later, a village leader or a lord of the manor might come to be known as a "squire", and still later, the term was applied to members of the landed gentry. In contemporary American usage, "squire" is the title given to justices of the peace or similar local dignitaries. ''Squire'' is a shortened version of the word ''esquire'', from the Old French (modern French ), itself derived from the Late Latin ("shield bearer"), in medieval or Old English a ''scutifer''. The Classical Latin equivalent was ("arms bearer"). Knights in training The most common definition of ''squire'' refers to the Middle Ages. A squire was typically a young boy, training to become a knight. A boy became a page at the age of 7 then a squire at age 14. Squires were the second step to becoming a knight, after having served as a page. Boys s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pemberley
Pemberley is the fictional country estate owned by Fitzwilliam Darcy, the male protagonist in Jane Austen's 1813 novel ''Pride and Prejudice''. It is located near the fictional town of Lambton, and believed by some to be based on Lyme Park, south of Disley in Cheshire. In describing the estate, Austen uses uncharacteristically explicit symbolism to represent the geographical home of the man at the centre of the novel. On first visiting the estate, Elizabeth Bennet is charmed by the beauty of the surrounding countryside, as indeed she is by Mr. Darcy himself. Elizabeth had already rejected Mr. Darcy's first proposal by the time she visits Pemberley—it is his letter, the praise of his housekeeper, and his own courteous behaviour at Pemberley that bring about a change in her opinion of Mr. Darcy. In ''Pride and Prejudice'' They gradually ascended for half a mile, and then found themselves at the top of a considerable eminence, where the wood ceased, and the eye was instantly caugh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Margaret Anne Doody
Margaret Anne Doody (born September 21, 1939) is a Canadian author of historical detective fiction and feminist literary critic. She is professor of literature at the University of Notre Dame, helped found the PhD in Literature Program at Notre Dame, and served as its director from 2001 to 2007. Academic career Doody completed her doctorate at the University of Oxford in 1968. She then taught at the University of Wales from 1969 to 1976, after which she taught at Princeton University. According to the ''New York Times'', Doody, along with Valerie Smith, Emory Elliott, and Sandra Gilbert, resigned from Princeton in 1989. The reports suggest that the four were unhappy with the leniency shown to Thomas McFarland after he was accused of sexual misconduct. McFarland was initially put on a one-year suspension, but eventually took early retirement after these resignations and threats of student boycotts. Subsequently, she taught at Vanderbilt University and the University of Notre D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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