|
Negus (drink)
Negus is a drink made of wine, often port, mixed with hot water, oranges or lemons, spices and sugar. History According to Malone (''Life of Dryden'', Prose Work. i - p. 484) this drink was invented in the early 18th Century by Col. Francis Negus (d.1732), a British courtier (commissioner for executing the office of Master of the Horse from 1717 to 1727, then Master of the Buckhounds). James Boswell refers to it repeatedly in his ''London Journal''. Negus is also referred to in ''Jane Eyre'' by Charlotte Brontë, when Jane drinks it on arrival at Thornfield Hall. Jane Austen mentions it as part of the fare at a ball in ''Mansfield Park.'' In ''Wuthering Heights'' by Emily Brontë, Catherine is given it at Thrushcross Grange by the Lintons; it appears in several works by Charles Dickens, namely ''Sketches by Boz'', ''The Pickwick Papers'', ''A Christmas Carol'' (during the party at Fezziwig's), ''Dombey and Son'', ''David Copperfield'', ''Our Mutual Friend'' and ''Bleak House ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are major factors in different styles of wine. These differences result from the complex interactions between the biochemical development of the grape, the reactions involved in fermentation, the grape's growing environment (terroir), and the wine production process. Many countries enact legal appellations intended to define styles and qualities of wine. These typically restrict the geographical origin and permitted varieties of grapes, as well as other aspects of wine production. Wines not made from grapes involve fermentation of other crops including rice wine and other fruit wines such as plum, cherry, pomegranate, currant and elderberry. Wine has been produced for thousands of years. The earliest evidence of wine is from the Caucasus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dombey And Son
''Dombey and Son'' is a novel by English author Charles Dickens. It follows the fortunes of a shipping firm owner, who is frustrated at the lack of a son to follow him in his footsteps; he initially rejects his daughter's love before eventually becoming reconciled with her before his death. The story features many Dickensian themes, such as arranged marriages, Child abuse, child cruelty, betrayal, deceit, and relations between people from different Social class in the United Kingdom, British social classes. The novel was first published in monthly parts between 1846 and 1848, with illustrations by Hablot Knight Browne ("Phiz"). Development Dickens started writing the book in Lausanne, Switzerland, before returning to England, via Paris, to complete it. The full title is ''Dealings with the Firm of Dombey and Son: Wholesale, Retail and for Exportation.'' Plot summary The story concerns Paul Dombey, the wealthy owner of the shipping company of the book's title, whose dream i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Death In The Small Hours
''A Death in the Small Hours'', by Charles Finch, is a novel set in England during the Victorian era. It is the sixth novel in the Charles Lenox series. Plot summary Charles Lenox, gentleman and former amateur detective, is now a prominent Member of the House of Commons. When selected to make the opening speech at the next session of Parliament, he takes up an offer to spend some time at his uncle’s estate in Somerset. Although Lenox expected to find a few quiet weeks to prepare his speech, instead he finds a bizarre case of vandalism in the quiet village, and the murder of a local constable. Lenox investigates and finds that the situation is far more complex and sinister than it first appeared. Publication history ''A Death in the Small Hours'' was first published in hardcover by St. Martin’s Minotaur and released November 2012. The trade paperback was released in August 2013. Reception Finch received favorable reviews in several major newspapers. ''Publishers Weekly ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Mystery Of Cloomber
''The Mystery of Cloomber'' is a novel by the British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It was first published in 1888 in the ''Pall Mall Gazette''. Plot summary The book is narrated by John Fothergill West, a Scot who has moved with his family from Edinburgh to Wigtownshire to care for the estate of his father's half brother, William Farintosh. Near their residence, Branksome, is Cloomber Hall, for many years untenanted. After a little while it is settled in by John Berthier Heatherstone, late of the Indian Army. General Heatherstone is nervous to the point of being paranoid. As the story unfolds, it becomes evident that his fears are connected with some people in India whom he has offended somehow. People hear a strange sound, like the tolling of a bell, in his presence, which seems to cause the general great discomfort. Every year his paranoia reaches its climax around the fifth of October, after which date his fears subside for a while. After some time there is a shipwreck in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Death Comes To Pemberley
''Death Comes to Pemberley'' is a 2011 British mystery fiction novel by P.D. James that continues Jane Austen's 1813 novel ''Pride and Prejudice'' with a murder mystery. Plot summary The novel begins in October, 1803, six years after the events in ''Pride and Prejudice'' which resulted in the marriage of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy and Miss Elizabeth Bennet. The Prologue and Book One introduce the main characters, summarize the histories of the Bennet and Darcy families, and introduce a murder. The remainder of the novel is about the mystery and its solution. Style The novel is a pastiche in the style of Jane Austen, as James acknowledges in her Author's Note. The book is divided into sections: Author's Note; Prologue; six Books; Epilogue. Elizabeth is largely absent in the central section. Unlike Pride and Prejudice, Darcy holds the narrative point of view, and therefore, the book often contains his inward reflections, absent in Austen's novel. Contents : Author's Note : ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Written In My Own Heart's Blood
''Written in My Own Heart's Blood'' is the eighth book in the ''Outlander'' series of novels by Diana Gabaldon. Centered on time travelling 20th century doctor Claire Randall and her 18th century Scottish Highlander warrior husband Jamie Fraser, the books contain elements of historical fiction, romance, adventure and fantasy. Published on June 10, 2014, ''Written in My Own Heart's Blood'' continues the love story of Claire and Jamie as well as the story arcs of multiple characters from the previous novel, ''An Echo in the Bone''. Gabaldon announced the novel's title in September 2011. Plot summary The British evacuation of Philadelphia and the ensuing Battle of Monmouth are the major events from the book based on real history. Claire marries John Grey for protection after Jamie is presumed lost at sea. John and Jamie fight when the details are revealed. John's stepson William is angry at finding out he's Jamie's biological son. Jamie's nephew Ian marries Rachel Hunter and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aubrey–Maturin Series
The Aubrey–Maturin series is a sequence of nautical historical novels—20 completed and one unfinished—by English author Patrick O'Brian, set during the Napoleonic Wars and centring on the friendship between Captain Jack Aubrey of the Royal Navy and his ship's surgeon Stephen Maturin, a physician, natural philosopher, and intelligence agent. The first novel, ''Master and Commander'', was published in 1969 and the last finished novel in 1999. The 21st novel of the series, left unfinished at O'Brian's death in 2000, appeared in print in late 2004. The series received considerable international acclaim, and most of the novels reached ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list. These novels comprise the heart of the canon of an author often compared to Jane Austen, C. S. Forester and other British authors central to English literature. The 2003 film '' Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World'' drew from five books in the series. Russell Crowe played the role of Jack Aubr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Forsyte Saga
''The Forsyte Saga'', first published under that title in 1922, is a series of three novels and two interludes published between 1906 and 1921 by the English author John Galsworthy, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature. They chronicle the vicissitudes of the leading members of a large upper-middle-class English family that is similar to Galsworthy's. Only a few generations removed from their farmer ancestors, its members are keenly aware of their status as "new money". The main character, the solicitor and connoisseur Soames Forsyte, sees himself as a "man of property" by virtue of his ability to accumulate material possessions, but that does not succeed in bringing him pleasure. Separate sections of the saga, as well as the lengthy story in its entirety, have been adapted for cinema and television. ''The Man of Property'', the first book, was adapted in 1949 by Hollywood as ''That Forsyte Woman'', starring Errol Flynn, Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, and Robert Young. In 1967, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Small House At Allington
''The Small House at Allington'' is a novel by English novelist Anthony Trollope. It first appeared as a serial in the 1862 July to December edition of the ''Cornhill Magazine'', and ended its run in the July to December edition of the following year. It was later published 1864 as a two volume novel. It is the fifth book in the ''Chronicles of Barsetshire'' series, preceded by ''Framley Parsonage'' and followed by ''The Last Chronicle of Barset''. It enjoyed a revival in popularity in the early 1990s when the British prime minister, John Major, declared it as his favourite book. Plot summary ''The Small House at Allington'' concerns the Dale family, who live in the "Small House", a dower house intended for the widowed mother (''Dowager'') of the owner of the estate. The landowner, in this instance, is the bachelor Squire of Allington, Christopher Dale. Dale's mother having died, he has allocated the Small House, rent free, to his widowed sister-in-law and her daughters Isabella ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Midwinter (novel)
'' Midwinter: Certain travellers in old England'' is a 1923 historical novel by the Scottish author John Buchan. It is set during the Jacobite rising of 1745, when an army of Scottish highlanders seeking to place Charles Stuart onto the English throne advanced into England as far South as Derby. The Prince, otherwise known as "Bonnie Prince Charlie", the grandson of the ousted King James II, required men and money from English Jacobite sympathisers, and the novel imagines why those were not forthcoming from landowners in the Western counties and Wales. It purports to sheds light on Samuel Johnson's previously unknown activities during that period. Plot The novel opens with a framing narrative telling of the discovery in a solicitor's office of an old manuscript that sheds light on Samuel Johnson's life in 1745–1746, a period that is missing from James Boswell's biography. The story itself is the supposed manuscript, fleshed out by the discoverer for publication. Alastair ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grace Elliott
Grace Dalrymple Elliott (c. 1754 – 16 May 1823) was a Scottish courtesan, writer and spy resident in Paris during the French Revolution. She was an eyewitness to events detailed in her memoirs, ''Journal of my life during the French Revolution (Ma Vie sous la Révolution)'' published posthumously in 1859. She was mistress to the Duke of Orléans and to the future George IV, by whom she is said to have borne an illegitimate daughter. Elliott trafficked correspondence and hid French aristocrats escaping from the French Revolution. She was arrested several times but managed to avoid the guillotine, and was released after the death of Robespierre. Early life Elliott was born probably in Edinburgh about 1754, the youngest daughter of Grissel Brown (died 30 September 1767) and Hew Dalrymple (died 1774), an Edinburgh advocate concerned in the great Douglas case. Her parents separated around the time of her birth, and she was most likely brought up at her grandparents' house. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harriette Wilson
Harriette Wilson (2 February 1786 – 10 March 1845) was the author of ''The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson: Written by Herself'' (1825). Wilson was a famed British Regency courtesan who became the mistress of William, Lord Craven, at the age of 15. Later in her career, she went on to have formal relationship arrangements with Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, and other significant politicians. Early life Harriette Dubouchet's birth at 2 Carrington Street, in Shepherd Market, Mayfair, London, was recorded in the parish register of St George, Hanover Square. Her father kept a small shop with his wife, Amelia, ''née'' Cook. Her father is said to have assumed the surname of Wilson about 1801. One of the fifteen children of Swiss John James Dubouchet (or ''De Bouchet''), Wilson was one of four sisters in the family who pursued careers as concubines. Her sisters Amy, Fanny and Sophia also became courtesans. In her memoir, Wilson claims that Amy sets a poor example for the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
