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Ratman's Notebooks
''Ratman's Notebooks'' is a 1968 short novel by Stephen Gilbert. It features an unnamed social misfit who relates better to rats than to humans. It was the basis for the 1971 film '' Willard'', its 1972 sequel ''Ben'', and the 2003 remake of the original film. After the release of the original film, the book was re-released and re-titled ''Willard''. Plot The book is set as a series of journal entries, where the unnamed narrator goes back and forth between his life with the rats and his work, in a low-level job at a company that his father used to own. In these entries, the young man dwells on the hatred he feels for his boss, the stresses of caring for his aging mother, a nameless girl he becomes fond of and above all the families of rats which he has befriended and which he uses for company and companionship. Eventually, the young man trains the rats to do things for him. His favorite is an Agouti Berkshire rat (normal wild rat color, only with white markings on the belly, wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stephen Gilbert (novelist)
Stephen Gilbert (22 July 1912 – 23 June 2010) was a Northern Irish novelist, businessman and nuclear disarmament activist. On the strength of his early novels in the 1940s, Gilbert was accounted by E. M. Forster as "a writer of distinction", but he is chiefly remembered as the author of ''Ratman's Notebooks'' (1968) which sold over 1 million copies and was twice made into a horror film named ''Willard'' (1971 and 2003) in the United States. Early life Stephen Gilbert was born in Newcastle, County Down in 1912 into a prosperous Irish Protestant mercantile family and grew up mainly in an affluent district of Belfast East. Like his near-contemporaries C. S. Lewis and Louis MacNeice, the young Gilbert was sent "across the water" to school. From age 10 he attended The Leas, Hoylake on Merseyside in England and from age 13 Loretto School, Musselburgh in Scotland. He returned from Musselburgh without a Leaving Certificate, but not before manifesting his budding literary talent. Gilbe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and many smaller islands within the British Isles. Northern Ireland shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland; otherwise, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea and the Irish Sea. The total area of the United Kingdom is , with an estimated 2020 population of more than 67 million people. The United Kingdom has evolved from a series of annexations, unions and separations of constituent countries over several hundred years. The Treaty of Union between the Kingdom of England (which included Wales, annexed in 1542) and the Kingdom of Scotland in 170 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Willard (1971 Film)
''Willard'' is a 1971 American horror film directed by Daniel Mann and written by Gilbert Ralston, based on Stephen Gilbert's novel ''Ratman's Notebooks''. Bruce Davison stars as social misfit Willard Stiles, who is squeezed out of the company started by his deceased father. His only friends are a couple of rats raised at home, including Ben and Socrates, and their increasing number of friends. When Socrates is killed by Willard's boss, he goes on a rampage using his rats to attack. ''Willard'' was released on February 26, 1971 by Cinerama Releasing Corporation, opening to positive reviews and high box office returns, and was the 12th highest-grossing release of the year. It was also nominated for an Edgar Award for Best Picture. The film was followed by a 1972 sequel ''Ben'', and a 2003 remake, also titled '' Willard'', with Crispin Glover portraying Willard, and Davison making a cameo as Willard's father. Plot Willard Stiles is a meek social misfit who develops an affinit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ben (film)
''Ben'' is a 1972 American drama-thriller film directed by Phil Karlson and starring Lee Montgomery, Joseph Campanella, and Arthur O'Connell. It is a sequel to the film '' Willard'' (1971). The film follows a lonely boy named Danny Garrison who befriends Willard's former pet rat named Ben. Ben becomes the boy's best friend, protecting him from bullying and keeping his spirits up in the face of a heart condition. However, Ben forms an army of deadly rodents while the police attempt to control it. ''Ben'' was released on June 23, 1972 by Cinerama Releasing Corporation, and received mixed reviews from the critics. American singer Michael Jackson performs the theme song of the film, also titled "Ben". The song is also included on his 1972 album of the same name. Plot The movie begins with a recap of the ending of the first film where Willard Stiles is killed by the rats after he tries to kill them and Ben. Police arrives at the scene and finds Willard dead. 2 police officers sta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid digital subscribers. It also is a producer of popular podcasts such as '' The Daily''. Founded in 1851 by Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones, it was initially published by Raymond, Jones & Company. The ''Times'' has won 132 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any newspaper, and has long been regarded as a national " newspaper of record". For print it is ranked 18th in the world by circulation and 3rd in the U.S. The paper is owned by the New York Times Company, which is publicly traded. It has been governed by the Sulzberger family since 1896, through a dual-class share structure after its shares became publicly traded. A. G. Sulzberger, the paper's publisher and the company's chairman, is the fifth generation of the family to head the pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Willard (2003 Film)
''Willard'' is a 2003 American psychological horror film co-written and directed by Glen Morgan and starring Crispin Glover, R. Lee Ermey and Laura Elena Harring. It is loosely based on the novel ''Ratman's Notebooks'' by Stephen Gilbert, as well as on the novel's first film adaptation, '' Willard'' (1971), and its sequel, ''Ben'' (1972). It was not billed as a remake by the producers, who chose instead to present it as a reworking of the themes from the original with a stronger focus on suspense. Plot Social misfit Willard Stiles, who cares for his ill and fragile but verbally abusive mother Henrietta in a musty old mansion, is constantly humiliated and mercilessly taunted in front of his co-workers by his vicious and cruel boss, Frank Martin, who took over the Stiles family company after Willard's father Alfred committed suicide in 1995. After discovering and failing to exterminate a growing rat colony in the basement, Willard befriends and quickly becomes obsessed with a whi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Valancourt Books
Valancourt Books is an independent American publishing house founded by James Jenkins and Ryan Cagle in 2005. The company specializes in "the rediscovery of rare, neglected, and out-of-print fiction," in particular gay titles and Gothic and horror novels from the 18th century to the 1980s. Overview Discovering that many works of Gothic fiction from the late 18th and early 19th centuries were unavailable in print, Jenkins and Cagle founded Valancourt in 2005 and began reprinting some of them. Their list includes the " Northanger 'horrid' novels", seven gothic novels lampooned by Jane Austen in ''Northanger Abbey'' (1818) and once thought to be fictional titles of Austen's creation. Eventually the company "expanded into neglected Victorian-era popular fiction, including old penny dreadfuls and sensation novels, as well as a lot of the decadent and ''fin de siècle'' literature of the 1890s." In 2012, Jenkins and Cagle realized that there was 20th century literature as recent as t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kim Newman
Kim James Newman (born 31 July 1959) is an English journalist, film critic and fiction writer. Recurring interests visible in his work include film history and horror fiction—both of which he attributes to seeing Tod Browning's ''Dracula (1931 English-language film), Dracula'' at the age of eleven—and alternative history, alternative fictional versions of history. He has won the Bram Stoker Award, the International Horror Guild Award, and the BSFA award. Early life Kim Newman was born 31 July 1959 in Brixton, London, the son of Bryan Michael Newman and Julia Christen Newman, both potters.Kim James Newman. ''Contemporary Authors Online'', Gale (publisher), Gale, 2007. His sister, Sasha, was born in 1961, and their mother died in 2003. Newman attended "a progressive kindergarten and a primary school in Brixton, and then Huish Episcopi County Primary School in Langport, Somerset." In 1966 the family moved to Aller, Somerset. He was educated at Dr. Morgan's Grammar School for Boy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1968 British Novels
The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * January 10 – John Gorton is sworn in as 19th Prime Minister of Australia, taking over from John McEwen after being elected leader of the Liberal Party the previous day, following the disappearance of Harold Holt. Gorton becomes the only Senator to become Prime Minister, though he immediately transfers to the House of Representatives through the 1968 Higgins by-election in Holt's vacant seat. * January 15 – The 1968 Belice earthquake in Sicily kills 380 and injures around 1,000. * January 21 ** Vietnam War: Battle of Khe Sanh – One of the most publicized and controversial battles of the war begins, ending on April 8. ** 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash: A U.S. B-52 Stratofortress crashes in Greenland, discharging 4 nuclear bombs. * January 23 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Horror Novels
British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, the English language as spoken and written in the United Kingdom or, more broadly, throughout the British Isles * Celtic Britons, an ancient ethno-linguistic group * Brittonic languages, a branch of the Insular Celtic language family (formerly called British) ** Common Brittonic, an ancient language Other uses *''Brit(ish)'', a 2018 memoir by Afua Hirsch *People or things associated with: ** Great Britain, an island ** United Kingdom, a sovereign state ** Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1800) ** United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801–1922) See also * Terminology of the British Isles * Alternative names for the British * English (other) * Britannic (other) * British Isles * Brit (other) * Briton (d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Novels Adapted Into Films
British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, the English language as spoken and written in the United Kingdom or, more broadly, throughout the British Isles * Celtic Britons, an ancient ethno-linguistic group * Brittonic languages, a branch of the Insular Celtic language family (formerly called British) ** Common Brittonic, an ancient language Other uses *''Brit(ish)'', a 2018 memoir by Afua Hirsch *People or things associated with: ** Great Britain, an island ** United Kingdom, a sovereign state ** Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1800) ** United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801–1922) See also * Terminology of the British Isles * Alternative names for the British * English (other) * Britannic (other) * British Isles * Brit (other) * Briton ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
English-language Novels
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the island of Great Britain. Existing on a dialect continuum with Scots, and then closest related to the Low Saxon and Frisian languages, English is genealogically West Germanic. However, its vocabulary is also distinctively influenced by dialects of France (about 29% of Modern English words) and Latin (also about 29%), plus some grammar and a small amount of core vocabulary influenced by Old Norse (a North Germanic language). Speakers of English are called Anglophones. The earliest forms of English, collectively known as Old English, evolved from a group of West Germanic (Ingvaeonic) dialects brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the 5th century and further mutated by Norse-speaking Viking settlers starting in the 8th and 9th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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