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Samuel Derrick
Samuel Derrick (1724–1769) was an Irish author. He became known as a hack writer in London, where he gained wide literary connections. Life Born in Dublin, Derrick served an apprenticeship with a linen draper, and after that failed as an actor. He then turned to writing. Derrick knew Samuel Johnson, who had a soft spot for him, and he helped Johnson in researching John Dryden's life. He also knew James Boswell in his early days in London. He was supported by Tobias Smollett, who gave him employment as amanuensis and on ''The Critical Review''. He is thought to have been the original compiler of ''Harris's List of Covent Garden Ladies'', an annual directory of London prostitutes beginning in 1757. Two years after the death of Beau Nash in 1761, Derrick was appointed master of the ceremonies at Bath. He was employed there, and in a similar position in Tunbridge Wells, until his death on 28 March 1769. There was no lack of criticism, with James Quin in particular (who had wan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hack Writer
''Hack writer'' is a pejorative term for a writer who is paid to write low-quality, rushed articles or books "to order", often with a short deadline. In fiction writing, a hack writer is paid to quickly write sensational, "pulp" fiction such as "true crime" novels or "bodice ripping" paperbacks. In journalism, a hack writer is deemed to operate as a "mercenary" or "pen for hire", expressing their client's political opinions in pamphlets or newspaper articles. Hack writers are usually paid by the number of words in their book or article; as a result, hack writing has a reputation for quantity taking precedence over quality. History The term "hack writer" was first used in the 18th century, "when publishing was establishing itself as a business employing writers who could produce to order." The derivation of the term "hack" was a "shortening of hackney, which described a horse that was easy to ride and available for hire." In 1728, Alexander Pope wrote ''The Dunciad'', which was a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Quin
James Quin (24 February 1693 – 21 January 1766) was an English actor of Irish descent. Life Quin was born in King Street, Covent Garden, London, an illegitimate son of James Quin, an Irish-born barrister, and his partner (whom he apparently never lawfully married) Mrs. Grinsell. He was the grandson of Mark Quin, Lord Mayor of Dublin in 1667–8. William Whitshed, Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, was his first cousin. He was educated in Dublin, and probably spent some time at Trinity College, Dublin. His grandfather, the Lord Mayor of Dublin, who caused a sensation by committing suicide in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin in 1674, supposedly because of his wife's infidelity, was one of the richest men in Dublin. James unsuccessfully claimed a share of the family fortune,Sturgeon, Sinéad "Quin, James" ''Dictionary of Irish Biography'' but he could not prove that his parents had been lawfully married, since his mother had a previous husband who was still alive. Soon after his fathe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irish Writers
Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ** Republic of Ireland, a sovereign state * Irish language, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family spoken in Ireland * Irish people, people of Irish ethnicity, people born in Ireland and people who hold Irish citizenship Places * Irish Creek (Kansas), a stream in Kansas * Irish Creek (South Dakota), a stream in South Dakota * Irish Lake, Watonwan County, Minnesota * Irish Sea, the body of water which separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain People * Irish (surname), a list of people * William Irish, pseudonym of American writer Cornell Woolrich (1903–1968) * Irish Bob Murphy, Irish-American boxer Edwin Lee Conarty (1922–1961) * Irish McC ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1769 Deaths
Events January–March * February 2 – Pope Clement XIII dies, the night before preparing an order to dissolve the Jesuits.Denis De Lucca, ''Jesuits and Fortifications: The Contribution of the Jesuits to Military Architecture in the Baroque Age'' (BRILL, 2012) pp315-316 * February 17 – The British House of Commons votes to not allow MP John Wilkes to take his seat after he wins a by-election. * March 4 – Mozart departs Italy, after the last of his three tours there. * March 16 – Louis Antoine de Bougainville returns to Saint-Malo, following a three-year circumnavigation of the world with the ships '' La Boudeuse'' and '' Étoile'', with the loss of only seven out of 330 men; among the members of the expedition is Jeanne Baré, the first woman known to have circumnavigated the globe. She returns to France some time after Bougainville and his ships. April–June * April 13 – James Cook arrives in Tahiti, on the ship HM Bark ''End ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1724 Births
Seventeen or 17 may refer to: *17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18 * one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017 Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine * ''Seventeen'' (Japanese magazine), a Japanese magazine Novels * ''Seventeen'' (Tarkington novel), a 1916 novel by Booth Tarkington *''Seventeen'' (''Sebuntiin''), a 1961 novel by Kenzaburō Ōe * ''Seventeen'' (Serafin novel), a 2004 novel by Shan Serafin Stage and screen Film * ''Seventeen'' (1916 film), an American silent comedy film *'' Number Seventeen'', a 1932 film directed by Alfred Hitchcock * ''Seventeen'' (1940 film), an American comedy film *''Eric Soya's '17''' (Danish: ''Sytten''), a 1965 Danish comedy film * ''Seventeen'' (1985 film), a documentary film * ''17 Again'' (film), a 2009 film whose working title was ''17'' * ''Seventeen'' (2019 film), a Spanish drama film Television * ''Seventeen'' (TV drama), a 1994 UK dramatic short starring Chris ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ossian
Ossian (; Irish Gaelic/Scottish Gaelic: ''Oisean'') is the narrator and purported author of a cycle of epic poems published by the Scottish poet James Macpherson, originally as ''Fingal'' (1761) and ''Temora'' (1763), and later combined under the title ''The Poems of Ossian''. Macpherson claimed to have collected word-of-mouth material in Scottish Gaelic, said to be from ancient sources, and that the work was his translation of that material. Ossian is based on Oisín, son of Fionn mac Cumhaill (anglicised to Finn McCool), a legendary bard in Irish mythology. Contemporary critics were divided in their view of the work's authenticity, but the current consensus is that Macpherson largely composed the poems himself, drawing in part on traditional Gaelic poetry he had collected. The work was internationally popular, translated into all the literary languages of Europe and was highly influential both in the development of the Romantic movement and the Gaelic revival. Macpherson's f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Wilkes
John Wilkes (17 October 1725 – 26 December 1797) was an English radical journalist and politician, as well as a magistrate, essayist and soldier. He was first elected a Member of Parliament in 1757. In the Middlesex election dispute, he fought for the right of his voters—rather than the House of Commons—to determine their representatives. In 1768, angry protests of his supporters were suppressed in the Massacre of St George's Fields. In 1771, he was instrumental in obliging the government to concede the right of printers to publish verbatim accounts of parliamentary debates. In 1776, he introduced the first bill for parliamentary reform in the British Parliament. During the American War of Independence, he was a supporter of the American rebels, adding further to his popularity with American Whigs. In 1780, however, he commanded militia forces which helped put down the Gordon Riots, damaging his popularity with many radicals. This marked a turning point, leading him to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jean-Baptiste De Boyer, Marquis D'Argens
Jean-Baptiste de Boyer, Marquis d'Argens (24 June 1704 – 11 January 1771) was a French rationalist, author and critic of the Catholic church, who was a close friend of Voltaire and spent much of his life in exile at the court of Frederick the Great. Life Jean-Baptiste de Boyer, later Marquis d’Argens, was born on 24 June 1704 in the southern French town of Aix-en-Provence. He was the eldest of seven children of Pierre-Jean de Boyer and Angélique de L'Enfant, daughter of Luc de L'Enfant (1656–1729), President of the Regional Parliament. Pierre-Jean de Boyer was Procureur général or Attorney-General for the Regional Parliament of Provence and a member of the Second Estate, the ''Noblesse de robe'' or Nobles of the robe. Their rank derived from the possession of judicial or administrative posts and unlike the aristocratic ''Noblesse d'épée'' or Nobles of the Sword, they were often hard-working middle-class professionals. By the mid-18th century, many of these pos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cyrano De Bergerac
Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac ( , ; 6 March 1619 – 28 July 1655) was a French novelist, playwright, epistolarian, and duelist. A bold and innovative author, his work was part of the libertine literature of the first half of the 17th century. Today, he is best known as the inspiration for Edmond Rostand's most noted drama, ''Cyrano de Bergerac'' (1897), which, although it includes elements of his life, also contains invention and myth. Since the 1970s, there has been a resurgence in the study of Cyrano, demonstrated in the abundance of theses, essays, articles and biographies published in France and elsewhere. Life Sources Cyrano's short life is poorly documented. Certain significant chapters of his life are known only from the Preface to the ''Histoire Comique par Monsieur de Cyrano Bergerac, Contenant les Estats & Empires de la Lune'' (''Comical History of the States and Empires of the Moon'') published in 1657, nearly two years after his death. Without Henri Le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frederick II Of Prussia
Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Silesian wars, his re-organisation of the Prussian Army, the First Partition of Poland, and his patronage of the arts and the Enlightenment. Frederick was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled King in Prussia, declaring himself King of Prussia after annexing Polish Prussia from the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1772. Prussia greatly increased its territories and became a major military power in Europe under his rule. He became known as Frederick the Great (german: links=no, Friedrich der Große) and was nicknamed "Old Fritz" (german: links=no, "Der Alte Fritz"). In his youth, Frederick was more interested in music and philosophy than in the art of war, which led to clashes with his authoritarian father, Frederick William I of Prussi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Francis Gentleman
Francis Gentleman (23 October 1728 - 21 December 1784) was an Irish actor, poet, and dramatic writer of 18th century. He wrote several plays, dramatic works, poems and edited Shakspeare's plays for the stage. Biography Born at York St., Dublin, Ireland, on October 23, 1728. He received his education in Dublin and served in army till dismissed in 1748. Later, he indulged his inclination for the stage appearing in Dublin, London, Edinburgh, and many more. He first appeared in Thomas Southerne's stage play ''Oroonoko ''Oroonoko: or, the Royal Slave'' is a work of prose fiction by Aphra Behn (1640–1689), published in 1688 by William Canning and reissued with two other fictions later that year. It was also adapted into a play. The eponymous hero is an Afri ...'' – in the character of ''Aboan''. He started his career of writing for the stage in England, notably, tragic works like ''Sejanus'' and ''The Sultan of Love and Fame''; and comedies like ''The Modish Wife'' and ''The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tunbridge Wells
Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the Weald, High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Rocks. The town was a spa in the Restoration (England), Restoration and a fashionable resort in the mid-1700s under Richard (Beau) Nash, Beau Nash when the Pantiles, and its chalybeate spring, attracted visitors who wished to take the waters. Though its popularity as a spa town waned with the advent of sea bathing, the town still derives much of its income from tourism. The town has a population of around 56,500, and is the administrative centre of Tunbridge Wells (borough), Tunbridge Wells Borough and in the parliamentary constituency of Tunbridge Wells (UK Parliament constituency), Tunbridge Wells. History Iron Age Evidence suggests that Iron Age people farmed the fields and mined the iron-rich rocks in the Tunbridge Wells area, and excava ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
