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Sceptre Press
Martin Booth (7 September 1944 – 12 February 2004) was an English novelist and poet. He also worked as a teacher and screenwriter, and was the founder of the Sceptre Press. Early life Martin Booth was born in Lancashire England, the son of Joyce and Ken Booth, the latter of which was a Royal Navy civil servant. Martin has said that his parents had a difficult marriage, as his father was stern, pompous, and humourless, while his mother was adventurous, witty, and sociable. The family moved to Hong Kong in May 1952, where his father was stationed for a three-year tour as a grocery supplier to the British Navy. In his memoir “Gweilo: A memoir of a Hong Kong Childhood” Booth recalls that the streets of Hong Kong were safe, and he would explore the city alone as a child. He encountered things he was unfamiliar with: dogs hung in a butcher shop, an impoverished family living in a packing crate, and a Russian refugee who claimed to be the missing Russian princess Anastasia. Pe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reichenbach Falls
The Reichenbach Falls (german: Reichenbachfälle) are a waterfall cascade of seven steps on the stream called Rychenbach in the Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland. They drop over a total height of about . At , the upper falls, known as the Grand Reichenbach Fall (german: Grosser Reichenbachfall), is by far the tallest segment and one of the highest waterfalls in the Alps, and among the forty highest in Switzerland. The Reichenbach loses of height from the top of the falls to the valley floor of the Haslital. Today, a hydroelectric power company harnesses the flow of the Reichenbach Falls during certain times of year, reducing its flow. In popular literature, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle gave the Grand (or Great) Reichenbach Fall as the location of the final physical altercation between his hero Sherlock Holmes and his greatest foe, the criminal Professor Moriarty, in " The Final Problem". Location The falls are located in the lower part of the Reichenbachtal, on the Ryche ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Knotting, Bedfordshire
Knotting is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Knotting and Souldrop, in the Bedford district, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, located near the border with Northamptonshire. Nearby places are, Sharnbrook, Podington, Odell, Melchbourne, Yelden, Newton Bromswold, Souldrop and Rushden over the border in Northamptonshire. In 1931 the parish had a population of 114. On 1 April 1934 the parish was abolished to form "Knotting and Souldrop". Parish church The Parish Church is partly of 12th century Norman construction, including a chancel arch with carved decoration, and is dedicated to St Margaret. The registers date from 1592 and many of these are deposited at the Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service The Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service is a county record office, holding archival material associated with Bedfordshire and Luton. Established in 1913 by George Herbert Fowler (1861-1940) as the Bedfordshire Record O ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Stathatos
John Stathatos (born Athens, 1947), Greek photographer and writer. Biography Based in London, 1970s-1990s, where he studied at the London School of Economics and was Executive Editor of the student newspaper, The Beaver as well as Editor of two issues of Clare Market Review. Active as a poet and freelance photojournalist in the seventies, he published several volumes of poetry in English as well as translations of modern Greek poetry with British small and independent presses. Collaborated with poet and writer Ian Robinson on a number of projects, including Independent Press Distribution and the short-lived magazine ''Telegram''. Journalism led him to cover stories in Kurdistan, the Spanish Sahara and the Philippines for various newspapers, including the ''Guardian'' and the ''Sunday Times''. He later became increasingly involved in photography, exhibiting his work in venues such as The Photographers' Gallery and Camden Arts Centre; alongside his own work, he published reviews an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George MacBeth
George Mann MacBeth (19 January 1932 – 16 February 1992) was a Scottish poet and novelist. Biography George MacBeth was born in Shotts, Lanarkshire, Scotland. When he was three, his family moved to Sheffield in England. He was educated in Sheffield at King Edward VII School where he was Head Prefect in 1951photo, before going up to New College, Oxford, with an Open Scholarship in Classics. He joined BBC Radio on graduating in 1955 from the University of Oxford. He worked there, as a producer of programmes on poetry, notably for the BBC Third Programme, until 1976. He was a member of The Group. He resigned from the BBC to take up novel-writing; he introduced a series of thrillers involving the spy, Cadbury. In his later post-BBC years, after divorcing his first wife, he married the novelist Lisa St Aubin de Terán, with whom he had a child, Alexander Morton George MacBeth. After a divorce, he moved with his new wife, Penny, to Ireland to live at Moyne Park, Abbeyknockmoy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Elroy Flecker
James Elroy Flecker (5 November 1884 – 3 January 1915) was a British novelist and playwright. As a poet, he was most influenced by the Parnassian poets. Biography Herman Elroy Flecker was born on 5 November 1884 in Lewisham, London, to William Herman Flecker (d. 1941), headmaster of Dean Close School, Cheltenham, and his wife Sarah. His much younger brother was the educationalist Henry Lael Oswald Flecker (1896–1958), who became Headmaster of Christ's Hospital. Flecker later chose to use the first name "James", either because he disliked the name "Herman" or to avoid confusion with his father. "Roy", as his family called him. was educated at Dean Close School, and then at Uppingham. He subsequently studied at Trinity College, Oxford, and at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. While at Oxford he was greatly influenced by the last flowering of the Aesthetic movement there under John Addington Symonds, and became a close friend of the classicist and art historian John Be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yaodong
A yaodong () or "house cave" is a particular form of earth shelter dwelling common in the Loess Plateau in China's north. They are generally carved out of a hillside or excavated horizontally from a central "sunken courtyard". The earth that surrounds the indoor space serves as an effective insulator, keeping the inside of the structure warm in cold seasons and cool in hot seasons. Consequently, very little heating is required in winter, and in summer, it is as cool as an air-conditioned room. The history of yaodongs goes back centuries, and they continue to be used. In 2006, an estimated 40 million people in northern China lived in yaodongs. In the last decade, yaodongs have been brought to the attention of scientists and researchers. These traditional dwellings have been regarded as an example of sustainable design. Types The landscape of the Loess Plateau terrain is very complicated, with valleys, slopes, ridges, and monticules. In order to avoid the wind and utilize s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Clooney
George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, four Golden Globe Awards, and two Academy Awards, one for his acting and the other as a producer. In 2018, he was the recipient of the AFI Life Achievement Award, and in 2022, he was felicitated at the Kennedy Center Honors for a "lifetime of contributions to American culture." Clooney started his career in television, gaining wide recognition in his role as Dr. Doug Ross on the NBC medical drama '' ER'' from 1994 to 1999, for which he received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations. He expanded to leading roles in films, with his breakthrough role in ''From Dusk till Dawn'' (1996). This led to starring roles in the superhero film '' Batman & Robin'' (1997), Steven Soderbergh's '' Out of Sight'' (1998), David O. Russell's ''Three Kings'', and the Coen brothers' '' O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' (2000). Greater star ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The American (2010 Film)
''The American'' is a 2010 American action thriller film directed by Anton Corbijn and starring George Clooney, Thekla Reuten, Violante Placido, Irina Björklund, and Paolo Bonacelli. Based on the 1990 novel '' A Very Private Gentleman'' by Martin Booth, it was loosely adapted to screenplay by Rowan Joffé. The film was released on September 1, 2010. It received generally positive reviews from critics and grossed $67 million worldwide. Plot Jack, a gunsmith and contract killer, and his lover, Ingrid, are relaxing in Sweden. As they walk in the wilderness outside their cabin, Jack becomes alarmed by a trail of footprints in the snow and pulls Ingrid towards shelter. Sniper gunshots ring out. Ingrid sees Jack pull a gun from his pocket and shoot the sniper. Knowing his identity is in jeopardy, and with little hesitation, Jack kills Ingrid before locating and killing another armed man. He flees to Rome and contacts his handler, Pavel, who insists that Jack cannot stay in Ro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Booker Prize
The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. The winner of the Booker Prize receives international publicity which usually leads to a sales boost. When the prize was created, only novels written by Commonwealth, Irish, and South African (and later Zimbabwean) citizens were eligible to receive the prize; in 2014 it was widened to any English-language novel—a change that proved controversial. A five-person panel constituted by authors, librarians, literary agents, publishers, and booksellers is appointed by the Booker Prize Foundation each year to choose the winning book. A high-profile literary award in British culture, the Booker Prize is greeted with anticipation and fanfare. Literary critics have noted that it is a mark of distinction for authors to be selected for inclusion i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jim Corbett
Edward James Corbett (25 July 1875 – 19 April 1955) was a British hunter, tracker, naturalist, and author who hunted a number of man-eating tigers and leopards in the Indian subcontinent. He held the rank of colonel in the British Indian Army and was frequently called upon by the Government of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, now the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, to kill man-eating tigers and leopards that were preying on people in the nearby villages of the Kumaon-Garhwal Regions. He authored '' Man-Eaters of Kumaon'', ''Jungle Lore'', and other books recounting his hunts and experiences, which enjoyed critical acclaim and commercial success. He became an avid photographer and spoke out for the need to protect India's wildlife from extermination. Early life Edward James Corbett was born on 25 July 1875 of British ancestry in the town of Nainital in Kumaon division, Uttarakhand, India. He grew up in a large family of sixteen children and was the e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the deadliest conflict in human history; it resulted in 70 to 85 million fatalities, mostly among civilians. Tens of millions died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), starvat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ted Hughes
Edward James "Ted" Hughes (17 August 1930 – 28 October 1998) was an English poet, translator, and children's writer. Critics frequently rank him as one of the best poets of his generation and one of the twentieth century's greatest writers. He was appointed Poet Laureate in 1984 and held the office until his death. In 2008 ''The Times'' ranked Hughes fourth on its list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945". Hughes was married to American poet Sylvia Plath from 1956 until her death by suicide in 1963 at the age of 30. His last poetic work, '' Birthday Letters'' (1998), explored their relationship. Biography Early life Hughes was born at 1 Aspinall Street, in Mytholmroyd in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to William Henry (1894–1981) and Edith ( Farrar) Hughes (1898–1969), and raised among the local farms of the Calder Valley and on the Pennine moorland. Hughes's sister Olwyn Marguerite Hughes (1928–2016) was two years older and his brother Gerald (19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
