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The Dud Avocado
''The Dud Avocado'' is the debut novel of writer Elaine Dundy, first published in 1958. The novel was a bestseller upon its release and earned acclaim from Groucho Marx, Gore Vidal and Ernest Hemingway. After falling out of print it was re-issued by NYRB Classics and Virago Modern Classics in 2007 and 2018 respectively. The novel was based on Dundy's own experiences living in Paris and follows the misadventures of Sally Jay Gorce, a 21-year-old American graduate having love affairs and trying to break into the film industry in France. In October 1993, seven years after '' Private Eye'' had pointed out the similarities, Jilly Cooper admitted that sections of her first two novels, ''Emily'' and ''Bella'', were plagiarised from ''The Dud Avocado'', but said that it was not deliberate. Summary After three months in Paris, Sally Jay Gorce, a 21-year-old college graduate, runs into Larry Keevil, an actor she performed summer stock with in America. Over the course of their conversatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elaine Dundy
Elaine Rita Dundy (née Brimberg; August 1, 1921 – May 1, 2008) was an American novelist, biographer, journalist, actress and playwright. Early life She was born Elaine Rita Brimberg in New York City. Her Polish Jewish immigrant father, Samuel Brimberg, was an office furniture manufacturer and a violent bully. Her mother was of Latvian Jewish descent; she was the daughter of a multimillionaire manufacturer and inventor. Dundy was one of three sisters; a sibling was Shirley Clarke, the independent filmmaker. Dundy grew up in a Park Avenue home where she was educated by a governess, though she eventually attended high school, where her boyfriend Terry was the son of playwright Maxwell Anderson. Later, they met again and almost married. A habituée of New York nightclubs from the age of 15, she met the exiled Dutch painter Piet Mondrian, who wished to be taught how to jitterbug. An honors graduate from Sweet Briar College in Sweet Briar, Virginia, she studied acting at the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Groucho Marx
Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx (; October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977) was an American comedian, actor, writer, stage, film, radio, singer, television star and vaudeville performer. He is generally considered to have been a master of quick wit and one of America's greatest comedians. He made 13 feature films as a team with his siblings the Marx Brothers; he was the third-born of the brothers. He also had a successful solo career primarily on radio and television, most notably as the host of the game show ''You Bet Your Life''. His distinctive appearance, carried over from his days in vaudeville, included quirks such as an exaggerated stooped posture, spectacles, cigar, and a thick greasepaint mustache and eyebrows. These exaggerated features resulted in the creation of one of the most recognizable and ubiquitous novelty disguises, known as Groucho glasses: a one-piece mask consisting of horn-rimmed glasses, a large plastic nose, bushy eyebrows and mustache. Early life Julius H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gore Vidal
Eugene Luther Gore Vidal (; born Eugene Louis Vidal, October 3, 1925 – July 31, 2012) was an American writer and public intellectual known for his epigrammatic wit, erudition, and patrician manner. Vidal was bisexual, and in his novels and essays interrogated the social and cultural sexual norms he perceived as driving American life. Beyond literature, Vidal was heavily involved in politics. He twice sought office—unsuccessfully—as a Democratic Party candidate, first in 1960 to the U.S. House of Representatives (for New York), and later in 1982 to the U.S. Senate (for California). A grandson of a U.S. Senator, Vidal was born into an upper-class political family. As a political commentator and essayist, Vidal's primary focus was the history and society of the United States, especially how a militaristic foreign policy reduced the country to a decadent empire. His political and cultural essays were published in ''The Nation'', the ''New Statesman'', the ''New York Revie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his adventurous lifestyle and public image brought him admiration from later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the mid-1950s, and he was awarded the 1954 Nobel Prize in Literature. He published seven novels, six short-story collections, and two nonfiction works. Three of his novels, four short-story collections, and three nonfiction works were published posthumously. Many of his works are considered classics of American literature. Hemingway was raised in Oak Park, Illinois. After high school, he was a reporter for a few months for ''The Kansas City Star'' before leaving for the Italian Front (World War I), Italian Front to enlist as an ambulance driver in World War I. In 1918, he was se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Private Eye
''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satire, satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely recognised for its prominent criticism and Parody, lampooning of public figures. It is also known for its in-depth investigative journalism into under-reported scandals and cover-ups. ''Private Eye'' is Britain's best-selling current affairs magazine, and such is its long-term popularity and impact that many of recurring in-jokes in Private Eye, its recurring in-jokes have entered popular culture in the United Kingdom. The magazine bucks the trend of declining circulation for print media, having recorded its highest ever circulation in the second half of 2016. It is privately owned and highly profitable. With a "deeply conservative resistance to change", it has resisted moves to online content or glossy format: it has always been printed o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jilly Cooper
Jilly Cooper, CBE (born 21 February 1937), is an English author. She began her career as a journalist and wrote numerous works of non-fiction before writing several romance novels, the first of which appeared in 1975. She is most famous for writing the Rutshire Chronicles. Early life Jilly Sallitt was born in Hornchurch, Essex, England, to Mary Elaine (née Whincup) and Brigadier W. B. Sallitt, OBE. She grew up in Ilkley and Surrey, and was educated at the Moorfield School in Ilkley and the Godolphin School in Salisbury. Journalism and non-fiction After unsuccessfully trying to begin a career in the British national press, Cooper became a junior reporter for ''The Middlesex Independent'', based in Brentford. She worked for the paper from 1957 to 1959. Subsequently, she worked as an account executive, copywriter, publisher's reader and receptionist. Her break came with a chance meeting at a dinner party. The editor of ''The Sunday Times Magazine'' asked her to write a feature ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Côte D'Argent
Côte d’Argent (; ) is a name given to part of the Atlantic coast of the Aquitaine region in France. Etymology The term was first coined to describe the Aquitaine coast in 1905 by the journalist and poet Maurice Martin. The Congrès national des sociétés de géographie officially approved the name in 1907. The region it referred to eventually shrunk; the northern part including Royan became the Côte de Beauté and the southern part including Anglet became the Basque Coast. Geography In the south-west of France, facing the Atlantic Ocean, ''La Côte d’Argent'' is part of the Bay of Biscay. It is limited at its north by the Gironde mouth and at its south by the river Adour. Large waves make this a popular surfing destination and create some of the largest sand dunes in Europe, including the Dune of Pilat. Surfing competitions include the Quiksilver Pro France and the Lacanau Pro. Surfing in Capbreton3.jpg, Surfing in Capbreton Cap Ferret 001.jpg, Dune of Pilat from Cap Fe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
NYRB Classics
New York Review Books (NYRB) is the publishing division of ''The New York Review of Books''. Its imprints are New York Review Books Classics, New York Review Books Collections, The New York Review Children's Collection, New York Review Comics, New York Review Books Poets, and NYRB Lit. Description The division was started in the fall of 1999.Vince Manapat, "Meet Edwin Frank: Editor of New York Review Books Classics" www.metro.us, January 31, 2012. It grew out of another enterprise called the Reader's Catalog (subtitle: "The 40,000 best books in print"), which sold books through a catalog. Founder Edwin Frank and his managing editor discovered many of the books they wanted to prin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
