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Vera (novel)
''Vera'' by Elizabeth von Arnim is a 1921 novel based on her disastrous second marriage, to Frank Russell. It is a frightening analysis of the naivety of a young woman, as she falls into the power of a pathologically narcissistic husband. In outline, this utterly unromantic novel anticipates Daphne du Maurier's '' Rebecca''. Naive Lucy Entwhistle is swept into marriage by a widower, Everard Wemyss. His mansion, "The Willows", is pervaded by the spectre of his dead wife Vera, who Lucy gradually comes to suspect committed suicide rather than endure being married to Wemyss. The story is a black vision of a young wife who gradually begins to understand that her husband will accept nothing less than total intellectual and emotional servitude. Many of von Arnim's other books, including the ''Enchanted April'', are written with verve, humour and a delight in the romantic: ''Vera'' is closer to a nightmare. When ''The Times Literary Supplement'' published a bad review of ''Vera'', her fri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elizabeth Von Arnim
Elizabeth von Arnim (31 August 1866 – 9 February 1941), born Mary Annette Beauchamp, was an English novelist. Born in Australia, she married a German aristocrat, and her earliest works are set in Germany. Her first marriage made her Countess von Arnim-Schlagenthin and her second Elizabeth Russell, Countess Russell. After her first husband's death, she had a three-year affair with the writer H. G. Wells, then later married Frank Russell, elder brother of the Nobel prize-winner and philosopher Bertrand Russell. She was a cousin of the New Zealand-born writer Katherine Mansfield. Though known in early life as May, her first book introduced her to readers as Elizabeth, which she eventually became friends and finally to family. Her writings are ascribed to Elizabeth von Arnim. She used the pseudonym Alice Cholmondeley for only one novel, ''Christine'', published in 1917. Early life She was born at her family's home on Kirribilli Point in Sydney, Australia, to Henry Herron Beaucham ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Russell, 2nd Earl Russell
John Francis Stanley Russell, 2nd Earl Russell, known as Frank Russell (12 August 18653 March 1931), was a British nobleman, barrister and politician, the elder brother of the philosopher Bertrand Russell, and the grandson of John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, who was twice prime minister of Britain. The elder son of Viscount and Viscountess Amberley, Russell became well-known for his marital woes, and was convicted of bigamy before the House of Lords in 1901, the last peer to be convicted of an offence in a trial by the Lords before that privilege of peerage was abolished in 1948. Russell was raised by his paternal grandparents after his unconventional parents both died young. He was discontented living with his grandparents, but enjoyed four happy years at Winchester College. His academic education came to a sudden end when he was sent down from Balliol College, Oxford, probably because authorities there had suspicions concerning the nature of his relationship with the future p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Narcissism
Narcissism is a self-centered personality style characterized as having an excessive interest in one's physical appearance or image and an excessive preoccupation with one's own needs, often at the expense of others. Narcissism exists on a continuum that ranges from normal to abnormal personality expression. While there exists normal, healthy levels of narcissism in humans, there are also more extreme levels of narcissism, being seen particularly in people who are self-absorbed, or people who have a pathological mental illness like narcissistic personality disorder. It is one of the traits featured in the dark triad, along with Machiavellianism (psychology), Machiavellianism and subclinical psychopathy. History of thought The term "narcissism" comes from the Roman poet Ovid's ''Metamorphoses'', written in the year 8 AD. Book III of the poem tells the mythical story of a handsome young man, Narcissus (mythology), Narcissus, who spurns the advances of many potential lovers. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daphne Du Maurier
Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning, (; 13 May 1907 – 19 April 1989) was an English novelist, biographer and playwright. Her parents were actor-manager Sir Gerald du Maurier and his wife, actress Muriel Beaumont. Her grandfather was George du Maurier, a writer and cartoonist. Although du Maurier is classed as a romantic novelist, her stories have been described as "moody and resonant" with overtones of the paranormal. Her bestselling works were not at first taken seriously by critics, but they have since earned an enduring reputation for narrative craft. Many have been successfully adapted into films, including the novels '' Rebecca'', '' Frenchman's Creek'', ''My Cousin Rachel'' and ''Jamaica Inn'', and the short stories " The Birds" and "Don't Look Now". Du Maurier spent much of her life in Cornwall, where most of her works are set. As her fame increased, she became more reclusive. Biography Early life Daphne du Maurier was born at 24 Cumberland Terrace, Regent's Park ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rebecca (novel)
''Rebecca'' is a 1938 Gothic novel written by English author Daphne du Maurier. The novel depicts an unnamed young woman who impetuously marries a wealthy widower, before discovering that both he and his household are haunted by the memory of his late first wife, the title character. A bestseller which has never gone out of print, ''Rebecca'' sold 2.8 million copies between its publication in 1938 and 1965. It has been adapted numerous times for stage and screen, including a 1939 play by du Maurier herself, the film '' Rebecca'' (1940), directed by Alfred Hitchcock, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and the 2020 remake directed by Ben Wheatley for Netflix. The novel is remembered especially for the character Mrs Danvers, the West Country estate Manderley, and its opening line: "Last night, I dreamt I went to Manderley again." Plot While working as the companion to a rich American woman on holiday in Monte Carlo, the unnamed narrator, a naïve young woman in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Times Literary Supplement
''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication in 1914. Many distinguished writers have contributed, including T. S. Eliot, Henry James and Virginia Woolf. Reviews were normally anonymous until 1974, when signed reviews were gradually introduced during the editorship of John Gross. This aroused great controversy. "Anonymity had once been appropriate when it was a general rule at other publications, but it had ceased to be so", Gross said. "In addition I personally felt that reviewers ought to take responsibility for their opinions." Martin Amis was a member of the editorial staff early in his career. Philip Larkin's poem "Aubade", his final poetic work, was first published in the Christmas-week issue of the ''TLS'' in 1977. While it has long been regarded as one of the world's pre-emi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Middleton Murry
John Middleton Murry (6 August 1889 – 12 March 1957) was an English writer. He was a prolific author, producing more than 60 books and thousands of essays and reviews on literature, social issues, politics, and religion during his lifetime. A prominent critic, Murry is best remembered for his association with Katherine Mansfield, whom he married in 1918 as her second husband, for his friendship with D. H. Lawrence and T. S. Eliot, and for his friendship (and brief affair) with Frieda Lawrence. Following Mansfield's death, Murry edited her work. Early life John Middleton Murry was born in Peckham, London, the son of John Murry (1860/1-1947), a clerk in the Inland Revenue, and Emily (1869/70-1951), née Wheeler. John Murry, a self-made man from an "impoverished and illiterate" background, prioritized his son's education; Murry was educated at Christ's Hospital and Brasenose College, Oxford. There he met the writer Joyce Cary, a lifelong friend. He met Katherine Mansfield ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wuthering Heights
''Wuthering Heights'' is an 1847 novel by Emily Brontë, initially published under her pen name Ellis Bell. It concerns two families of the landed gentry living on the West Yorkshire moorland, moors, the Earnshaws and the Lintons, and their turbulent relationships with the Earnshaws' foster son, Heathcliff (Wuthering Heights), Heathcliff. The novel was influenced by Romanticism and Gothic fiction. ''Wuthering Heights'' is now widely considered to be one of the greatest novels ever written in English, but contemporaneous reviews were polarised. It was controversial for its depictions of mental and physical cruelty, including domestic abuse, and for its challenges to Victorian morality and religious and societal values. ''Wuthering Heights'' was accepted by publisher Thomas Newby along with Anne Brontë's ''Agnes Grey'' before the success of their sister Charlotte Brontë, Charlotte's novel ''Jane Eyre'', but they were published later. After Emily's death, Charlotte edited a seco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jane Austen
Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots often explore the dependence of women on marriage in the pursuit of favourable social standing and economic security. Her works critique the novels of sensibility of the second half of the 18th century and are part of the transition to 19th-century literary realism. Her use of biting irony, along with her realism and social commentary, have earned her acclaim among critics, scholars and readers alike. With the publication of ''Sense and Sensibility'' (1811), '' Pride and Prejudice'' (1813), ''Mansfield Park'' (1814), and '' Emma'' (1816), she achieved modest success but only little fame in her lifetime since the books were published anonymously. She wrote two other novels—''Northanger Abbey'' and '' Persuasion'', both published posthumou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sydney Waterlow (diplomat)
Sir Sydney Philip Perigal Waterlow (22 October 1878, New Barnet – 4 December 1944, Oare, Wiltshire) was a British diplomat, Ambassador to Greece from 1933 to 1939. Life Sydney Waterlow was the eldest son of George Sydney Waterlow – the fourth son of Sir Sydney Waterlow, 1st Baronet – and Charlotte Elizabeth Beauchamp. He was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he gained a first class in the Classics Tripos (B.A. 1900, M.A. 1905). Waterlow joined the Diplomatic Service in 1900. From 1900 to 1901 he served in the Eastern Department of the Foreign Office. He was an Attaché in Washington in 1901, and Third Secretary from 1902 to 1905. Resigning from the Foreign Office, Waterlow left the Foreign Office to become a University extension lecturer until the outbreak of World War I, when he returned to the FO. He rose to be Acting First Secretary in 1919, and participated in the Paris Peace Conference. From 1922 to 1924 he was Director of the Foreign division of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hugh Walpole
Sir Hugh Seymour Walpole, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (13 March 18841 June 1941) was an English novelist. He was the son of an Anglican clergyman, intended for a career in the church but drawn instead to writing. Among those who encouraged him were the authors Henry James and Arnold Bennett. His skill at scene-setting and vivid plots, as well as his high profile as a lecturer, brought him a large readership in the United Kingdom and North America. He was a best-selling author in the 1920s and 1930s but has been largely neglected since his death. After his debut novel, first novel, ''The Wooden Horse'', in 1909, Walpole wrote prolifically, producing at least one book every year. He was a spontaneous story-teller, writing quickly to get all his ideas on paper, seldom revising. His first novel to achieve major success was his third, ''Mr Perrin and Mr Traill'', a tragicomic story of a fatal clash between two schoolmasters. During the First World War he served ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Augustine Birrell
Augustine Birrell King's Counsel, KC (19 January 185020 November 1933) was a British Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party politician, who was Chief Secretary for Ireland from 1907 to 1916. In this post, he was praised for enabling tenant farmers to own their property, and for extending university education for Catholics. But he was criticised for failing to take action against the rebels before the Easter Rising, and resigned. A barrister by training, he was also an author, noted for humorous essays. Early life Birrell was born in Wavertree, near Liverpool, the son of The Rev. Charles Mitchell Birrell (1811-1880), a Scottish Baptist minister and Harriet Jane Grey (1811-1863) daughter of Henry Grey (minister), Rev Henry Grey of Edinburgh. He was educated at Amersham Hall school and at Trinity Hall, Cambridge where he was made an Honorary Fellow in 1879. He joined the Sylvan Debating Club in 1872. He started work in a solicitor's office in Liverpool but was called to the Bar in 187 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
