|
Airport Novel
The airport novel represents a literary genre that is defined not so much by its plot or cast of stock characters, as by the social function it serves. Designed to meet the demands of a very specific market, airport novels are superficially engaging while not being necessarily profound as they are usually written to be more entertaining than philosophically challenging. An airport novel is typically a fairly long but fast-paced boilerplate genre-fiction novel commonly offered by airport newsstands, "read for pace and plot, not elegance of phrasing". Considering the marketing of fiction as a trade, airport novels occupy a niche similar to the one that once was occupied by pulp magazines and other reading materials typically sold at newsstands and kiosks to travellers. In French, such novels are called ''romans de gare'', 'railway station novels', suggesting that publishers in France were aware of this potential market at a very early date. The somewhat dated Dutch term ''stati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Literary Genre
A literary genre is a category of literature. Genres may be determined by literary technique, tone, content, or length (especially for fiction). They generally move from more abstract, encompassing classes, which are then further sub-divided into more concrete distinctions. The distinctions between genres and categories are flexible and loosely defined, and even the rules designating genres change over time and are fairly unstable. Genres can all be in the form of prose or poetry. Additionally, a genre such as satire, allegory or pastoral might appear in any of the above, not only as a subgenre (see below), but as a mixture of genres. Finally, they are defined by the general cultural movement of the historical period in which they were composed. History of genres Aristotle The concept of genre began in the works of Aristotle, who applied biological concepts to the classification of literary genres, or, as he called them, "species" (eidē). These classifications are mainl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Historical Romance
Historical romance is a broad category of mass-market fiction focusing on romantic relationships in historical periods, which Walter Scott helped popularize in the early 19th century. Varieties Viking These books feature Vikings during the Dark Ages or Middle Ages. Heroes in Viking romances are typical alpha males who are tamed by their heroines. Most heroes are described as "tall, blonde, and strikingly handsome." Using the Viking culture allows novels set in these time periods to include some travel, as the Vikings were "adventurers, founding and conquering colonies all over the globe." In a 1997 poll of over 200 readers of Viking romances, Johanna Lindsey's ''Fires of Winter'' was considered the best of the subgenre. The subgenre has fallen out of style, and few novels in this vein have been published since the mid-1990s. Medieval These romances are typically set between 938 and 1485. Women in the medieval time periods were often considered as no more than property who were ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dan Brown
Daniel Gerhard Brown (born June 22, 1964) is an American author best known for his Thriller (genre), thriller novels, including the Robert Langdon novels ''Angels & Demons'' (2000), ''The Da Vinci Code'' (2003), ''The Lost Symbol'' (2009), ''Inferno (Brown novel), Inferno'' (2013), and Origin (Dan Brown novel), ''Origin'' (2017). His novels are treasure hunts which usually take place over a period of 24 hours.Brown. Witness statement, pp. 17, 21. They feature recurring themes of cryptography, art, and conspiracy theories. His books have been translated into 57 languages and, as of 2012, have sold over 200 million copies. Three of them, ''Angels & Demons'', ''The Da Vinci Code'', and ''Inferno'', have been Robert Langdon (film series), adapted into films, while one of them, ''The Lost Symbol'', was adapted into a television show. The Robert Langdon novels are deeply engaged with Christian themes and historical fiction, and have generated controversy as a result. Brown states on h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Benchley
Peter Bradford Benchley (May 8, 1940 – February 11, 2006) was an American author, screenwriter, and ocean activist. He is known for his bestselling novel ''Jaws'' and co-wrote its film adaptation with Carl Gottlieb. Several more of his works were also adapted for both cinema and television, including '' The Deep'', '' The Island'', '' Beast'', and ''White Shark.'' Later in life, Benchley expressed some regret for his tone in writing about sharks, which he felt indulged already present fear and false belief about sharks, and he became an advocate for marine conservation. Contrary to widespread rumor, Benchley did not believe that his writings contributed to shark depopulation, nor is there evidence that ''Jaws'' or any of his works did so. Early life Benchley was the son of Marjorie (née Bradford) and author Nathaniel Benchley and grandson of Algonquin Round Table founder Robert Benchley. His younger brother, Nat Benchley, is a writer and actor. Peter Benchley was an alumn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Baldacci
David Baldacci (born August 5, 1960) is an American novelist. An attorney by education, Baldacci writes mainly suspense novels and legal thrillers. Biography Early life and education David Baldacci was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia. He graduated from Henrico High School and earned a B.A. in political science from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law, after which he practiced law for nine years in Washington, D.C. He is of Italian descent. Career Baldacci began writing stories as a child, when his mother gave him a notebook in which to record them. He wrote for more than two decades, penning short stories and later screenplays without much success. While practicing law, he turned to novel writing, taking three years to write '' Absolute Power''. Published in 1996, it was an international best seller. To date, Baldacci has published 46 best-selling novels for adults as well as seven novels for younger reade ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jeffrey Archer
Jeffrey Howard Archer, Baron Archer of Weston-super-Mare (born 15 April 1940) is an English novelist, life peer, convicted criminal, and former politician. Before becoming an author, Archer was a Member of Parliament (1969–1974), but did not seek re-election after a financial scandal that left him almost bankrupt. Archer revived his fortunes as a novelist. His 1979 novel ''Kane and Abel'' remains one of the best-selling books in the world, with an estimated 34 million copies sold worldwide. Overall his books have sold more than 320 million copies worldwide. Archer became deputy chairman of the Conservative Party (1985–86), before resigning after a newspaper accused him of paying money to a prostitute. In 1987, he won a court case and was awarded large damages because of this claim. He was made a life peer in 1992 and subsequently became Conservative candidate to be the first elected Mayor of London. He resigned his candidacy in 1999 after it emerged that he had lied in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Parlour Library
Simms and McIntyre (commonly referred to as "Simms & McIntyre" and sometimes as "Simms & M'Intyre")Details for: SIMMS & MCINTYRE British Book Trade Index, Bodleian Libraries, bbti.bodleian.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 18 April 2021. was a 19th century and company from , . [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
WH Smith
WHSmith (also written WH Smith, and known colloquially as Smith's and formerly as W. H. Smith & Son) is a British retailer, headquartered in Swindon, England, which operates a chain of high street, railway station, airport, port, hospital and motorway service station shops selling books, stationery, magazines, newspapers, entertainment products and confectionery. The company was formed by Henry Walton Smith and his wife Anna in 1792 as a news vendor in London. It remained under the ownership of the Smith family for many years and saw large-scale expansion during the 1970s as the company began to diversify into other markets. Following a rejected private equity takeover in 2004, the company began to focus on its core retail business. It was responsible for the creation of the ISBN book identifier. WHSmith is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. History Formation In 1792, Henry Walton Smith and his wife Anna established the business ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Athenaeum (British Magazine)
The ''Athenæum'' was a British literary magazine published in London, England, from 1828 to 1921. Foundation Initiated in 1828 by James Silk Buckingham, it was sold within a few weeks to Frederick Denison Maurice, Frederick Maurice and John Sterling (author), John Sterling, who failed to make it profitable. In 1829, Charles Wentworth Dilke (Dilke the Elder), Charles Wentworth Dilke became part proprietor and editor; he greatly extended the influence of the magazine. In 1846, he resigned the editorship and assumed that of the ''Daily News (London), Daily News'' of London, but contributed a series of notable articles to the ''Athenaeum''. The poet and critic Thomas Kibble Hervey succeeded Dilke as editor and served from 1846 until his resignation due to ill health in 1853. Historian and traveller William Hepworth Dixon succeeded Hervey in 1853, and remained editor until 1869. Contributors George Darley was a staff critic during the early years, and Gerald Massey contributed many l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (founded in 1821) are published by Times Newspapers, since 1981 a subsidiary of News UK, in turn wholly owned by News Corp. ''The Times'' and ''The Sunday Times'', which do not share editorial staff, were founded independently and have only had common ownership since 1966. In general, the political position of ''The Times'' is considered to be centre-right. ''The Times'' is the first newspaper to have borne that name, lending it to numerous other papers around the world, such as ''The Times of India'', ''The New York Times'', and more recently, digital-first publications such as TheTimesBlog.com (Since 2017). In countries where these other titles are popular, the newspaper is often referred to as , or as , although the newspaper is of nationa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
History Of Rail Transport In Great Britain
:''This article is part of the history of rail transport by country series.'' The railway system of Great Britain started with the building of local isolated wooden wagonways starting in the 1560s. A patchwork of local rail links operated by small private railway companies developed in the late 18th century. These isolated links expanded during the railway boom of the 1840s into a national network, although still run by dozens of competing companies. Over the course of the 19th and early 20th centuries, these amalgamated or were bought by competitors until only a handful of larger companies remained (see railway mania). The entire network was brought under government control during the First World War and a number of advantages of amalgamation and planning were demonstrated. However, the government resisted calls for the nationalisation of the network. In 1923, almost all the remaining companies were grouped into the "Big Four": the Great Western Railway, the London and North ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Literary Fiction
Literary fiction, mainstream fiction, non-genre fiction or serious fiction is a label that, in the book trade, refers to market novels that do not fit neatly into an established genre (see genre fiction); or, otherwise, refers to novels that are character-driven rather than plot-driven, examine the human condition, use language in an experimental or poetic fashion, or are simply considered serious art. ''Literary fiction'' is often used as a synonym for literature, in the exclusive sense of writings specifically considered to have considerable Art, artistic merit. While literary fiction is commonly regarded as artistically superior to genre fiction, the two are not mutually exclusive, and major literary figures have employed the genres of science fiction, crime fiction, Romance novel, romance, etc., to create works of literature. Furthermore, the study of genre fiction has developed within academia in recent decades. Slipstream genre is sometimes located in between the genre and no ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
