|
Sebastian Faulks
Sebastian Charles Faulks (born 20 April 1953) is a British novelist, journalist and broadcaster. He is best known for his historical novels set in France – '' The Girl at the Lion d'Or'', ''Birdsong'' and '' Charlotte Gray''. He has also published novels with a contemporary setting, most recently '' A Week in December'' (2009) and ''Paris Echo'', (2018) and a James Bond continuation novel, '' Devil May Care'' (2008), as well as a continuation of P. G. Wodehouse's Jeeves series, ''Jeeves and the Wedding Bells'' (2013). He was a team captain on BBC Radio 4 literary quiz '' The Write Stuff''. Biography Early life Faulks was born on 20 April 1953 in Donnington, Berkshire, to Peter Faulks and Pamela (née Lawless). His father was a decorated soldier (he won the Military Cross), who later became a solicitor and circuit judge. His brother Edward Faulks, Baron Faulks KC, a barrister, became a Conservative Government Minister in January 2014 in the Ministry of Justice. His uncle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Devil May Care (Faulks Novel)
''Devil May Care'' is a James Bond continuation novel written by Sebastian Faulks. It was published in the UK by Penguin Books on 28 May 2008, the 100th anniversary of the birth of Ian Fleming, the creator of Bond. The story centers on Bond's investigation into Dr. Julius Gorner, a megalomaniac chemist with a deep-seated hatred of England. Faulks wrote the book in the style of Fleming, and the novel carried the credit "Sebastian Faulks writing as Ian Fleming"; he also took the same timeframe as Fleming, setting the novel in 1967, following the events in Fleming's last novel ''The Man with the Golden Gun''. He ignored the influences of the other Bond continuation authors and the films, producing a characterisation of Bond in the style of Fleming's. The novel was broadly well received by critics and went into the best-seller lists by the end of the first week of sales, selling 44,093 copies in four days to become the fastest-selling fiction book after the ''Harry Potter'' titl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Donnington, Berkshire
Donnington is a village in the civil parish of Shaw-cum-Donnington in West Berkshire, England. It is located north of the town of Newbury, Berkshire, Newbury. It contains a ruined medieval castle and a Strawberry Hill Gothic mansion. Notable buildings Castle Donnington Castle, a ruined medieval castle of some historical significance, was the home of Richard Abberbury the Elder. The second Battle of Newbury (27 October 1644) was fought between Newbury and Donnington as an attack on the castle, which was held for the Cavalier, Royalists by Sir John Boys (Royalist), John Boys. The main entrance range of Donnington Castle House was built in 1648 to incorporate an earlier lodge. Hospital almshouses Donnington Hospital almshouses, founded in 1393, form the oldest Charitable organization, charity in the county, although others formed later had older charities merged into them. Robert Beaugraunt is recorded as minister of the poor in 1412. The earliest current building dates from 1602 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wellington College, Berkshire
Wellington College is a co-educational public school providing education for boarding and day pupils in the village of Crowthorne, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. Wellington is a registered charity and currently educates roughly 1,100 pupils aged between 13 and 18. The college was built as a national monument to the military victory against Napoleon, and the political service as British Prime Minister, of the first Duke of Wellington, in whose honour it is named. It was established by Royal Charter in 1853. Queen Victoria laid the foundation stone in 1856, and inaugurated the school's public opening on 29 January 1859. Many former Wellington pupils fought in the trenches during the First World War, with a large number volunteering for military service immediately after leaving school. In all, 707 Wellington old boys lost their lives in the conflict. A further 501 former pupils were killed in action in the Second World War. The school is a member of the Rugby Group of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Literary Review
''Literary Review'' is a British literary magazine founded in 1979 by Anne Smith, then head of the Department of English at the University of Edinburgh. Its offices are on Lexington Street in Soho. The magazine was edited for fourteen years by veteran journalist Auberon Waugh. The current editor is Nancy Sladek. The magazine reviews a wide range of published books, including fiction, history, politics, biography and travel, and additionally prints new fiction. It is also known for the annual Bad Sex in Fiction Award that it has run since 1993. Bad Sex in Fiction Award Each year since 1993, ''Literary Review'' has presented the annual Bad Sex in Fiction Award to the author it deems to have produced the worst description of a sex scene in a novel. The award is symbolically presented in the form of what has been described as a "semi-abstract trophy representing sex in the 1950s", depicting a naked woman draped over an open book. The award was established by Rhoda Koenig, a lite ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2014 Scottish Independence Referendum
A independence referendum, referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom was held in Scotland on 18 September 2014. The referendum question was "Should Scotland be an independent country?", which voters answered with "Yes" or "No". The "No" side won with 2,001,926 (55.3%) voting against independence and 1,617,989 (44.7%) voting in favour. The turnout of 84.6% was the highest recorded for an election or referendum in the United Kingdom since the January 1910 general election, which was held before the introduction of universal suffrage. The Scottish Independence Referendum Act 2013 set out the arrangements for the referendum and was passed by the Scottish Parliament in November 2013, following an Edinburgh Agreement (2012), agreement between the devolved Scottish government and the Government of the United Kingdom. The independence proposal required a simple majority to pass. All European Union (EU) or Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth citizens residing in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scottish Independence
Scottish independence (; ) is the idea of Scotland regaining its independence and once again becoming a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom. The term Scottish independence refers to the political movement that is campaigning to bring it about. Scotland was an independent kingdom through the Middle Ages, and fought wars to maintain its independence from England. The two kingdoms were united in personal union in 1603 when the Scottish King James VI became James I of England, and the two kingdoms united politically into one kingdom called Great Britain in 1707. This movement united the countries which ended the wars of independence and created relative peace. Political campaigns for Scottish self-government began in the 19th century, initially in the form of demands for home rule within the United Kingdom. Two referendums on devolution were held in 1979 and 1997, with a devolved Scottish Parliament being established on 1 July 1999. The pro-independence Sco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Guardian Media Group, owned by the Scott Trust Limited. The trust was created in 1936 to "secure the financial and editorial independence of ''The Guardian'' in perpetuity and to safeguard the journalistic freedom and liberal values of ''The Guardian'' free from commercial or political interference". The trust was converted into a limited company in 2008, with a constitution written so as to maintain for ''The Guardian'' the same protections as were built into the structure of the Scott Trust by its creators. Profits are reinvested in its journalism rather than distributed to owners or shareholders. It is considered a newspaper of record in the UK. The editor-in-chief Katharine Viner succeeded Alan Rusbridger in 2015. S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Authors Cricket Club
The Authors Cricket Club is a wandering amateur English cricket club founded in 1899 and revived most recently in 2012. Prominent British writers including Arthur Conan Doyle, P. G. Wodehouse, A. A. Milne, E. W. Hornung and J. M. Barrie have been featured as players on the club team, the Authors XI. Original team (1899–1912) The original Authors Cricket Club was an offshoot of J.M. Barrie's Allahakbarries team. It also drew some of its membership from the Authors' Club, which had been founded in 1891 as a place for British authors to gather and talk. ''Sherlock Holmes'' author Arthur Conan Doyle, an excellent cricketer who would go on to play ten first-class cricket, first-class matches for the Marylebone Cricket Club in 1903, was the team captain. The bat that Doyle used when he made 101 not out in a game for the Authors' Club vs. the Press in 1896 is still on display at the MCC Museum at Lord's, Lord's Cricket Ground. This match, predating the 1899 establishment of the ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cricket
Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cricket), bails (small sticks) balanced on three stump (cricket), stumps. Two players from the Batting (cricket), batting team, the striker and nonstriker, stand in front of either wicket holding Cricket bat, bats, while one player from the Fielding (cricket), fielding team, the bowler, Bowling (cricket), bowls the Cricket ball, ball toward the striker's wicket from the opposite end of the pitch. The striker's goal is to hit the bowled ball with the bat and then switch places with the nonstriker, with the batting team scoring one Run (cricket), run for each of these swaps. Runs are also scored when the ball reaches the Boundary (cricket), boundary of the field or when the ball is bowled Illegal delivery (cricket), illegally. The fielding tea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Ham United
West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, having moved from their former home, the Boleyn Ground, in 2016. West Ham United was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks F.C., Thames Ironworks and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. It moved to the Boleyn Ground, which remained its home ground for more than a century, in 1904. The team initially competed in the Southern Football League, Southern League and Western Football League, Western League before joining the English Football League, Football League in 1919. It was promoted to the top flight in 1923, when it was also losing finalist in the first 1923 FA Cup final, FA Cup final held at Wembley Stadium (1923), Wembley. In 1940, the club won the inaugural Football League War Cup. West Ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Debrett's
Debrett's () is a British professional coaching company and publisher and authority on etiquette and behaviour, founded in 1769 with the publication of the first edition of ''The New Peerage''. The company takes its name from its founder, John Debrett. John Debrett John Debrett (8 January 1753 – 15 November 1822) was the London-born son of Jean Louys de Bret, a French cook of Huguenot extraction and his wife Rachel Panchaud. As a boy of thirteen, John Debrett was apprenticed to a Piccadilly bookseller and publisher, Robert Davis. He remained there until 1780, when he moved across Piccadilly to work for John Almon, bookseller and stationer. John Almon edited and published his first edition of ''The New Peerage'' in 1769, and went on to produce at least three further editions. By 1790 he had passed the editorship on to John Debrett who, in 1802, put his name to the two small volumes that made up ''The Correct Peerage of England, Scotland and Ireland''. Despite twice being decl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matter, incorporating genres such as comedy, drama and documentaries. BBC Two has a remit "to broadcast highbrow, programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio channels, it is funded by the television licence, and is therefore free of commercial advertising. It is a comparatively well-funded Public broadcasting, public-service channel, regularly attaining a much higher audience share than most public-service channels worldwide. Originally styled BBC2, it was the third British television station to be launched (starting on 21 April 1964), and from 1 July 1967, Europe's first television channel to broadcast regularly in colour. It was envisaged as a home for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
