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Pratchett
Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English humourist, satirist, and author of fantasy novels, especially comic fantasy, comical works. He is best known for his ''Discworld'' series of 41 novels. Pratchett's first novel, ''The Carpet People'', was published in 1971. The first ''Discworld'' novel, ''The Colour of Magic'', was published in 1983, after which Pratchett wrote an average of two books a year. The final ''Discworld'' novel, ''The Shepherd's Crown'', was published in August 2015, five months after his death. With more than 85 million books sold worldwide in 37 languages, Pratchett was the UK's best-selling author of the 1990s. He was appointed Order of the British Empire, Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1998 and was Knight Bachelor, knighted for services to literature in the 2009 New Year Honours. In 2001 he won the annual Carnegie Medal (literary award), Carnegie Medal for ''The Amazing Maurice and h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Discworld
''Discworld'' is a comic fantasy"Humorous Fantasy" in David Pringle, ed., ''The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fantasy'' (pp.31-33). London, Carlton,2006. book series written by the English author Terry Pratchett, set on the Discworld, a flat planet balanced on the backs of four elephants which in turn stand on the back of a giant turtle. The series began in 1983 with '' The Colour of Magic'' and continued until the final novel '' The Shepherd's Crown'', which was published in 2015, following Pratchett's death. The books frequently parody or take inspiration from classic works, usually fantasy or science fiction, as well as mythology, folklore and fairy tales, and often use them for satirical parallels with cultural, political and scientific issues. Forty-one ''Discworld'' novels were published. Apart from the first novel in the series, '' The Colour of Magic'', the original British editions of the first 26 novels, up to '' Thief of Time'' (2001), had cover art by Josh Kirby. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhianna Pratchett
Rhianna Pratchett (born 30 December 1976) is an English video game writer and journalist. She has worked on ''Heavenly Sword'' (2007), ''Overlord'' (2007), ''Mirror's Edge'' (2008) and ''Tomb Raider'' (2013) and its follow up, ''Rise of the Tomb Raider'' (2015), among others. She is the daughter of fantasy writer Terry Pratchett. Career Rhianna Pratchett studied journalism at the London College of Printing and following graduation began writing for ''Minx'' magazine, where her first games reviews were published. She moved to the long running ''PC Zone'' magazine as an editorial assistant, staff writer, eventually becoming a section editor. She wrote for many other publications including ''The Guardian''. Pratchett moved into script writing and narrative design in 2002, with ''Beyond Divinity'', produced by Larian Studios in Belgium. She also wrote a novella to accompany the game. In 2007, her work on ''Heavenly Sword'' was nominated for a BAFTA and a year later she won a Wri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Good Omens
''Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch'' is a 1990 novel written as a collaboration between the English authors Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. The book is a comedy about the birth of the son of Satan and the coming of the End Times. There are attempts by the angel Aziraphale and the demon Crowley to sabotage the coming of the end times, having grown accustomed to their comfortable surroundings in England. One subplot features a mixup at the small country hospital on the day of birth and the growth of the Antichrist, Adam, who grows up with the wrong family, in the wrong country village. Another subplot concerns the summoning of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, each a big personality in their own right. In 2003, the novel was listed at number 68 on the BBC's survey The Big Read. Plot summary Aziraphale, an angel (originally a guardian of the gates of Eden), and Crowley, a demon (originally the serpent who tempted Eve) have lived on Earth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Shepherd's Crown
''The Shepherd's Crown'' is a comic fantasy novel, the last book written by Terry Pratchett before his death in March 2015. It is the 41st novel in the ''Discworld'' series, and the fifth based on the character Tiffany Aching. It was published in the United Kingdom on 27 August 2015 by Penguin Random House publishers, and in the United States on 1 September 2015. In early June 2015, Pratchett's daughter Rhianna Pratchett announced that ''The Shepherd's Crown'' would be the last ''Discworld'' novel, and that no further work, including unfinished work, would be published. Plot Tiffany Aching is busy running her steading and taking care of the people of the Chalk. Jeannie, the Kelda of the Nac Mac Feegle, is worried that she's overworked. When Granny Weatherwax, Tiffany's mentor, dies, she leaves everything to Tiffany, who becomes the first among equals of the witches. Geoffrey, the third son of Lord Swivel, is well educated, vegetarian and a pacifist. He is dissatis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Colour Of Magic
''The Colour of Magic'' is a 1983 fantasy comedy novel by Terry Pratchett, and is the first book of the ''Discworld'' series. The first printing of the British edition consisted of only 506 copies. Pratchett has described it as "an attempt to do for the classical fantasy universe what '' Blazing Saddles'' did for Westerns." Plot summary Setting The story takes place on the Discworld, a planet-sized flat disc carried through space on the backs of four gargantuan elephants – Berilia, Tubul, Great T'Phon and Jerakeen – who themselves stand on the shell of Great A'Tuin, a gigantic star turtle. The surface of the disc contains oceans and continents, and with them, civilizations, cities, forests and mountains. Summary The story begins in Ankh-Morpork, the biggest city on the Discworld. The main character is an incompetent and cynical wizard named Rincewind, who is hired as a guide to naive Twoflower, an insurance clerk from the Agatean Empire who has come to visit Ankh-Morp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Amazing Maurice And His Educated Rodents
''The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents'' is a children's fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, published by Doubleday in 2001. It is the 28th novel in the ''Discworld'' series and the first written for children. The story is a new take on the German fairy tale about the Pied Piper of Hamelin and a parody of the folk tale genre. Pratchett won the annual Carnegie Medal from the British librarians, recognising the year's best children's book published in the U.K. It was his first major award. Series ''Discworld'' had been a comic fantasy series for adults, beginning with ''The Colour of Magic'' in 1983. ''Amazing Maurice'' was marketed as a children's book, to be followed in that respect by '' The Wee Free Men'' (2003, #30). It differs from earlier Discworld novels also by its division into chapters, though chapters become far more common in later books of the series. Contrary to the contrast between adult and child markets, reflected in catalogues, ''The Gua ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Carpet People
''The Carpet People'' is a comic fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett. First published in 1971, it was later re-written by the author when his work became more widespread and well-known. In the Author's Note of the revised edition, published in 1992, Pratchett wrote: "This book had two authors, and they were both the same person." ''The Carpet People'' contains much of the humour and some of the concepts which later became a major part of the Discworld series, as well as parodies of everyday objects from our world. Before creating the Discworld ''Discworld'' is a comic fantasy"Humorous Fantasy" in David Pringle, ed., ''The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fantasy'' (pp.31-33). London, Carlton,2006. book series written by the English author Terry Pratchett, set on the Discworld, a flat ..., Pratchett wrote about two different flat worlds, first in this novel, and then in the novel ''Strata''. Characters *Glurk, chief of the Munrungs *Snibril, Glurk's younge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Humourist
A humorist ( American) or humourist ( British spelling) is an intellectual who uses humor, or wit, in writing or public speaking, but is not an artist who seeks only to elicit laughs. Humorists are distinct from comedians, who are show business entertainers whose business is to make an audience laugh. It is possible to play both roles in the course of a career. The iconic humorist Mark Twain (pen name of Samuel Langhorn Clemens, 1835–1910) was widely considered the "greatest humorist" the U.S. ever produced, as noted in his ''New York Times'' obituary. It's a distinction that garnered wide agreement, as William Faulkner called him "the father of American literature". The United States national cultural center, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, has chosen to award a Mark Twain Prize for American Humor annually since 1998 to individuals who have "had an impact on American society in ways similar to the distinguished 19th century novelist and essayist best k ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beaconsfield
Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Buckinghamshire, England, west-northwest of central London and south-southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High Wycombe. The town is adjacent to the Chiltern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and has a wide area of Georgian, neo-Georgian and Tudor revival high street architecture, known as the Old Town. It is known for the Bekonscot, first model village in the world and the National Film and Television School. Beaconsfield was named 'Britain's richest town' (based on an average house price of £684,474) by ''The Daily Telegraph'' in 2008. In 2011 the post town had the highest proportion in the UK of £1 million-plus homes for sale (at 47%, compared to 3.5% nationally). In 2011, Burkes Road was named as the second most expensive road in the country outside London. History and description The parish comprises Beaconsfield town and land main ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alzheimer's Research Trust
Alzheimer's Research UK (ARUK) is a dementia research charity in the United Kingdom, founded in 1992 as the Alzheimer's Research Trust. ARUK funds scientific studies to find ways to treat, cure or prevent all forms of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies and frontotemporal dementia. As of 2019, Alzheimer's Research UK has funded 139 research projects across the UK and internationally, and has committed more than £117 million to dementia research. Alzheimer's Research UK is a member of the Association of Medical Research Charities. History In 1998, the trust awarded its first major grant of £500,000 to a team led by distinguished scientist Dr Michel Goedert in Cambridge. At that time the charity funded over 100 grants all over the UK at a cost of more than £11 million. In March 2008, author Terry Pratchett, who had the disease, donated one million US dollars to the trust. In 2009 Alzheimer's Research Trust scientists dis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carnegie Medal (literary Award)
The Carnegie Medal is a British literary award that annually recognises one outstanding new English-language book for children or young adults. It is conferred upon the author by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP). CILIP calls it "the UK's oldest and most prestigious book award for children's writing". The Medal is named after the Scottish-born American philanthropist Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919), who founded more than 2,800 libraries in the English-speaking world, including at least one in more than half of British library authorities. It was established in 1936 by the British Library Association, to celebrate the centenary of Carnegie's birth and inaugurated in 1937 with the award to Arthur Ransome for '' Pigeon Post'' (1936) and the identification of two 'commended' books. The first Medal was dated 1936, but since 2007 the Medal has been dated by its year of presentation, which is now one or two years after publication. In 1955, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east and Hertfordshire to the east. Buckinghamshire is one of the Home Counties, the counties of England that surround Greater London. Towns such as High Wycombe, Amersham, Chesham and the Chalfonts in the east and southeast of the county are parts of the London commuter belt, forming some of the most densely populated parts of the county, with some even being served by the London Underground. Development in this region is restricted by the Metropolitan Green Belt. The county's largest settlement and only city is Milton Keynes in the northeast, which with the surrounding area is administered by Milton Keynes City Council as a unitary authority separately to the rest of Buckinghamshire. The remainder of the county is administered by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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