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Cocksure
''Cocksure'' is a novel by Mordecai Richler. It was first published in 1968 by McClelland and Stewart. A satirical work, the novel centres on Mortimer Griffin, a middle-class Anglican from Caribou, Ontario who has built a successful career as a publisher and editor in 1960s London, England. When a Hollywood mogul buys Griffin's publishing house, Griffin is suddenly forced to confront the potential impact that ''not'' being Jewish may have on his career and his sex life. In '' Ninety-nine Novels'', Anthony Burgess named ''Cocksure'' one of his personal selections for the best novels of the previous four decades. The novel was also selected for competition in the 2006 edition of '' Canada Reads'', where it was championed by comedian Scott Thompson. The book caused a sensation when it was declared by some as obscene and was banned by WHSmith in Britain as well as by stores in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and South Africa. Criticism ''Cocksure'' and Richler's contemp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mordecai Richler
Mordecai Richler (January 27, 1931 – July 3, 2001) was a Canadian writer. His best known works are '' The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz'' (1959) and '' Barney's Version'' (1997). His 1970 novel ''St. Urbain's Horseman'' and 1989 novel ''Solomon Gursky Was Here''. He is also well known for the '' Jacob Two-Two'' fantasy series for children. In addition to his fiction, Richler wrote numerous essays about the Jewish community in Canada, and about Canadian and Quebec nationalism. Richler's ''Oh Canada! Oh Quebec!'' (1992), a collection of essays about nationalism and anti-Semitism, generated considerable controversy. Biography Early life and education The son of Lily (née Rosenberg) and Moses Isaac Richler, a scrap metal dealer, Richler was born on January 27, 1931, in Montreal, Quebec, and raised on St. Urbain Street in that city's Mile End area. He learned English, French and Yiddish, and graduated from Baron Byng High School. Richler enrolled in Sir George Williams Co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Canadian Library
The New Canadian Library is a publishing imprint of the Canadian company McClelland and Stewart. The series aims to present classic works of Canadian literature in paperback. Each work published in the series includes a short essay by another notable Canadian writer, discussing the historical context and significance of the work. These essays were originally forewords, but after McClelland and Stewart's 1985 sale to Avie Bennett, the prefatory material was abandoned and replaced by afterwords.Janet Friskney, "New Canadian Library," in Benson, Eugene and William Toye ds.''The Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature.'' Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1997 (p. 794) It was founded by Malcolm Ross with the intention of providing affordable material for his students; David Staines has been the general editor of the series since 1986. In 2007 the University of Toronto Press published ''New Canadian Library: The Ross-McClelland Years, 1952-1978'', a work by Janet Beverly Friskney t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Canada Reads
''Canada Reads'' is an annual "battle of the books" competition organized and broadcast by Canada's public broadcaster, the CBC. The program has aired in two distinct editions, the English-language ''Canada Reads'' on CBC Radio One, and the French-language on . The English edition has aired each year since 2002, while the French edition aired annually from 2004 to 2014, and was then discontinued until being revived in 2018."Combat des livres is back!" CBC Books, April 24, 2018. In 2021, sister service CBC Music launched ''Canada Listens'', which used a similar format of advocates debating five classic albums by Canadian musicians. |
Scott Thompson (comedian)
Scott Thompson (born June 12, 1959) is a Canadian comedian and actor, best known for being a member of the comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall and for playing Brian on ''The Larry Sanders Show''. Early life Thompson, born John Scott Thompson, named after his uncle and later changed for the stage, was born in North Bay, Ontario, and grew up in Brampton. He is the second oldest of five boys. He attended Brampton Centennial Secondary School and was a witness to the 1975 Centennial Secondary School shooting. He enrolled at York University but in his third year was asked to leave for being "disruptive". He joined the comedy troupe The Love Cats, where he met Mark McKinney. Career In 1984, he became a member of The Kids in the Hall. That troupe's eponymous sketch comedy series aired starting 1989 on the CBC in Canada and on HBO in the United States, but moved to CBS for the fourth and fifth seasons. Openly gay, Thompson became best known on the show for his monologues as the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Canadian Satirical Novels
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''Canadian''. Canada is a multilingual and multicultural society home to people of groups of many different ethnic, religious, and national origins, with the majority of the population made up of Old World immigrants and their descendants. Following the initial period of French and then the much larger British colonization, different waves (or peaks) of immigration and settlement of non-indigenous peoples took place over the course of nearly two centuries and continue today. Elements of Indigenous, French, British, and more recent immigrant customs, languages, and religions have combined to form the culture of Canada, and thus a Canadian identity. Canada has also been strongly influenced by its linguistic, geographic, and eco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Novels By Mordecai Richler
A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself from the la, novella, a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ''novellus'', diminutive of ''novus'', meaning "new". Some novelists, including Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Ann Radcliffe, John Cowper Powys, preferred the term "romance" to describe their novels. According to Margaret Doody, the novel has "a continuous and comprehensive history of about two thousand years", with its origins in the Ancient Greek and Roman novel, in Chivalric romance, and in the tradition of the Italian renaissance novella.Margaret Anne Doody''The True Story of the Novel'' New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1996, rept. 1997, p. 1. Retrieved 25 April 2014. The ancient romance form was revived by Romanticism, especially the histori ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1968 Canadian Novels
The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * January 10 – John Gorton is sworn in as 19th Prime Minister of Australia, taking over from John McEwen after being elected leader of the Liberal Party the previous day, following the disappearance of Harold Holt. Gorton becomes the only Senator to become Prime Minister, though he immediately transfers to the House of Representatives through the 1968 Higgins by-election in Holt's vacant seat. * January 15 – The 1968 Belice earthquake in Sicily kills 380 and injures around 1,000. * January 21 ** Vietnam War: Battle of Khe Sanh – One of the most publicized and controversial battles of the war begins, ending on April 8. ** 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash: A U.S. B-52 Stratofortress crashes in Greenland, discharging 4 nuclear bombs. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chevalier D'Éon
Charles-Geneviève-Louis-Auguste-André-Timothée d'Éon de Beaumont or Charlotte-Geneviève-Louise-Augusta-Andréa-Timothéa d'Éon de Beaumont (5 October 172821 May 1810), usually known as the Chevalier d'Éon or the Chevalière d'Éon ( is the female equivalent of , meaning knight), was a French diplomat, spy, and soldier. D'Éon fought in the Seven Years' War, and spied for France while in Russia and England. D'Éon had androgynous physical characteristics and natural abilities as a mimic and a spy. D'Éon appeared publicly as a man and pursued masculine occupations for 49 years, although during that time, d'Éon successfully infiltrated the court of Empress Elizabeth of Russia by presenting as a woman. Starting in 1777, d'Éon lived as a woman. Doctors who examined d'Éon's body after death discovered "male organs in every respect perfectly formed", but also feminine characteristics. Early life D'Éon was born at the Hôtel d'Uzès in Tonnerre, Burgundy, into a poor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kwame Nkrumah
Kwame Nkrumah (born 21 September 190927 April 1972) was a Ghanaian politician, political theorist, and revolutionary. He was the first Prime Minister and President of Ghana, having led the Gold Coast to independence from Britain in 1957. An influential advocate of Pan-Africanism, Nkrumah was a founding member of the Organization of African Unity and winner of the Lenin Peace Prize from the Soviet Union in 1962. After twelve years abroad pursuing higher education, developing his political philosophy, and organizing with other diasporic pan-Africanists, Nkrumah returned to the Gold Coast to begin his political career as an advocate of national independence. He formed the Convention People's Party, which achieved rapid success through its unprecedented appeal to the common voter. He became Prime Minister in 1952 and retained the position when Ghana declared independence from Britain in 1957. In 1960, Ghanaians approved a new constitution and elected Nkrumah President. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Profumo Affair
The Profumo affair was a major scandal in twentieth-century British politics. John Profumo, the Secretary of State for War in Harold Macmillan's Conservative government, had an extramarital affair with 19-year-old model Christine Keeler beginning in 1961. Profumo denied the affair in a statement to the House of Commons, but weeks later a police investigation exposed the truth, proving that Profumo had lied to the House of Commons. The scandal severely damaged the credibility of Macmillan's government, and Macmillan resigned as Prime Minister in October 1963, citing ill health. Ultimately, the fallout contributed to the Conservative government's defeat by the Labour Party in the 1964 general election. When the Profumo affair was first revealed, public interest was heightened by reports that Keeler may have been simultaneously involved with Captain Yevgeny Ivanov, a Soviet naval attaché, thereby creating a possible national security risk. Keeler knew both Profumo and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ramsay MacDonald
James Ramsay MacDonald (; 12 October 18669 November 1937) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the first who belonged to the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, leading Minority government, minority Labour governments for First MacDonald ministry, nine months in 1924 and again between Second MacDonald ministry, 1929 and 1931. From 1931 to 1935, he headed a National Government (1931–1935), National Government dominated by the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party and supported by only a few Labour members. MacDonald was expelled from the Labour Party as a result. MacDonald, along with Keir Hardie and Arthur Henderson, was one of the three principal founders of the Labour Party in 1900. He was chairman of the Labour MPs before 1914 and, after an eclipse in his career caused by his opposition to the First World War, he was Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1922. The second Labour Government (1929–1931) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
