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Noughts And Crosses Series
''Noughts & Crosses'' is a series of young adult novels by British author Malorie Blackman, with six novels and three novellas. The series is speculative fiction describing an alternative history. The series takes place in an alternative 21st-century Britain. At the time of the series, slavery had been abolished for some time, but segregation, similar to the Jim Crow Laws, continues to operate to keep the Crosses (dark-skinned people) in control of the Noughts (lighter-skinned people). An international organisation, the Pangaean Economic Community, exists. Seeming to be similar to the United Nations in scope but similar to the European Union in powers, it is playing a role in forcing change by directives and boycotts. Britain is known as Albion, Africa is one country called Zafrika, and Scandinavia — known as Fenno-Scandia — is the only Nought country left. The first book is written from two different perspectives – Callum's and Sephy's (Persephone) – and their experie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malorie Blackman
Oneta Malorie Blackman (born 8 February 1962) is a British writer who held the position of Children's Laureate from 2013 to 2015. She primarily writes literature and television drama for children and young adults. She has used science fiction to explore social and ethical issues, for example, her ''Noughts and Crosses'' series uses the setting of a fictional alternative Britain to explore racism. Blackman has been the recipient of many honours for her work, including the 2022 PEN Pinter Prize. Early life and education Malorie Blackman was born on 8 February 1962 in Merton, London, and grew up in Lewisham, one of 5 siblings. Her parents were both from Barbados and had come to Britain as part of the " Windrush generation"; her father Joe was a bus driver and her mother Ruby worked in a pyjama factory. Blackman's father walked out on the family while she was younger, leaving her mother to single-handedly raise her and her siblings. At school, Malorie wanted to be an English te ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alternative History
Alternate history (also referred to as alternative history, allohistory, althist, or simply A.H.) is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which one or more historical events have occurred but are resolved differently than in actual history. As conjecture based upon historical fact, alternate history stories propose "what if?" scenarios about pivotal events in human history, and present outcomes very different from the historical record. Some alternate histories are considered a subgenre of science fiction, or historical fiction. Since the 1950s, as a subgenre of science fiction, some alternative history stories have featured the tropes of time travel between histories, the psychic awareness of the existence of an alternative universe by the inhabitants of a given universe, and time travel that divides history into various timestreams. Definition Often described as a subgenre of science fiction, alternative history is a genre of fiction wherein the author speculates upon how t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Chequer
Paul James Chequer is an English actor best known for starring in the British drama '' As If'' as Jamie Collier on Channel 4 from 2001 to 2004 and the BBC Three drama ''Sinchronicity'', as Nathan, in 2006. He later appeared as Eugene Jones in the British science fiction television series ''Torchwood'' in the episode " Random Shoes", broadcast on 10 December 2006. Background Chequer graduated from Guildhall School of Music and Drama in 1998.NationalTheatre.org.uklink Born in 1978 in Portsmouth, Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ..., Chequer also reads the Chivers Children's Audio book of Roderick Gordon and Brian William's "Tunnels" series. He lives in London with his wife and two sons. Filmography Notes and references External links * English ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sian Blake
Sian Samantha Blake (14 September 1972 – 14 or 15 December 2015), also known by her stage name Syan Blake, was a British actress, best known for playing Frankie Pierre on the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', appearing in 56 episodes between 1996 and 1997. She later had minor roles in other television shows, before retiring to become a sign language teacher and interpreter. Blake and her two children were reported missing on 16 December 2015; three weeks later their bodies were found at Blake's home in Erith, London. Her partner, Arthur Simpson-Kent, pleaded guilty to the murders and was given a whole life sentence in October 2016. Early life and career Blake was born in Walthamstow, London on 14 September 1972, and attended the Guildford School of Acting. The youngest of three children, her father was Jamaican. Her parents divorced when she was six, and her father died from a heart attack when she was eighteen. Adopting the stage name Syan Blake, she landed her first acting ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Audio Books
An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in schools and public libraries and to a lesser extent in music shops since the 1930s. Many spoken word albums were made prior to the age of cassettes, compact discs, and downloadable audio, often of poetry and plays rather than books. It was not until the 1980s that the medium began to attract book retailers, and then book retailers started displaying audiobooks on bookshelves rather than in separate displays. Etymology The term "talking book" came into being in the 1930s with government programs designed for blind readers, while the term "audiobook" came into use during the 1970s when audiocassettes began to replace phonograph records. In 1994, the Audio Publishers Association established the term "audiobook" as the industry standard. Hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World Book Day
World Book Day, also known as World Book and Copyright Day or International Day of the Book, is an annual event organized by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) to promote reading, publishing, and copyright. The first World Book Day was celebrated on 23 April in 1995, and continues to be recognized on that day. A related event in the United Kingdom and Ireland is observed in March. On the occasion of World Book and Copyright Day, UNESCO along with the advisory committee from the major sectors of the book industry, select the World Book Capital for one year. Each designated World Book Capital City carries out a program of activities to celebrate and promote books and reading. In 2024, Strasbourg was designated as the World Book Capital. Date selection The original idea was conceived in 1922 by Vicente Clavel, director of Cervantes publishing house in Barcelona, as a way to honour the author Miguel de Cervantes and boost the sales of books. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Informer
An informant (also called an informer or, as a slang term, a "snitch", "rat", "canary", "stool pigeon", "stoolie", "tout" or "grass", among other terms) is a person who provides privileged information, or (usually damaging) information intended to be intimate, concealed, or secret, about a person or organization to an agency, often a government or law enforcement agency. The term is usually used within the law-enforcement world, where informants are officially known as confidential human sources (CHS), or criminal informants (CI). It can also refer pejoratively to someone who supplies information without the consent of the involved parties."The Weakest Link: The Dire Consequences of a Weak Link in the Informant Handling and Covert Operations Chain-of-Command" by M Levine. ''Law Enforcement Executive Forum'', 2009 The term is commonly used in politics, industry, entertainment, and academia. In the United States, a confidential informant or "CI" is "any individual who provides ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boarding School
A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend across many countries. Their functioning, codes of conduct, and ethos vary greatly. Children in boarding schools study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers or administrators. Some boarding schools also have day students who attend the institution during the day and return home in the evenings. Boarding school pupils are typically referred to as "boarders". Children may be sent for one to twelve years or more in boarding school, until the age of eighteen. There are several types of boarders depending on the intervals at which they visit their family. Full-term boarders visit their homes at the end of an academic year, semester boarders visit their homes at the end of an academic term, weekly boarders ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Electric Fence
An electric fence is a barrier that uses electric shocks to deter humans and other animals from crossing a boundary. Most electric fences are used for agricultural purposes and other non-human animal control. They may also be used to protect high-security areas such as military installations or prisons, where potentially lethal voltages may be applied. Virtual electric fences for livestock using GPS technology have also been developed. Design and function Electric fences are designed to shock animals or humans if they attempt to cross the boundary. A component called a power energiser converts power into a brief high voltage pulse. One terminal of the power energiser releases an electrical pulse along a connected bare wire about once per second. Another terminal is connected to a metal rod implanted in the earth, called a ground or earth rod. An animal touching both the wire and the earth during a pulse will complete an electrical circuit and will conduct the pulse, causing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Noughts & Crosses Series
''Noughts & Crosses'' is a series of young adult novels by British author Malorie Blackman, with six novels and three novellas. The series is speculative fiction describing an alternative history. The series takes place in an alternative 21st-century Britain. At the time of the series, slavery had been abolished for some time, but segregation, similar to the Jim Crow Laws, continues to operate to keep the Crosses (dark-skinned people) in control of the Noughts (lighter-skinned people). An international organisation, the Pangaean Economic Community, exists. Seeming to be similar to the United Nations in scope but similar to the European Union in powers, it is playing a role in forcing change by directives and boycotts. Britain is known as Albion, Africa is one country called Zafrika, and Scandinavia — known as Fenno-Scandia — is the only Nought country left. The first book is written from two different perspectives – Callum's and Sephy's (Persephone) – and their experie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fennoscandia
__NOTOC__ Fennoscandia (Finnish language, Finnish, Swedish language, Swedish and ; ), or the Fennoscandian Peninsula, is a peninsula in Europe which includes the Scandinavian Peninsula, Scandinavian and Kola Peninsula, Kola peninsulas, mainland Finland, and Karelia. Administratively, this roughly encompasses the mainlands of Finland, Norway and Sweden, as well as Murmansk Oblast, much of the Republic of Karelia, and parts of northern Leningrad Oblast in Russia. Its name comes from the Latin words ''Fennia'' (Finland) and ''Scandia'' (Scandinavia). The term was first used by the Finnish geologist Wilhelm Ramsay in 1898. Geologically, the area is distinct because its bedrock is Archean granite and gneiss with very little limestone, in contrast to adjacent areas in Europe. The similar term Fenno-Scandinavia is sometimes used for Fennoscandia. Both terms are sometimes used in English to refer to a cultural or political grouping of Finland with Sweden, Norway and Denmark (the latter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Albion
Albion is an alternative name for Great Britain. The oldest attestation of the toponym comes from the Greek language. It is sometimes used poetically and generally to refer to the island, but is less common than "Britain" today. The name for Scotland in most of the Celtic languages is related to Albion: '' Alba'' in Scottish Gaelic, ''Albain'' (genitive ''Alban'') in Irish, ''Nalbin'' in Manx and ''Alban'' in Welsh and Cornish. These names were later Latinised as ''Albania'' and Anglicised as ''Albany'', which were once alternative names for Scotland. ''New Albion'' and ''Albionoria'' ("Albion of the North") were briefly suggested as names of Canada during the period of the Canadian Confederation. Francis Drake gave the name New Albion to what is now California when he landed there in 1579. Etymology The toponym in English is thought to derive from the Greek word , Latinised as (genitive ). The root ' is also found in Gaulish and Galatian 'world' and Welsh (Old ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
