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Puffball (novel)
''Puffball'' is a 1980 supernatural drama novel by English author Fay Weldon. Plot Liffey and Richard, a young London couple who move to the country with the expectation of having children. Their neighbors are Mab and Tucker, a farming family with five children of their own. Mabs, jealous of the newcomers' easy life, sends Tucker to sleep with Liffey while Richard is away, priming her with an herbal aphrodisiac first. She becomes angry, however, when Liffey becomes pregnant and she finds that she herself is suddenly unable to conceive. Incorrectly believing the father of the child might be Tucker, Mabs attempts to abort the child by sneaking herbs into Liffey's tea and food. The unborn child, however, mystically takes charge and gives Liffey directions, saving her life and its own. Once the baby is born, Mabs sees the resemblance to Richard and, now pregnant herself, abandons her anger towards the couple. Reception Critic Mary Cantwell reviewed the novel in The New York Times ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fay Weldon
Fay Weldon CBE, FRSL (born Franklin Birkinshaw; 22 September 1931 – 4 January 2023) was an English author, essayist and playwright. Over the course of her 55-year writing career, she published 31 novels, including '' Puffball'' (1980), '' The Cloning of Joanna May'' (1989), ''Wicked Women'' (1995)'' and The Bulgari Connection'' (2000), but was most well-known as the writer of '' The Life and Loves of a She-Devil'' (1983) which was televised by the BBC in 1986. Married three times and with four children, Weldon was a self-declared feminist. Her work features what she described as "overweight, plain women". She said there were many reasons why she became a feminist, including the "appalling" lack of equal opportunities and the myth that women were supported by male relatives. Early life Weldon was born Franklin Birkinshaw to a literary family in Birmingham, England, on 22 September 1931. Her maternal grandfather, Edgar Jepson (1863–1938), her uncle Selwyn Jepson and her ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hodder & Stoughton
Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette. History Early history The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged 14, with Messrs Jackson and Walford, the official publisher for the Congregational Union. In 1861 the firm became Jackson, Walford and Hodder; but in 1868 Jackson and Walford retired, and Thomas Wilberforce Stoughton joined the firm, creating Hodder & Stoughton. Hodder & Stoughton published both religious and secular works, and its religious list contained some progressive titles. These included George Adam Smith's ''Isaiah'' for its ''Expositor’s Bible'' series, which was one of the earliest texts to identify multiple authorship in the Book of Isaiah. There was also a sympathetic ''Life of St Francis'' by Paul Sabatier, a French Protestant pastor. Matthew Hodder made frequent visits to North America, meeting with the Moody Press and making links with Scribners and Fleming H. Revell. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Summit Books
Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publisher in the United States, publishing 2,000 titles annually under 35 different imprints. History Early years In 1924, Richard Simon's aunt, a crossword puzzle enthusiast, asked whether there was a book of ''New York World'' crossword puzzles, which were very popular at the time. After discovering that none had been published, Simon and Max Schuster decided to launch a company to exploit the opportunity.Frederick Lewis Allen, ''Only Yesterday: An Informal History of the 1920s'', p. 165. . At the time, Simon was a piano salesman and Schuster was editor of an automotive trade magazine. They pooled , equivalent to $ today, to start a company that published crossword puzzles. The new publishing house used "fad" publishing to publish bo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aphrodisiac
An aphrodisiac is a substance that increases sexual desire, sexual attraction, sexual pleasure, or sexual behavior. Substances range from a variety of plants, spices, foods, and synthetic chemicals. Natural aphrodisiacs like cannabis or cocaine are classified into plant-based and non-plant-based substances. There are non-naturally-occurring aphrodisiacs like MDMA and methamphetamine. Aphrodisiacs can be classified by their type of effects (i.e., psychological or physiological). Aphrodisiacs that contain hallucinogenic properties like Bufotenin have psychological effects on a person that can increase sexual desire and sexual pleasure. Aphrodisiacs that contain smooth muscle relaxing properties like yohimbine have physiological effects on a person that can affect hormone levels and increase blood flow. It is possible that the aphrodisiac effect of a substance is due to the placebo effect. Other substances that impede on areas that aphrodisiacs aim to enhance are classified ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mary Cantwell
Mary Cantwell (May 10, 1930 – February 1, 2000) was an American-born journalist and novelist. Cantwell served as a member of the '' New York Times'' editorial board for sixteen years. She wrote unsigned editorials, novels, and commentary for that newspaper, and she also wrote for ''Mademoiselle'' and '' Vogue'' during her career. Cantwell composed a trilogy of memoirs later in her life. Cantwell died on February 1, 2000, in Manhattan, New York. She was 69. Life Mary Cantwell was born in Providence, Rhode Island, on May 10, 1930 to Leo and Mary Cantwell.1940 United States Federal Census She had a younger sister, Diana. She grew up in Bristol, Rhode Island, in a largely Protestant neighborhood. Cantwell was brought up Catholic and was singled out in her largely Protestant school. Cantwell graduated from Colt Memorial High School in 1949. Cantwell earned her B.A. from Connecticut College in 1953 and married her husband in December of that year. The couple had two dau ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The New York Times Book Review
''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely read book review publications in the industry. The offices are located near Times Square in New York City. Overview The ''New York Times'' has published a book review section since October 10, 1896, announcing: "We begin today the publication of a Supplement which contains reviews of new books ... and other interesting matter ... associated with news of the day." In 1911, the review was moved to Sundays, on the theory that it would be more appreciatively received by readers with a bit of time on their hands. The target audience is an intelligent, general-interest adult reader. The ''Times'' publishes two versions each week, one with a cover price sold via subscription, bookstores and newsstands; the other with no cover price included as a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid digital subscribers. It also is a producer of popular podcasts such as '' The Daily''. Founded in 1851 by Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones, it was initially published by Raymond, Jones & Company. The ''Times'' has won 132 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any newspaper, and has long been regarded as a national "newspaper of record". For print it is ranked 18th in the world by circulation and 3rd in the U.S. The paper is owned by the New York Times Company, which is publicly traded. It has been governed by the Sulzberger family since 1896, through a dual-class share structure after its shares became publicly traded. A. G. Sulzberger, the paper's publisher and the company's chairman, is the fifth generation of the family to head the p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Puffball (film)
''Puffball'' is a 2007 supernatural drama film directed by Nicolas Roeg, his final feature before his death in 2018. The script was adapted from Fay Weldon's 1980 novel of the same name by her son, Dan Weldon. The film was partially funded through the UK Film Council's New Cinema Fund. The film had its premiere at the Transilvania International Film Festival on 3 June 2007. The film was later released in Canada on 28 October 2007, and saw a limited release in the United States on 29 February 2008. Plot Liffey, an ambitious young architect, moves to an isolated and eerie Irish valley to build a modern piece of architecture. The ruined cottage and land that she will use are a gift from her fiancé Richard, and is the former home of Molly, the elderly matriarch of a farming family living on the other side of the woods. Molly's daughter is Mabs, herself mother of three girls and wife to farmer Tucker. Now in her forties, Mabs wants another baby, a boy to inherit the farm – or pe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nicolas Roeg
Nicolas Jack Roeg (; 15 August 1928 – 23 November 2018) was an English film director and cinematographer, best known for directing ''Performance'' (1970), '' Walkabout'' (1971), '' Don't Look Now'' (1973), '' The Man Who Fell to Earth'' (1976), '' Bad Timing'' (1980), and '' The Witches'' (1990). Making his directorial debut 23 years after his entry into the film business, Roeg quickly became known for an idiosyncratic visual and narrative style, characterized by the use of disjointed and disorienting editing. For this reason, he is considered a highly influential filmmaker, cited as an inspiration by such directors as Steven Soderbergh, Christopher Nolan, and Danny Boyle. In 1999, the British Film Institute acknowledged Roeg's importance in the British film industry by respectively naming ''Don't Look Now'' and ''Performance'' the 8th and 48th greatest British films of all time in its Top 100 British films poll. Early life Roeg was born in St John's Wood in North London o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Donald Sutherland
Donald McNichol Sutherland (born 17 July 1935) is a Canadian actor whose film career spans over six decades. He has been nominated for nine Golden Globe Awards, winning two for his performances in the television films '' Citizen X'' (1995) and ''Path to War'' (2002); the former also earned him a Primetime Emmy Award. An inductee of the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Canadian Walk of Fame, he also received a Canadian Academy Award for the drama film ''Threshold'' (1981). Multiple film critics and media outlets have cited him as one of the best actors never to have received an Academy Award nomination. In 2017, he received an Academy Honorary Award for his contributions to cinema. In 2021, he won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Movie/Miniseries for his work in the HBO miniseries '' The Undoing'' (2020). Sutherland rose to fame after starring in films including '' The Dirty Dozen'' (1967), ''M*A*S*H'' (1970), '' Kelly's Heroes'' (1970), '' K ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miranda Richardson
Miranda Jane Richardson (born 3 March 1958) is an English actress. She made her film debut playing Ruth Ellis in '' Dance with a Stranger'' (1985) and went on to receive Academy Award nominations for '' Damage'' (1992) and '' Tom & Viv'' (1994). A seven-time BAFTA Award nominee, she won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for ''Damage''. She has also been nominated for seven Golden Globe Awards, winning twice for '' Enchanted April'' (1992) and the TV film '' Fatherland'' (1994). In 1996, one critic asserted that she is "the greatest actress of our time in any medium" after she appeared in '' Orlando'' at the Edinburgh International Festival. After graduating from the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Richardson began her career in 1979 and made her West End debut in the 1981 play ''Moving'', before being nominated for the 1987 Olivier Award for Best Actress for '' A Lie of the Mind''. Her television credits include '' Blackadder'' (1986–1989), '' A Dance ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rita Tushingham
Rita Tushingham (born 14 March 1942) is an English actress. She is known for her starring roles in films including ''A Taste of Honey'' (1961), '' The Leather Boys'' (1964), '' The Knack ...and How to Get It'' (1965), '' Doctor Zhivago'' (1965), and '' Smashing Time'' (1967). For ''A Taste of Honey'', she won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress, and Most Promising Newcomer at both the BAFTA Awards and Golden Globe Awards. Her other film appearances include '' An Awfully Big Adventure'' (1995), '' Under the Skin'' (1997), ''Being Julia'' (2004), and '' Last Night in Soho'' (2021). Early life Tushingham was born on 14 March 1942 in the Garston area of Liverpool, where her father was a grocer who ran three shops. She grew up in the Hunt's Cross district of the city. She attended the Heatherlea School in Allerton, the La Sagesse School in Grassendale (which later became part of St Julie's Catholic High School), and studied shorthand and typing at a secretarial scho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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