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The Mystery Of Edwin Drood
''The Mystery of Edwin Drood'' is the final novel by English author Charles Dickens, originally published in 1870. Though the novel is named after the character Edwin Drood, it focuses more on Drood's uncle, John Jasper, a precentor, choirmaster and opium addict, who lusts after his pupil, Rosa Bud. Miss Bud, Edwin Drood's fiancée, has also caught the eye of the high-spirited and hot-tempered Neville Landless. Landless and Edwin Drood take an instant dislike to each other. Later Drood disappears under mysterious circumstances. The story is set in Cloisterham, a lightly disguised Rochester. At the death of Dickens on 9 June 1870, the novel was left unfinished in his writing desk, only six of a planned twelve instalments having been written. He left no detailed plan for the remaining instalments or solution to the novel's mystery, and many later adaptations and continuations by other writers have attempted to complete the story. Summary The novel begins as John Jasper leav ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era.. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime and, by the 20th century, critics and scholars had recognised him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories are widely read today. Born in Portsmouth, Dickens left school at age 12 to work in a boot-blacking factory when his father John Dickens, John was incarcerated in a debtors' prison. After three years, he returned to school before beginning his literary career as a journalist. Dickens edited a weekly journal for 20 years; wrote 15 novels, five novellas, hundreds of short stories and nonfiction articles; lectured and performed Penny reading, readings extensively; was a tireless letter writer; and campaigned vigor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Weir
A weir or low-head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the water level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of lakes, ponds, and reservoirs. There are many weir designs, but commonly water flows freely over the top of the weir crest before cascading down to a lower level. There is no single definition as to what constitutes a weir. ''Weir'' can also refer to the skimmer found in most in-ground swimming pools, which controls the flow of water pulled into the filtering system. Etymology The word likely originated from Middle English ''were'', Old English ''wer'', a derivative of the root of the verb ''werian,'' meaning "to defend, dam". The German cognate is ''Wehr'', which means the same as English weir. Function Commonly, weirs are used to prevent flooding, measure water discharge, and help render rivers more Navigability, navigable by boat. In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Luke Fildes
Sir Samuel Luke Fildes (3 October 1843 – 28 February 1927) was a British painter and illustrator born in Liverpool and trained at the Royal College of Art, South Kensington and Royal Academy Schools. He was the grandson of the political activist Mary Fildes. Illustrator At the age of 17, Fildes became a student at the Warrington School of Art. Fildes moved to the South Kensington Art School where he met Hubert von Herkomer and Frank Holl. All three men became influenced by the work of Frederick Walker (painter), Frederick Walker, the leader of the social realist movement in Britain. Fildes shared his grandmother's concern for the poor and in 1869 joined the staff of ''The Graphic'' newspaper, an illustrated weekly began and edited by the social reformer, William Luson Thomas. Fildes shared Thomas' belief in the power of visual images to change public opinion on subjects such as poverty and injustice. Thomas hoped that the images in ''The Graphic'' would result in individua ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shilling
The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currency, currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence or one-twentieth of a Pound (currency), pound before being phased out during the 1960s and 1970s. Currently the shilling is used as a currency in five east African countries: Kenyan shilling, Kenya, Tanzanian shilling, Tanzania, Ugandan shilling, Uganda, Somali shilling, Somalia, and the ''de facto'' country of Somaliland shilling, Somaliland. The East African Community additionally plans to introduce an East African shilling. History The word ''shilling'' comes from Anglo-Saxon language, Anglo-Saxon phrase "Scilling", a monetary term meaning literally "twentieth of a pound", from the Proto-Germanic root :wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/skiljaną, skiljaną meaning literally "to separate, split, divide", from :wikt:Reconstr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Moffatt (actor)
Albert John Moffatt (24 September 1922 – 10 September 2012) was an English character actor and playwright, known for his portrayal of Hercule Poirot on BBC Radio in twenty-five productions and for a wide range of stage roles in the West End from the 1950s to the 1980s. Moffatt's parents wished him to follow a career in a bank, but Moffatt secretly studied acting and made his stage debut in 1944. After five years in provincial repertory theatre he made his first London appearance in 1959. In the early 1950s he was cast in small parts in productions headed by John Gielgud and Noël Coward, and achieved increasingly prominent roles over the next decade. He was a member of the English Stage Company, the Old Vic, and the National Theatre companies. His range was considerable, embracing the classics, new plays, revue and pantomime. Moffatt began broadcasting on radio in 1950 and on television in 1953. His most enduring role was that of Agatha Christie's Belgian detective, H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ian Holm
Sir Ian Holm Cuthbert (12 September 1931 – 19 June 2020) was an English actor. After graduating from RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) and beginning his career on the British stage as a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he became a successful and prolific performer on television and in film. He received numerous accolades including two BAFTA Awards and a Tony Award, along with a nomination for an Academy Award. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1998 Birthday Honours, 1998 for services to drama. Holm won the 21st Tony Awards, 1967 Tony Award for Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play, Best Featured Actor for his performance as Lenny in the Harold Pinter play ''The Homecoming''. He won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his performance in the title role in the 1998 West End (theatre), West End production of ''King Lear''. For his television roles he received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for King Lear, and the HBO film ''The Last of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasting House, London. Since 2019, the station controller has been Mohit Bakaya. He replaced Gwyneth Williams, who had been the station controller since 2010. Broadcasting throughout the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands on FM broadcast band, FM, Longwave, LW and Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB, and on BBC Sounds, it can be received in the eastern counties of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, northern France and Northern Europe. It is available on Freeview (UK), Freeview, Freesat, Sky (UK & Ireland), Sky, and Virgin Media. Radio 4 currently reaches over 10 million listeners, making it List of most-listened-to radio programs#Top stations in the United Kingdom, the UK's second most-popular radio station after BBC Radio 2. BBC ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leon Garfield
Leon Garfield FRSL (14 July 1921 – 2 June 1996) was a British writer of fiction. He is best known for children's historical novels, though he also wrote for adults. He wrote more than thirty books and scripted '' Shakespeare: The Animated Tales'' for television. Life Garfield attended Brighton Grammar School (1932–1938) and went on to study art at Regent Street Polytechnic, but his studies were interrupted first by lack of funds for fees, then by the outbreak of World War II.Copson. He married Lena Leah Davies in April, 1941, at Golders Green Synagogue but they separated after only a few months. For his service in the war he joined the Royal Army Medical Corps. While posted in Belgium he met Vivien Alcock, then an ambulance driver, who became his second wife (in 1948) and a well-known children's author. She also greatly influenced Garfield's writing, giving him suggestions, including the original idea for ''Smith''.Natov, 5. After the war Garfield worked as a biochemical ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Mystery Of Edwin Drood (musical)
''The Mystery of Edwin Drood'' is a musical written by Rupert Holmes based on the unfinished Charles Dickens novel of the same name. The show was the first Broadway musical with multiple endings (determined by audience vote). The musical won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical; from among eleven nominations. Holmes received Tony awards for Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score. The musical debuted at the New York Shakespeare Festival in August 1985. After being revised, it transferred to Broadway and ran until May 1987, sometimes billed simply as ''Drood'', followed by two national tours and a London West End production. The Roundabout Theatre Company revived the musical in 2012. History Sources The musical is a staging of Charles Dickens' final and unfinished novel '' The Mystery of Edwin Drood'' in a style hearkening to British pantomime and music hall genres that had reached a height of popularity around the time of Dickens' death. As with most of his o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Claude Rains
William Claude Rains (10 November 188930 May 1967) was a British and American actor whose career spanned almost seven decades. He was the recipient of numerous accolades, including four Academy Award nominations for Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actor, and is considered one of the screen's great character stars who played cultured villains during the Golden Age of Hollywood. From McFarlane's ''Encyclopedia of British Film''. London: Methuen/BFI, 2003, p. 545 The son of a stage actor, Rains began acting on stage in his native London in the 1900s. He became a leading thespian on the West End theatre, West End, and an acting teacher at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. He moved to the United States in the late 1920s and became a successful Broadway theatre, Broadway star, before making his American film debut as Griffin (The Invisible Man), Dr. Jack Griffin in ''The Invisible Man (1933 film), The Invisible Man'' (1933). He went on to play prominent rol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Dickensian
The Dickens Fellowship was founded in 1902, and is an international association of people from all walks of life who share an interest in the life and works of Victorian era novelist Charles Dickens. The Dickens Fellowship's head office is based at the Charles Dickens Museum in Doughty Street in London, England, the home of Charles Dickens from 1837 to 1839. In 1923 Dickens's former home at 48 Doughy Street was threatened with demolition, but it was saved by three members of the Dickens Fellowship, who raised a mortgage and bought the freehold in 1925. The membership of the Fellowship raised funds and put together a collection to exhibit in it. The Dickens House Trust was established to run the house as a museum and library. Membership is open to anybody, anywhere in the world, who shares the Fellowship's interests. The Fellowship has 47 branches, which are in the UK, the United States and nine other countries. Each branch is independent and arranges its own programme of events. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Verger
A verger (or virger, so called after the staff of the office, or wandsman in British English though archaic) is a person usually a layperson, who assists in the ordering of religious services, particularly in Anglican churches. Etymology The title of ''verger'' arises from the ceremonial rod they traditionally carried known as a virge (from the Latin , "branch, staff, rod"; see virgule). The Maces of State used in the House of Lords and the House of Commons of the British Parliament are examples of another modern use of the medieval virge. In former times, a verger might have needed to use his virge to keep back animals or an overenthusiastic crowd from the personage he was escorting or even to discipline unruly choristers. History The office of verger has its roots in the early days of the Church of England's history. The Order shares certain similarities with the former Minor Orders of Porter and Acolyte. Historically, vergers were responsible for the order and up ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
