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The Nine Tailors
''The Nine Tailors'' is a 1934 mystery novel by the British writer Dorothy L. Sayers, her ninth featuring Lord Peter Wimsey. The story is set in the Lincolnshire Fens, and revolves around a group of bell-ringers at the local parish church. The book has been described as Sayers' finest literary achievement, although not all critics were convinced by the mode of death, nor by the amount of technical campanology detail included. Plot Twenty years before the events of the novel, the family of Sir Henry Thorpe, squire of the Fenland village of Fenchurch St Paul, had suffered the theft of a guest's valuable emerald necklace, still unrecovered. The family's then-butler, Geoffrey Deacon, and his accomplice, Nobby Cranton, had been convicted and imprisoned. In 1918, Deacon escaped from prison and disappeared, leaving his wife, Mary, none the wiser. After a man's body in prison clothes was found two years later in a nearby dene-hole, Mary was declared a widow, and became free to marr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dorothy L
Dorothy may refer to: *Dorothy (given name), a list of people with that name. Arts and entertainment Film and television *Dorothy (TV series), ''Dorothy'' (TV series), 1979 American TV series *Dorothy Mills, a 2008 French movie, sometimes titled simply ''Dorothy'' *DOROTHY, a device used to study tornadoes in the movie ''Twister (1996 film), Twister'' Music *Dorothy (band), a Los Angeles-based rock band *:hu:Dorothy (magyar együttes), Dorothy (band), a disbanded Hungarian rock band *Dorothy, the title of an Old English dance and folk song by Seymour Smith *"Dorothy", a 2019 song by Sulli *"Dorothy", a 2016 song by Her's In other media *Dorothy (opera), ''Dorothy'' (opera), a comic opera (1886) by Stephenson & Cellier *Dorothy (Chase), ''Dorothy'' (Chase), a 1902 painting by William Merritt Chase *Dorothy (comic book), ''Dorothy'' (comic book), a comic book based on the Wizard of Oz *Dorothy, a publishing project, an American publisher Places *Dorothy, Alberta, a haml ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manservant
A domestic worker is a person who works within a residence and performs a variety of household services for an individual, from providing cleaning and household maintenance, or cooking, laundry and ironing, or care for children and elderly dependents, and other household errands. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service". Some domestic workers live within their employer's household. In some cases, the contribution and skill of servants whose work encompassed complex management tasks in large households have been highly valued. However, for the most part, domestic work tends to be demanding and is commonly considered to be undervalued, despite often being necessary. Although legislation protecting domestic workers is in place in many countries, it is often not extensively enforced. In many jurisdictions, domestic work is poorly regulated and domestic workers are subject ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Spectator
''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject areas are politics and culture. Alongside columns and features on current affairs, the magazine also contains arts pages on books, music, opera, film, and TV reviews. It had an average circulation of 107,812 as of December 2023, excluding Australia. Editorship of the magazine has often been a step on the ladder to high office in the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom. Past editors include Boris Johnson (1999–2005) and other former cabinet members Ian Gilmour (1954–1959), Iain Macleod (1963–1965), and Nigel Lawson (1966–1970). The former Conservative MP Michael Gove took over from Fraser Nelson as editor on 4 October 2024. Today, the magazine is a print-digital hybrid. In 2020, ''The Spectator'' became the longest-live ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sexton (office)
A sexton is an officer of a church, congregation, or synagogue charged with the maintenance of its buildings and/or an associated graveyard. In smaller places of worship, this office is often combined with that of verger. Larger establishments, such as cathedrals, may employ a team of sextons. Historically in North America and the United Kingdom the "sexton" was sometimes a minor municipal official responsible for overseeing the town graveyard. In the United Kingdom the position still exists today, related to management of the community's graveyard, with such sextons usually employed by the town/parish or community council. Origin of the name The words "sexton" and " sacristan" both derive from the Medieval Latin word ''sacristanus'' meaning "custodian of sacred objects". "Sexton" represents the popular development of the word via the Old French "Segrestein". Duties Among the traditional duties of the sexton in small parishes was the digging of graves—the The Graved ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Village Idiot
The village idiot is, in strict terms, a person locally known for ignorance or stupidity but is also a common term for a stereotypically silly or nonsensical person or stock character. Description The term "village idiot" is also used as a stereotype of the mentally disabled. It has also been applied as an epithet for an unrealistically optimistic or naive individual. The village idiot was long considered an acceptable social role, a unique individual who was dependent yet contributed to the social fabric of their community. As early as Byzantine times, the "village idiot" was treated as an acceptable form of disabled individual compatible with then-prevailing normative conceptions of social order. The concept of a "village savant" or "village genius" is closely related, often tied to the concept of pre-industrial anti-intellectualism, as both figures are subjects of both pity and derision.Dols, M.W., 1987: Insanity and its treatment in Islamic society. ''Medical History'' 31 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mervyn Bunter
Mervyn Bunter is a fictional character in Dorothy L. Sayers's novels and short stories. He serves as Lord Peter Wimsey's valet, having been Wimsey's batman during the First World War. Bunter was partially based on the fictional valet Jeeves, created by P. G. Wodehouse. Background Sayers wrote a number of novels and short stories concerning the adventures of a fictional private detective called Lord Peter Wimsey, beginning with a Sexton Blake story she wrote in 1920. The first Wimsey novel, ''Whose Body?'', was published in 1923, and the last by Sayers alone, '' Busman's Honeymoon'', was published in 1937. Further stories based on original material were published under the authorship of Sayers and Jill Paton Walsh, the last appearing in 2013. The original stories written by Sayers take place between 1921 and 1937; the continuation novels by Walsh extend through the Second World War and into the 1950s. Role Mervyn Bunter is Wimsey's manservant. Sayers admitted having part ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haman
Haman ( ; also known as Haman the Agagite) is the main antagonist in the Book of Esther, who according to the Hebrew Bible was an official in the court of the Achaemenid Empire, Persian empire under King Ahasuerus#Book of Esther, Ahasuerus, commonly identified as Xerxes I (died 465 Common era, BCE) but traditionally equated with Artaxerxes I of Persia, Artaxerxes I or Artaxerxes II of Persia, Artaxerxes II. His epithet, ''Agagite'', indicates that Haman was a descendant of Agag, the king of the Amalekites. Some commentators interpret this descent to be symbolic, due to his similar personality. Retrieved 13 February 2017 In the narrative of the Book of Esther, Haman was a proud and ambitious man who demanded that everyone bow down to him as a sign of respect. However, a Jewish man named Mordecai refused to bow down to him, which enraged Haman. Seeking revenge, Haman convinced the king to issue a decree that all Jews in the Persian empire be Genocide, exterminated. Haman's plot was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bigamy
In a culture where only monogamous relationships are legally recognized, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. A legal or de facto separation of the couple does not alter their marital status as married persons. In the case of a person in the process of divorcing their spouse, that person is taken to be legally married until such time as the divorce becomes final or absolute under the law of the relevant jurisdiction. Bigamy laws do not apply to couples in a de facto or cohabitation relationship, or that enter such relationships when one is legally married. If the prior marriage is for any reason void, the couple is not married, and hence each party is free to marry another without falling foul of the bigamy laws. Bigamy is a crime in most countries that recognise only monogamous marriages. When it occurs in this context often neither the first nor second spouse is aware of the other. In countries that have bigamy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Change Ringing
Change ringing is the art of ringing a set of tuning (music), tuned bell (instrument), bells in a tightly controlled manner to produce precise variations in their successive striking sequences, known as "changes". This can be by method ringing in which the ringers commit to memory the rules for generating each change, or by call changes, where the ringers are instructed how to generate each change by instructions from a conductor. This creates a form of bell music which cannot be discerned as a conventional melody, but is a series of mathematical sequences. It can also be automated by machinery. Change ringing originated following the invention of English full circle ringing, full-circle tower bell ringing in the early 17th century, when bell ringers found that swinging a bell through a much larger arc than that required for swing-chiming gave control over the time between successive strikes of the clapper. Ordinarily a bell will swing through a small arc only at a set speed govern ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cipher
In cryptography, a cipher (or cypher) is an algorithm for performing encryption or decryption—a series of well-defined steps that can be followed as a procedure. An alternative, less common term is ''encipherment''. To encipher or encode is to convert information into cipher or code. In common parlance, "cipher" is synonymous with "code (cryptography), code", as they are both a set of steps that encrypt a message; however, the concepts are distinct in cryptography, especially classical cryptography. Codes generally substitute different length strings of characters in the output, while ciphers generally substitute the same number of characters as are input. A code maps one meaning with another. Words and phrases can be coded as letters or numbers. Codes typically have direct meaning from input to key. Codes primarily function to save time. Ciphers are algorithmic. The given input must follow the cipher's process to be solved. Ciphers are commonly used to encrypt written info ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
