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The Secret Adversary
''The Secret Adversary'' is the second published detective fiction novel by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in January 1922 in the United Kingdom by The Bodley Head and in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company later in that same year. The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6) and the US edition at $1.75. The book introduces the characters of Tommy and Tuppence who feature in three other Christie novels and one collection of short stories; the five Tommy and Tuppence books span Agatha Christie's writing career. They are hired for a job that leads them both to many dangerous situations, meeting allies as well, including an American millionaire in search of his cousin. Reviews were generally positive on this adventure, which manages to keep the identity of the arch-criminal secret to the very end. Plot summary In 1920 London, demobilised soldier Tommy Beresford reunites with his childhood friend and war volunteer Prudence "Tuppence" C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery ''The Mousetrap'', which has been performed in the West End theatre, West End of London since 1952. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime"—a nickname now trademarked by her estate—or the "Queen of Mystery". She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. She is the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies. Christie was born into a wealthy upper-middle-class family in Torquay, Devon, and was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Voluntary Aid Detachment
The Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) was a voluntary unit of civilians providing nursing care for military personnel in the United Kingdom and various other countries in the British Empire. The most important periods of operation for these units were during World War I and World War II. Although VADs were intimately bound up in the war effort, they were not military nurses, as they were not under the control of the military, unlike the Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps, the Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service, and the Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service. The VAD nurses worked in field hospitals, i.e., close to the battlefield, and in longer-term places of recuperation back in Britain. World War I The VAD system was founded in 1909 with the help of the British Red Cross and Order of Saint John (chartered 1888), Order of St John. By the summer of 1914 there were over 2,500 Voluntary Aid Detachments in Britain. Of the 74,000 VAD members in 1914, two-third ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
National Film Theatre
BFI Southbank (from 1951 to 2007, known as the National Film Theatre) is the leading repertory cinema in the United Kingdom, specialising in seasons of classic, independent and non-English language films. It is operated by the British Film Institute. ''Forbes'' called its largest cinema, NFT1, "one of the crown jewels of the London film scene". History The National Film Theatre was initially opened in a temporary building (the Telecinema) at the Festival of Britain in 1951 and moved to its present location in 1957, replacing the Thameside restaurant on the site. It opened for the first BFI London Film Festival on 16 October 1957. Later, the Southbank Centre expanded its buildings to meet the National Film Theatre from the south, while the National Theatre occupies the area to the northeast. A second screen was added on 21 September 1970. In 1988, a new building was constructed for the Museum of the Moving Image between the National Film Theatre and Belvedere Road. Designed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Silent Movie
''Silent Movie'' is a 1976 American satirical silent comedy film co-written, directed by and starring Mel Brooks, released by 20th Century Fox in summer 1976. The ensemble cast includes Dom DeLuise, Marty Feldman, Bernadette Peters, and Sid Caesar, with cameos by Anne Bancroft, Liza Minnelli, Burt Reynolds, James Caan, Marcel Marceau, and Paul Newman as themselves, and character cameos by Harry Ritz of the Ritz Brothers, Charlie Callas, and Henny Youngman. The film was produced in the manner of an early-20th-century silent film, with intertitles instead of spoken dialogue; the soundtrack consists almost entirely of orchestral accompaniment and sound effects. It is an affectionate parody of slapstick comedies, including those of Charlie Chaplin, Mack Sennett, and Buster Keaton. The film satirizes the film industry, presenting the story of a film producer trying to obtain studio support to make a silent film in the 1970s. Plot Mel Funn, a once-great Hollywood film direct ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Cinema Of Germany
The film industry in Germany can be traced back to the late 19th century. German cinema made major technical and artistic contributions to early film, broadcasting and television technology. Babelsberg Studio, Babelsberg became a household synonym for the early 20th century film industry in Europe, similar to Hollywood later. German expressionist cinema, Early German and German-speaking filmmakers and actors heavily contributed to Classical Hollywood, early Hollywood. Germany witnessed major changes to its identity during the 20th and 21st century. Those changes determined the periodisation of national cinema into a succession of distinct eras and movements. History 1895–1918 German Empire The history of cinema in Germany can be traced back to the years of the medium's birth. Ottomar Anschütz held the first showing of life sized pictures in motion on 25 November 1894 at the Postfuhramt in Berlin. On 1 November 1895, Max Skladanowsky and his brother Emil demonstrated their ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Irish Independent
The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ... and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis. The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines. Traditionally a broadsheet newspaper, it introduced an additional compact size in 2004. Further, in December 2012 (following billionaire Denis O'Brien's takeover) it was announced that the newspaper would become compact only. History Murphy and family (1905–1973) The ''Irish Independent'' was formed in 1905 as the direct successor to ''The Irish Daily Independent and Daily Nation'', an 1890s' pro- Parnellite newspaper. It was launched by William Martin Murphy, a controversial Irish nationalist businessman, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
East Anglian Daily Times
The ''East Anglian Daily Times'' is a British local newspaper for Suffolk and Essex, based in Ipswich. History The newspaper began publication on 13 October 1874, incorporating the ''Ipswich Express'', which had been published since 13 August 1839. The ''East Anglian Daily Times'' merged news operations with the '' Ipswich Star'' in 2010, under the stewardship of the chief executive of Archant Suffolk, Stuart McCreery. Mr McCreery left his role one day before Archant's board announced a reversal of the editorial integration, which it described as "pioneering", and a company spokesman informed staff that Mr McCreery had suggested the reintegration when he had decided to resign some weeks before. The paper is published daily from Monday to Saturday in four regional editions: West Suffolk (around Bury St Edmunds), North Suffolk (around Lowestoft), East Suffolk (around Ipswich) and Essex (Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Saturday Review (London)
''The Saturday Review of Politics, Literature, Science, and Art'' was a London weekly newspaper established by A. J. B. Beresford Hope in 1855. The first editor was the '' Morning Chronicle''s ex-editor John Douglas Cook (1808?–1868), and many of the earlier contributors had worked on the ''Chronicle''. Cook was a Scotsman who had lived in India: he had a house in Tintagel, Cornwall, and is buried there. A stained-glass window in the parish church commemorates him. The political stance of the ''Saturday Review'' was Peelite liberal Conservatism. The paper, benefiting from the recent repeal of the Stamp Act, aimed to combat the political influence of ''The Times''. The first issue appeared on 3 November 1855. Frank Harris was editor from 1894 to 1898. Contributors included Dorothy Richardson, Lady Emilia Dilke, Anthony Trollope., H. G. Wells, George Bernard Shaw, Eneas Sweetland Dallas, Max Beerbohm, Walter Bagehot, James Fitzjames Stephen, Charles Kingsley, Max Müller, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
John Lane (publisher)
John Lane (14 March 1854 – 2 February 1925) was a British publisher who co-founded The Bodley Head with Charles Elkin Mathews.He published the ''Yellow Book'' newspaper. He established a New York branch of his publishing business and married American author Anna Eichberg King. Career John Lane was born into a farming family in West Putford, Devon on 14 March 1854. He moved to London in his teens. While working as a clerk at the Railway Clearing House, he acquired knowledge as an autodidact. After entering the London book trade, in 1887 he became co-founder with Elkin Mathews of The Bodley Head which originally was a bookshop dealing in antiquarian books. In 1894, still operating under the name of The Bodley Head, they began to publish books. Mathews left shortly afterwards and began to publish on his own as Elkin Mathews Ltd. and "returned to a great concentration on bookselling". Lane continued to publish as The Bodley Head and under the name John Lane. He is mainly asso ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Poirot Investigates
''Poirot Investigates'' is a short story collection written by English author Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by The Bodley Head in March 1924.''The English Catalogue of Books''. Vol XI (A-L: January 1921 – December 1925). Kraus Reprint Corporation, Millwood, New York, 1979 (page 310) In the eleven stories, famed eccentric detective Hercule Poirot solves a variety of mysteries involving greed, jealousy, and revenge. The American version of this book, published by Dodd, Mead and Company in 1925, featured a further three stories. The UK first edition featured an illustration of Poirot on the dust jacket by W. Smithson Broadhead, reprinted from the 21 March 1923 issue of '' The Sketch'' magazine. The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6) while the 1925 US edition was $2.00. Plot summaries ''Note: the plots of the televised versions differ from these originals.'' The Adventure of the Western Star Poirot receives a visit from Miss Mary M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Daily Chronicle (United Kingdom)
The ''Daily Chronicle'' was a left-wing British newspaper that was published from 1872 to 1930 when it merged with the '' Daily News'' to become the ''News Chronicle''. Foundation The ''Daily Chronicle'' was developed by Edward Lloyd out of a local newspaper that had started life as the ''Clerkenwell News and Domestic Intelligencer'', set up as a halfpenny 4-page weekly in 1855. Launched after the duties on advertising and published news had been abolished in 1853 and July 1855, this local paper specialised in small personal ads. At first, it carried about three times as much advertising as it did local news. As the formula proved popular, it grew in size and frequency and often changed its name to match. In 1872, it finally changed from the ''London Daily Chronicle and Clerkenwell News'' to plain ''Daily Chronicle''. It was then being published daily in eight pages, half of which were news and half advertising. Edward Lloyd was keenly interested in advertising. It had the po ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Blurb
A blurb is a short promotional piece accompanying a piece of creative work. It may be written by the author or publisher or quote praise from others. Blurbs were originally printed on the back or rear dust jacket of a book. With the development of the mass-market paperback, they were placed on both covers by most publishers. Now they are also found on web portals and news websites. A blurb may introduce a newspaper or a book. History In the US, the history of the blurb is said to begin with Walt Whitman's collection, ''Leaves of Grass''. In response to the publication of the first edition in 1855, Ralph Waldo Emerson sent Whitman a congratulatory letter, including the phrase "I greet you at the beginning of a great career": the following year, Whitman had these words stamped in gold leaf on the spine of the second edition. The word ''blurb'' was coined in 1906 by American humorist Gelett Burgess (1866–1951). The October 1906 first edition of his short book ''Are You a Bro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
