Bhutan's early history is steeped in mythology and remains obscure. Some of the structures provide evidence that the region has been settled as early as 2000 BC. According to a legend it was ruled by a Cooch-Behar king, around the 7th century BC, but not much is known prior to the introduction of Tibetan Buddhism in the 9th century, when turmoil in Tibet forced many monks to flee to Bhutan. In the 12th century, the Drukpa Kagyupa school was established and remains the dominant form of Buddhism in Bhutan today; the country's political history is intimately tied to its religious history and relations among the various monastic schools and monasteries. Bhutan is one of only a few countries which have been independent throughout their history, never conquered, occupied, or governed by an outside power. Although there has been speculation that it was under the Kamarupa Kingdom or the Tibetan Empire in the 7th to 9th centuries, firm evidence is lacking. From the time historical records are clear, Bhutan has continuously and defended its sovereignty.

The consolidation of Bhutan occurred in 1616 when Ngawanag Namgyal, a lama from western Tibet known as the Zhabdrung Rinpoche, defeated three Tibetan invasions, subjugated rival religious schools, codified the Tsa Yig, an intricate and comprehensive system of law, established himself as ruler over a system of ecclesiastical and civil administrators. After his death and civil war eroded the power of the Zhabdrung for the next 200 years. In 1885 Ugyen Wangchuck was able to consolidate power, began cultivating closer ties with the British in the subcontinent. In 1907, Ugyen Wangchuck was elected as the hereditary ruler of Bhutan, crowned on December 17, 1907, installed as the head of state, the Druk Gyalpo. In 1910, King Ugyen and the British signed the Treaty of Punakha which provided that British India would not interfere in the internal affairs of Bhutan if the country accepted external advice in its external relations; when Ugyen Wangchuck died in 1926, his son Jigme Wangchuck became ruler, when India gained independence in 1947, the new Indian Government recognized Bhutan as an independent country.

In 1949 India and Bhutan signed the Treaty of Peace and Friendship, which provided that India would not interfere in Bhutan's internal affairs, but would guide its foreign policy. Succeeded in 1952 by his son Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, Bhutan began to emerge from its isolation and began a program of planned development; the National Assembly of Bhutan, the Royal Bhutanese Army, the Royal Court of Justice were established, along with a new code of law. Bhutan became a member of the United Nations in 1971. In 1972, Jigme Singye Wangchuck ascended the throne at age 16, he emphasized modern education, decentralization of governance, the development of hydroelectricity and tourism and improvements in rural developments. He was best known internationally for his overarching development philosophy of "gross national happiness." It recognizes that there are many dimensions to development and that economic goals alone are not sufficient. Satisfied with Bhutan's transitioning democratization process, he abdicated in December 2006 rather than wait until the promulgation of the new constitution in 2008.

His son, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, became King upon his abdication. Neolithic tools found in Bhutan indicate that people have been living in the Himalayan region for at least 11,000 years; the earliest inhabitants of Bhutan and the adjoining Himalayan areas of South Asia were people from the Indus Valley Civilization. A state of Lhomon or Monyul a part of Tibet, beyond the pale of Buddhist teachings. Monyul is thought to have existed between AD 100 and AD 600; the names Lhomon Tsendenjong and Lhomon Khashi, found in ancient Bhutanese and Tibetan chronicles, may have credence and have been used by some Bhutanese scholars when referring to their homeland. Variations of the Sanskrit words Bhota-ant or Bhu-uttan have been suggested by historians as origins of the name Bhutan, which came into common foreign use in the late 19th century and is used in Bhutan only in English-language official correspondence; the traditional name of the country since the 17th century has been Drukyul—country of the Drukpa, the Dragon people, or the Land of the Thunder Dragon, a reference to the country's dominant Buddhist sect.

Some scholars believe that during the early historical period the inhabitants were fierce mountain aborigines, the Monpa, who were of neither the Tibetan or Mongol stock that overran northern Bhutan. The people of Monyul practiced a shamanistic religion, which emphasized worship of nature and the existence of good and evil spirits. During the latter part of this period, historical legends relate that the mighty king of Monyul invaded a southern region known as the Duars, subduing the regions of modern Assam, West Bengal, Bihar in India. Buddhism was first introduced to Bhutan in the 7th century. Tibetan king Songtsän Gampo, a convert to Buddhism, ordered the construction of two Buddhist temples, at Bumthang in central Bhutan and at Kyichu in the Paro Valley. Buddhism was propagated in earnest in 746 under King Sindhu Rāja, an exiled Indian king who had established a government in Bumthang at Chakhar Gutho Palace. Buddhism replaced but did not eliminate the Bon religious practices, prevalent in Tibet until the late 6th century.

Instead, Buddhism absorbed its believers. As the countr

The Man with the Twisted Lip is a 1921 British short silent film directed by Maurice Elvey. It is the eighth film in Stoll's Adventures of Sherlock Holmes series starring Eille Norwood as the detective. Sherlock Holmes discovers that the case of missing husband Mr. Neville St. Clair may be connected to a disfigured beggar of Piccadilly Circus, known as "the man with the twisted lip". Eille Norwood as Sherlock Holmes Hubert Willis as Dr. John Watson Robert Vallis as Neville St. Clair Paulette del Baze Mrs. Nellie St. Clair Madame D'esterre as Mrs Hudson Sherlock Holmes The Man with the Twisted Lip on IMDb

Carolyn Gage is an American playwright, theatrical director and author. She has written nine books on lesbian theater and sixty-five plays and one-woman shows. A lesbian feminist, her work emphasizes non-traditional roles for women and lesbian characters. Gage earned a masters in theater arts from Portland State University. Gage's best known work is The Second Coming of Joan of Arc, a one-woman play about the historical figure Joan of Arc, it has been translated into Portuguese, Italian and Mandarin and achieved first-class production in Brazil, starring Christiane Torloni. The script was published in The Second Coming of Joan of Arc and Selected Plays, an anthology of Gage's historical plays; the anthology was named the national winner of the 2008 Lambda Literary Award in Drama. Other notable work includes Ugly Ducklings, nominated by the American Theatre Critics Association for the prestigious ATCA/ Steinberg New Play Award, an award with given annually for the best new play produced outside New York.

It won a 2004 Lesbian Theatre Award from Curve magazine, a $150,000 documentary on the play premiered in 2005 at the Frameline International Film Festival in San Francisco. In 2004, The Anastasia Trials in the Court of Women was named national finalist for the Jane Chambers Award given by the Association for Theatre in Higher Education. Harriet Tubman Visits a Therapist was presented at Actors Theatre of Louisville in the Juneteenth Festival of African American plays, it was a national winner of the Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Festival, is included in Random House's anthology Under 30: Plays for a New Generation. In addition to creative works, Gage has published a manual on lesbian theater production, Take Stage! How to Direct and Produce a Lesbian Play, published by Scarecrow Press. Gage wrote Monologues and Scenes for Lesbian Actors; the author of numerous feminist essays, Gage was named contributing editor to the national feminist quarterly On The Issues and has published in the journals Trivia, Sinister Wisdom, Lesbian Ethics, off our backs, as well as The Lesbian Review of Books, The Gay and Lesbian Review, Lambda Book Report.

Other publications include Dramatists Guild Quarterly. Gage served as a guest lecturer at Bates College from 1998 to 1999; the University of Oregon archive acquired her personal papers in 2004. In December 2014, Gage was awarded the first Lifetime Achievement Award given by Venus Theatre, founded by Deborah Randall in Laurel, Maryland. During the ceremony celebrating the theatre's 50th production, she revived the memories of actresses and directors Eva Le Gallienne, Henrietta Vinton Davis and Minnie Maddern Fiske who faced tremendous opposition to their work from the cultural establishment of their time; the American activist and playwright John Stoltenberg, lifelong companion of radical feminist Andrea Dworkin, said about Gage's acceptance speech:Her acceptance speech, which she spoke off-the-cuff from notes, had a profound effect on the audience, because in it she described real and raw truths about what it means to work in theater as a woman. In 2018, Gage was interviewed for an investigation about how invisible disabilities tend to be hidden by creative professionals in the American show business in order not to experience discrimination, having herself concealed for years her myalgic encephalomyelitis, or chronic fatigue syndrome, she suffered from since 1988.

The Second Coming of Joan of Arc and Selected Plays Nine Short Plays Starting from Zero: One-Act Plays About Lesbians in Love The Spindle and Other Lesbian Fairy Tales Take Stage! How to Direct and Produce a Lesbian Play Sermons for a Lesbian Tent Revival Supplemental Sermons for a Lesbian Tent Revival Hotter Than Hell: More Sermons for a Lesbian Tent Revival Monologues and Scenes for Lesbian Actors: Revised and Expanded Like There's No Tomorrow: Meditations for Women Leaving Patriarchy Black Eye and Other Short Plays Three Comedies The Triple Goddess: Three Plays The Second Coming of Joan of Arc and Other Plays The Gaia Papers: In Search of a Science of Gaia 2014 Featured Playwright, 53rd World Theater Day sponsored by UNESCO, Italy. 2014 Hewnoaks Residency, Maine. 2009 Residency, Wurlitzer Foundation, New Mexico 2009 National Winner, Lambda Literary Award in Drama, The Second Coming of Joan of Arc and Selected Plays Janine C. Rae Cultural Award for the Advancement of Women's Culture National Finalist, Lambda Literary Award in Drama, for The Second Coming of Joan of Arc and Other Plays Winner, Maine Playwrights Award, Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance, for The Poorly-Written Play Festival Nominee, Michael MacLiammor Award, Dublin International Gay Theatre Festival Nominee, American Theatre Critics Association's annual ATCA/Steinberg New Play Award, for Ugly Ducklings Winner, Curve Magazine's National Lesbian Theatre Award, for Ugly Ducklings National Finalist, Association for Theatre in Higher Education Jane Chambers Award, for The Anastasia Trials in the Court of Women National winner, Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Festival, for Harriet Tubman Visits a Therapist Lynda Hart Memorial Grant, Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice Thanatron named among "Best Productions of 2003" by the Portland Phoenix in Portland, Maine Finalist, Maine Playwrights Award for Parmachene Belle National winner, $3000 Arch and Bruce Brown Foundation Grant for best play, The Last Reading of Charlotte Cushman Acquisition of personal papers for University of Oregon Special Collections Archive Angus L. Bowmer Award for Drama from the Oregon Institute of Literary Arts for The Second Coming of Joan of Arc Walden Writer's Fellowship from Lewis &