1.
John Gardner (American writer)
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Not to be confused with John Gardner John Champlin Gardner Jr. was an American novelist, essayist, literary critic and university professor. He is perhaps most noted for his novel Grendel, a retelling of the Beowulf myth from the point of view. Gardner was born in Batavia, New York and his father was a lay preacher and dairy farmer, and his mother taught English at a local school. Both parents were fond of Shakespeare and often recited literature together and he was active in the Boy Scouts of America and made Eagle Scout. As a child, Gardner attended public school and worked on his fathers farm, Gardner, who was driving the tractor during the fatal accident, carried guilt for his brothers death throughout his life, suffering nightmares and flashbacks. The incident informed much of Gardners fiction and criticism — most directly in the 1977 short story Redemption, Gardner began his university education at DePauw University, but received his undergraduate degree from Washington University in St. Louis in 1955. He received his M. A. & PhD. in 1958 from the University of Iowa and he was Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Detroit in 1970 or 1971. This last novel won the National Book Critics Circle Award in 1976, Gardner was a lifelong teacher of fiction writing. He was a favorite at the Bread Loaf Writers Conference and his two books on the craft of writing fiction—The Art of Fiction and On Becoming a Novelist—are considered classics. He was famously obsessive with his work, and acquired a reputation for advanced craft, smooth rhythms, at one level or another, his books nearly always touched on the redemptive power of art. Gardner claimed that lingering animosity from critics of this led to the lukewarm critical reception of his final novel. What was seemingly lost in the furor over On Moral Fiction was Gardners central thesis, Gardner meant moral not in the sense of narrow religious or cultural morality, but rather that fiction should aspire to discover those human values that are universally sustaining. Gardner felt that few contemporary authors were moral in this sense, Gardner inspired and, according to Raymond Carver, also intimidated his writing students. And he wasnt joking, said Carver, who related this anecdote in his foreword to Gardners book On Becoming a Novelist, in that foreword, he makes it clear how much he respected Gardner and also relates his extraordinary kindness. Gardner taught at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, and spent the years before his death as a professor at Binghamton University, in 1977, Gardner published The Life and Times of Chaucer. He is the author of the saying, There are only two plots in all literature, a person goes on a journey, a stranger comes to town. On December 10,1977, Gardner was hospitalized with colon cancer and he remained in Johns Hopkins Hospital for about a month and a half. Gardner married Joan Louise Patterson on June 6,1953, the marriage, Gardner then married the poet Liz Rosenberg in 1980, but this marriage also ended in divorce in 1982
2.
Seaton Delaval
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Seaton Delaval is a village in Northumberland, England, with a population of 4,371. It is the largest of the five villages in Seaton Valley and is the site of Seaton Delaval Hall, the place-name Seaton Delaval was first attested as Seton de la Val in 1270. Seaton simply means sea town, referring to the nearness to the North Sea. The land was held by the Delaval family, who took their name from Laval in Maine in France and their descendants are still major landholders in the area today, and the current Lord Hastings has the first name Delaval, he is Delaval Astley, 23rd Baron Hastings. The folk song Blackleg Miner mentions the village, Oh, Delaval is a terrible place They rub wet clay in the blacklegs face, and around the heaps they run a foot race, To catch the blackleg miner. So divint gang near the Seghill mine, across the way they stretch a line, To catch the throat and break the spine Of the dirty blackleg miner. From 1974 the village was part of the Blyth Valley borough, the village is in the NE25 post code area and the postal town of Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear. Unlike other parts of Northumberland, Seaton Delaval and the surrounding villages use the Tyne, the village is centred on the intersection of two main roads, the A192 road running from North Shields to Morpeth and the A190 road running from the Dudley village bypass to Seaton Sluice. These main roads are lined by terraced housing from the turn of the 20th Century, there are small pockets of more recent housing and as of August 2012, a new estate of houses is being completed. There are also several stores and public houses, such as The Keel Row pub/restaurant on Foremans Row. The other, mainly independent stores include a regionally renowned ice cream parlour, pine furnishing store, florist, Coty has a factory in the village following a merger of between Procter and Gamble and Coty for the acquisition of their beauty business, once the independent Shultons factory. Shultons formerly manufactured Old Spice aftershave before Procter & Gambles acquisition of the brand, the factory is now employed in the manufacture of Clairol hair dye products, including Nice n Easy, as well as the Hugo Boss fragrance range along with a number of other products. Seaton Delaval Hall, recently taken into the care of the National Trust, is situated half a mile east of the village off the A190. A railway line, now used only for freight, runs to the North of the village, there are bus links to nearby Whitley Bay, Cramlington and Blyth as well as to Newcastle-upon-Tyne
3.
Northumberland
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Northumberland is a county in North East England. The northernmost county of England, it borders Cumbria to the west, County Durham and Tyne and Wear to the south, to the east is the North Sea coastline with a 64-mile long distance path. The county town is Alnwick although the county council is in Morpeth, the northernmost point of Northumberland and England is at Marshall Meadows Bay. The county of Northumberland included Newcastle upon Tyne until 1400, when the city became a county of itself, Northumberland expanded greatly in the Tudor period, annexing Berwick-upon-Tweed in 1482, Tynedale in 1495, Tynemouth in 1536, Redesdale around 1542 and Hexhamshire in 1572. Islandshire, Bedlingtonshire and Norhamshire were incorporated into Northumberland in 1844, Tynemouth and other settlements in North Tyneside were transferred to Tyne and Wear in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. Lying on the Anglo-Scottish border, Northumberland has been the site of a number of battles, the county is noted for its undeveloped landscape of high moorland, now largely protected as the Northumberland National Park. Northumberland is the most sparsely populated county in England, with only 62 people per square kilometre, Northumberland originally meant the land of the people living north of the River Humber. The present county is the core of that land, and has long been a frontier zone between England and Scotland. During Roman occupation of Britain, most of the present county lay north of Hadrians Wall, the Roman road Dere Street crosses the county from Corbridge over high moorland west of the Cheviot Hills into present Scotland to Trimontium. Northumberland has a rich prehistory with many instances of art, hillforts such as Yeavering Bell and stone circles like the Goatstones. Most of the area was occupied by the Brythonic-Celtic Votadini people, with another large tribe, later, the region of present-day Northumberland formed the core of the Anglian kingdom of Bernicia, which united with Deira to form the kingdom of Northumbria in the 7th century. Lindisfarne saw the production of the Lindisfarne Gospels and it became the home of St Cuthbert, bamburgh is the historic capital of Northumberland, the royal castle from before the unification of the Kingdoms of England under the monarchs of the House of Wessex in the 10th century. The Earldom of Northumberland was briefly held by the Scottish royal family by marriage between 1139–1157 and 1215–1217, Scotland relinquished all claims to the region as part of the Treaty of York. The Earls of Northumberland once wielded significant power in English affairs because, as powerful and militaristic Marcher Lords, Northumberland has a history of revolt and rebellion against the government, as seen in the Rising of the North against Elizabeth I of England. These revolts were led by the Earls of Northumberland, the Percy family. Shakespeare makes one of the Percys, the dashing Harry Hotspur, after the Restoration of 1660, the county was a centre for Roman Catholicism in England, as well as a focus of Jacobite support. Northumberland was long a wild county, where outlaws and Border Reivers hid from the law, however, the frequent cross-border skirmishes and accompanying local lawlessness largely subsided after the Union of the Crowns of Scotland and England under King James I and VI in 1603. Northumberland played a key role in the Industrial Revolution from the 18th century on, many coal mines operated in Northumberland until the widespread closures in the 1970s and 1980s
4.
Basingstoke
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Basingstoke is the largest town in Hampshire. It is situated in south central England, and lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon and it is located 30 miles northeast of Southampton,48 miles southwest of London, and 19 miles northeast of the county town and former capital Winchester. According to the 2011 census the town had a population of 107,355 and it is part of the borough of Basingstoke and Deane and part of the parliamentary constituency of Basingstoke. Basingstoke is often nicknamed Doughnut City or Roundabout City because of the number of large roundabouts, Basingstoke is an old market town expanded in the mid 1960s as a result of an agreement between London County Council and Hampshire County Council. Basingstoke market was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, at the start of World War II the population was little more than 13,000. It still has a market, but is now larger than Hampshire County Councils definition of a market town. It is also the location of the European headquarters of the TaylorMade-Adidas Golf Company, other industries include publishing, IT, telecommunications, insurance and electronics. The name Basingstoke is believed to have derived from the towns position as the outlying. The ending -stoke means outlying settlement or possibly refers to a stockade that surrounded the settlement in early medieval times. Basing, now Old Basing, a village 2 miles to the east, is thought to have the same etymology and it remained the main settlement until changes in the local church moved the religious base from St Marys Church, Basing, to the church in Basingstoke. The site of Winklebury camp is now home to Fort Hill Community School, nearby, to the west, Roman Road marks the course of a Roman road that ran from Winchester to Silchester. Further to the east, another Roman road ran from Chichester through the villages of Upton Grey. The Harrow Way is an Iron-age ancient route that runs to the south of the town, the first recorded historical event here was the victory gained by Æthelred of Wessex and Alfred the Great over the Danes in 871. Again, in 904, Basingstoke saw a battle between Edward the Elder, Alfreds only son, and his cousin Æthelwald. Basingstoke is recorded as being a site in the Domesday Book. During the Civil War, and the siege of Basing House between 1643 and 1645, the town played host to large numbers of Parliamentarians. During this time, St. Michaels Church was damaged whilst being used as a store and lead was stripped from the roof of the Chapel of the Holy Ghost. It had been incorporated in 1524, but was out of use after the Civil War
5.
Hampshire
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Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, the capital city of England. The larger South Hampshire metropolitan area has a population of 1,547,000, Hampshire is notable for housing the birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force. It is bordered by Dorset to the west, Wiltshire to the north-west, Berkshire to the north, Surrey to the north-east, the southern boundary is the coastline of the English Channel and the Solent, facing the Isle of Wight. At its greatest size in 1890, Hampshire was the fifth largest county in England and it now has an overall area of 3,700 square kilometres, and measures about 86 kilometres east–west and 76 kilometres north–south. Hampshires tourist attractions include many seaside resorts and two parks, the New Forest and the South Downs. Hampshire has a maritime history and two of Europes largest ports, Portsmouth and Southampton, lie on its coast. The county is famed as home of writers Jane Austen and Charles Dickens, Hampshire takes its name from the settlement that is now the city of Southampton. Southampton was known in Old English as Hamtun, roughly meaning village-town, the old name was recorded in the Domesday book as Hantescire, and it is from this spelling that the modern abbreviation Hants derives. From 1889 until 1959, the county was named the County of Southampton and has also been known as Southamptonshire. The region is believed to have continuously occupied since the end of the last Ice Age about 12,000 BCE. At this time Britain was still attached to the European continent and was covered with deciduous woodland. The first inhabitants came overland from Europe, these were anatomically and behaviourally modern humans, notable sites from this period include Bouldnor Cliff. Agriculture had arrived in southern Britain by 4000 BCE, and with it a neolithic culture, some deforestation took place at that time, although it was during the Bronze Age, beginning in 2200 BCE, that this became more widespread and systematic. Hampshire has few monuments to show from early periods, although nearby Stonehenge was built in several phases at some time between 3100 BCE and 2200 BCE. It is maintained that by this period the people of Britain predominantly spoke a Celtic language, hillforts largely declined in importance in the second half of the second century BCE, with many being abandoned. Julius Caesar invaded southeastern England briefly in 55 and again in 54 BCE, notable sites from this period include Hengistbury Head, which was a major port. There is a Museum of the Iron Age in Andover, the Romans invaded Britain again in 43 CE, and Hampshire was incorporated into the Roman province of Britannia very quickly
6.
St John's College, Cambridge
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St Johns College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded by Lady Margaret Beaufort, in constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. The aims of the college, as specified by its Statutes, are the promotion of education, religion, learning, the colleges alumni include the winners of ten Nobel Prizes, seven prime ministers and twelve archbishops of various countries, at least two princes, and three Saints. HRH Prince William was affiliated with St Johns while undertaking a course in 2014. St Johns College is also known for its choir, its members success in a wide variety of inter-collegiate sporting competitions. In 2011 the college celebrated its quincentenary, an event marked by a visit of HM Queen Elizabeth II and HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. The college was founded on the site of the 13th-century Hospital of St John in Cambridge at the suggestion of Saint John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester and chaplain to Lady Margaret Beaufort. However, Lady Margaret died without having mentioned the foundation of St Johns in her will, and it was largely the work of Fisher that ensured that the college was founded. He had to obtain the approval of King Henry VIII of England, the Pope through the intermediary Polydore Vergil, the college received its charter on 9 April 1511. In November 1512 the Court of Chancery allowed Lady Margarets executors to pay for the foundation of the college from her estates, when Lady Margarets executors took over they found most of the old Hospital buildings beyond repair, but repaired and incorporated the Chapel into the new college. A kitchen and hall were added, and a gate tower was constructed for the College Treasury. The doors were to be closed each day at dusk, sealing the monastic community from the outside world. Over the course of the five hundred years, the college expanded westwards towards the River Cam, and now has eleven courts. The first three courts are arranged in enfilade, St Johns College first admitted women in October 1981, when K. M. Wheeler was admitted to the fellowship, along with nine female graduate students. The first women undergraduates arrived a year later, St Johns distinctive Great Gate follows the standard contemporary pattern employed previously at Christs College and Queens College. The gatehouse is crenelated and adorned with the arms of the foundress Lady Margaret Beaufort, above these are displayed her ensigns, the Red Rose of Lancaster and Portcullis. The college arms are flanked by curious creatures known as yales, mythical beasts with elephants tails, antelopes bodies, goats heads, and swivelling horns. Above them is a tabernacle containing a figure of St John the Evangelist
7.
Crime fiction
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Crime fiction is the literary genre that fictionalises crimes, their detection, criminals, and their motives. It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other such as historical fiction or science fiction. Crime fiction has multiple subgenres, including fiction, courtroom drama, hard-boiled fiction. Suspense and mystery are key elements that are ubiquitous to the genre. In Italy people commonly call a story about detectives or crimes giallo, better known are the earlier dark works of Edgar Allan Poe. Wilkie Collins epistolary novel The Woman in White was published in 1860, french author Émile Gaboriaus Monsieur Lecoq laid the groundwork for the methodical, scientifically minded detective. The evolution of locked room mysteries was one of the landmarks in the history of crime fiction, the Sherlock Holmes mysteries of Arthur Conan Doyle are said to have been singularly responsible for the huge popularity in this genre. A precursor was Paul Féval, whose series Les Habits Noirs features Scotland Yard detectives, the best-selling crime novel of the nineteenth century was Fergus Humes The Mystery of a Hansom Cab, set in Melbourne, Australia. The evolution of the print mass media in the United Kingdom, like the works of many other important fiction writers of his day—e. g. Wilkie Collins and Charles Dickens—Arthur Conan Doyles Sherlock Holmes stories first appeared in form in the monthly Strand magazine in the United Kingdom. Later a set of stereotypic formulae began to appear to cater to various tastes, Crime fiction can be divided into the following four branches, The cozy mystery, a subgenre of detective fiction in which profanity, sex, and violence are downplayed or treated humorously. The whodunit, the most common form of detective fiction, the historical whodunnit, also a subgenre of historical fiction. The police procedural, the detective is a member of the police, the forensic crime fiction, similar to the police procedural. The detective the reader follows is usually a medical examiner or pathologist—they must use the evidence left on the body. This subgenre was first introduced by Patricia Cornwell, the legal thriller, the major characters are lawyers and their employees, and they become involved in proving their cases. The spy novel, the characters are spies, usually working for an intelligence agency. The caper story and the novel, the stories are told from the point of view of the criminals. The parody or spoof When trying to pigeon-hole fiction, it is difficult to tell where crime fiction starts
8.
Thriller (genre)
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Thriller is a broad genre of literature, film and television, having numerous subgenres. Thrillers are characterized and defined by the moods they elicit, giving viewers heightened feelings of suspense, excitement, surprise, anticipation, successful examples of thrillers are the films of Alfred Hitchcock. Thrillers generally keep the audience on the edge of their seats as the plot builds towards a climax, the cover-up of important information is a common element. Literary devices such as red herrings, plot twists, and cliffhangers are used extensively, a thriller is usually a villain-driven plot, whereby he or she presents obstacles that the protagonist must overcome. Homers Odyssey is one of the oldest stories in the Western world and is regarded as a prototype of the thriller. Thrillers may be defined by the mood that they elicit. In short, if it thrills, it is a thriller, as the introduction to a major anthology explains, Suspense is a crucial characteristic of the thriller genre. It gives the viewer a feeling of pleasurable fascination and excitement mixed with apprehension, anticipation and tension and these develop from unpredictable, mysterious and rousing events during the narrative, which make the viewer or reader think about the outcome of certain actions. Suspense builds in order to make those final moments, no matter how short, the suspense in a story keeps the person hooked to reading or watching more until the climax is reached. In terms of expectations, it may be contrasted with curiosity. The objective is to deliver a story with sustained tension, surprise, the second type of suspense is the. anticipation wherein we either know or else are fairly certain about what is going to happen but are still aroused in anticipation of its actual occurrence. According to Greek philosopher Aristotle in his book Poetics, suspense is an important building block of literature, common methods and themes in crime and action thrillers are mainly ransoms, captivities, heists, revenge, kidnappings. Common in mystery thrillers are investigations and the whodunit technique, common elements in dramatic and psychological thrillers include plot twists, psychology, obsession and mind games. Common in horror thrillers are serial killers, stalking, deathtraps, elements such as fringe theories, false accusations and paranoia are common in paranoid thrillers. Threats to entire countries, spies, espionage, conspiracies, assassins, the themes frequently include terrorism, political conspiracy, pursuit, or romantic triangles leading to murder. Plots of thrillers involve characters which come into conflict with other or with outside forces. The protagonist of these films is set against a problem, no matter what subgenre a thriller film falls into, it will emphasize the danger that the protagonist faces. While protagonists of thrillers have traditionally been men, women characters are increasingly common
9.
James Bond (literary character)
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Commander James Bond, CMG, RNVR, is a fictional character created by British journalist and novelist Ian Fleming in 1953. He is the protagonist of the James Bond series of novels, films, comics, Fleming wrote twelve Bond novels and two short story collections, although the last two books—The Man with the Golden Gun and Octopussy and The Living Daylights—were published posthumously. The Bond character is a Secret Service agent, code number 007, residing in London but active internationally. Bond has a number of traits which run throughout the books, including an enjoyment of cars, a love of food and drink. There have also other authors who wrote one book each, Kingsley Amis, Sebastian Faulks, Jeffery Deaver, William Boyd. Additionally, a series of novels based on Bonds youth—Young Bond—was written by Charlie Higson, as spin-offs from the literary works, there was a television adaptation of the first novel, Casino Royale, in which Bond was played as an American agent. A comic strip also ran in the Daily Express newspaper. There have been 26 Bond films, seven actors have played Bond in these films, the central figure in Ian Flemings work was the fictional character of James Bond, an intelligence officer in the Secret Service. Bond was also known by his number,007, and was a Royal Naval Reserve Commander. During World War II, Ian Fleming had mentioned to friends that he wanted to write a spy novel. It was not until 1952, however, shortly before his wedding to his pregnant girlfriend, Ann Charteris and he finished work on the manuscript in just over a month, completing it on 18 March 1952. Fleming went on to write a total of twelve Bond novels, the last two books—The Man with the Golden Gun and Octopussy and The Living Daylights—were published posthumously. Among those types were his brother, Peter, whom Fleming worshipped, sir Fitzroy Maclean was another figure mentioned as a possibility, based on his wartime work behind enemy lines in the Balkans, as was the MI6 double agent Dušan Popov. Distinct similarities between the protagonist in The Life Line, Mark Chalmers and James Bond have been highlighted by spy writer, Nigel West. On another occasion Fleming said, I wanted the simplest, dullest, plainest-sounding name I could find, James Bond was much better than something more interesting, like Peregrine Carruthers. Exotic things would happen to and around him, but he would be a neutral figure—an anonymous, after Fleming met the ornithologist and his wife, he described them as a charming couple who are amused by the whole joke. In the first draft of Casino Royale he decided to use the name James Secretan as Bonds cover name while on missions, Bonds number—007—was assigned by Fleming in reference to one of British naval intelligences key achievements of World War I, the breaking of the German diplomatic code. One of the German documents cracked and read by the British was the Zimmermann Telegram, which was coded 0075, facially, Bond resembles the composer, singer and actor Hoagy Carmichael
10.
Arthur Conan Doyle
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He is also known for writing the fictional adventures of Professor Challenger, a second character he invented, and for propagating the mystery of the Mary Celeste. He was a writer whose other works include fantasy and science fiction stories, plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction. Doyle is often referred to as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle or simply Conan Doyle and his baptism entry in the register of St Marys Cathedral, Edinburgh, gives Arthur Ignatius Conan as his given names and Doyle as his surname. It also names Michael Conan as his godfather, the cataloguers of the British Library and the Library of Congress treat Doyle alone as his surname. Steven Doyle, editor of the Baker Street Journal, wrote, shortly after he graduated from high school he began using Conan as a sort of surname. But technically his last name is simply Doyle, when knighted, he was gazetted as Doyle, not under the compound Conan Doyle. Nevertheless, the use of a compound surname is demonstrated by the fact that Doyles second wife was known as Jean Conan Doyle rather than Jean Doyle. Doyle was born on 22 May 1859 at 11 Picardy Place, Edinburgh and his father, Charles Altamont Doyle, was English, of Irish Catholic descent, and his mother, Mary, was Irish Catholic. In 1864 the family dispersed because of Charless growing alcoholism, in 1867, the family came together again and lived in squalid tenement flats at 3 Sciennes Place. Doyles father died in 1893, in the Crichton Royal, Dumfries, supported by wealthy uncles, Doyle was sent to England, at the Jesuit preparatory school Hodder Place, Stonyhurst in Lancashire at the age of nine. He then went on to Stonyhurst College until 1875, from 1875 to 1876, he was educated at the Jesuit school Stella Matutina in Feldkirch, Austria. He later rejected the Catholic faith and became an agnostic and he also later became a spiritualist mystic. From 1876 to 1881, Doyle studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh Medical School, including working in Aston, Sheffield and Ruyton-XI-Towns. During that time, he studied botany at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh. While studying, Doyle began writing short stories and his earliest extant fiction, The Haunted Grange of Goresthorpe, was unsuccessfully submitted to Blackwoods Magazine. His first published piece, The Mystery of Sasassa Valley, a set in South Africa, was printed in Chamberss Edinburgh Journal on 6 September 1879. Doyle was employed as a doctor on the Greenland whaler Hope of Peterhead in 1880 and, C. M. as a ships surgeon on the SS Mayumba during a voyage to the West African coast. He completed his M. D. degree on the subject of tabes dorsalis in 1885, arriving in Portsmouth in June 1882 with less than £10 to his name, he set up a medical practice at 1 Bush Villas in Elm Grove, Southsea
11.
Professor Moriarty
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Professor James Moriarty is a fictional character in some of the Sherlock Holmes stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Moriarty is a criminal mastermind whom Holmes describes as the Napoleon of crime, Doyle lifted the phrase from a Scotland Yard inspector who was referring to Adam Worth, a real-life criminal mastermind and one of the individuals upon whom the character of Moriarty was based. The character was introduced primarily as a device to enable Conan Doyle to kill Sherlock Holmes. However, in adaptations, he has been given a greater prominence. The criminal mastermind follows, and the ends on top of the Reichenbach Falls. In this story, Moriarty is introduced as a lord who protects nearly all of the criminals of England in exchange for their obedience. Moriarty plays a role in only one other Holmes story, The Valley of Fear, set before The Final Problem. In The Valley of Fear, Holmes attempts to prevent Moriartys agents from committing a murder, doctor Watson, even when narrating, never meets Moriarty, and relies upon Holmes to relate accounts of the detectives feud with the criminal. Conan Doyle is inconsistent on Watsons familiarity with Moriarty, in The Final Problem, Watson tells Holmes he has never heard of Moriarty, while in The Valley of Fear, set earlier on, Watson already knows of him as the famous scientific criminal. In The Empty House, Holmes states that Moriarty had commissioned a powerful air gun from a blind German mechanic surnamed von Herder, which was used by Moriartys employee/acolyte Colonel Moran. It closely resembled a cane, allowing for easy concealment, was capable of firing bullets at long range. Moriarty also has a preference for organising accidents. His attempts to kill Holmes include falling masonry and a speeding horse-drawn van and he is also responsible for stage-managing the death of Birdy Edwards. Moriarty is extremely intelligent, cunning, calculative, murderous and manipulative and he is also ruthless, shown by his steadfast vow to Sherlock Holmes that if you are clever enough to bring destruction upon me, rest assured that I will do as much to you. Moriarty is categorised by Holmes as a powerful criminal mastermind who is purely adept at committing any atrocity to perfection without losing any sleep over it. It is stated in The Final Problem that Moriarty does not directly participate in the activities he plans, Holmes described Moriarty as follows, He is a man of good birth and excellent education, endowed by nature with a phenomenal mathematical faculty. At the age of twenty-one he wrote a treatise upon the binomial theorem which has had a European vogue, on the strength of it, he won the mathematical chair at one of our smaller universities, and had, to all appearances, a most brilliant career before him. But the man had hereditary tendencies of the most diabolical kind, a criminal strain ran in his blood, which, instead of being modified, was increased and rendered infinitely more dangerous by his extraordinary mental powers
12.
Royal Marines
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The Corps of Royal Marines is the United Kingdoms amphibious light infantry force, forming part of the Naval Service, along with the Royal Navy. The Royal Marines were formed in 1755 as the Royal Navys infantry troops, as a highly specialised and adaptable light infantry force, the Royal Marines are trained for rapid deployment worldwide and capable of dealing with a wide range of threats. The Royal Marines have close ties with allied marine forces, particularly the United States Marine Corps. Today, the Royal Marines are a fighting force within the British Armed forces. The Royal Marines can trace its origins back as far as 28 October 1664 when at the grounds of the Honourable Artillery Company the Duke of York and Albanys maritime regiment of foot was first formed. On 5 April 1755, His Majestys Marine Forces, fifty Companies in three Divisions, headquartered at Chatham, Portsmouth, and Plymouth, were formed by Order of Council under Admiralty control. Initially all field officers were Royal Navy officers as the Royal Navy felt that the ranks of Marine field officers were largely honorary and this meant that the furthest a Marine officer could advance was to lieutenant colonel. It was not until 1771 that the first Marine was promoted to colonel and this attitude persisted well into the 1800s. During the rest of the 18th century, they served in numerous landings all over the world and they also served in the American War of Independence, being particularly courageous in the Battle of Bunker Hill led by Major John Pitcairn. In 1788 a detachment of four companies of marines, under Major Robert Ross, due to an error the Fleet left Portsmouth without its main supply of ammunition, and were not resupplied until the Fleet docked in Rio de Janeiro midway through the voyage. In 1802, largely at the instigation of Admiral the Earl St. Vincent, the Royal Marines Artillery was formed as a separate unit in 1804 to man the artillery in bomb ketches. These had been manned by the Armys Royal Regiment of Artillery, during the Napoleonic Wars the Royal Marines participated in every notable naval battle on board the Royal Navys ships and also took part in multiple amphibious actions. In the Caribbean theatre volunteers from freed French slaves on Marie-Galante were used to form Sir Alexander Cochranes first Corps of Colonial Marines and these men bolstered the ranks, helping the British to hold the island until reinforcements arrived. This practice was repeated during the War of 1812, where escaped American slaves were formed into Cochranes second Corps of Colonial Marines and these men were commanded by Royal Marines officers and fought alongside their regular Royal Marines counterparts at the Battle of Bladensburg. Throughout the war Royal Marines units raided up and down the east coast of America including up the Penobscot River and they fought in the Battle of New Orleans and later helped capture Fort Bowyer in Mobile Bay in what was the last action of the war. In 1855 the Infantry forces were renamed the Royal Marines Light Infantry, during the Crimean War in 1854 and 1855, three Royal Marines earned the Victoria Cross, two in the Crimea and one in the Baltic. In 1862 the name was altered to Royal Marine Light Infantry. The Royal Navy did not fight any other ships after 1850, in these Naval Brigades, the function of the Royal Marines was to land first and act as skimishers ahead of the sailor Infantry and Artillery
13.
Anglicanism
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Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising the Church of England and churches which are historically tied to it or hold similar beliefs, worship practices and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to the Magna Carta and before, adherents of Anglicanism are called Anglicans. As the name suggests, the churches of the Anglican Communion are linked by bonds of tradition, affection and they are in full communion with the See of Canterbury, and thus the Archbishop of Canterbury, in his person, is a unique focus of Anglican unity. He calls the once-a-decade Lambeth Conference, chairs the meeting of primates, Anglicans base their Christian faith on the Bible, traditions of the apostolic Church, apostolic succession, and writings of the Church Fathers. Anglicanism forms one of the branches of Western Christianity, having declared its independence from the Holy See at the time of the Elizabethan Religious Settlement. Many of the new Anglican formularies of the mid-16th century corresponded closely to those of contemporary Protestantism, the word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English Church. Adherents of Anglicanism are called Anglicans, as an adjective, Anglican is used to describe the people, institutions and churches, as well as the liturgical traditions and theological concepts developed by the Church of England. As a noun, an Anglican is a member of a church in the Anglican Communion, the word is also used by followers of separated groups which have left the communion or have been founded separately from it, although this is sometimes considered as a misuse. The word Anglicanism came into being in the 19th century, although the term Anglican is found referring to the Church of England as far back as the 16th century, its use did not become general until the latter half of the 19th century. Elsewhere, however, the term Anglican Church came to be preferred as it distinguished these churches from others that maintain an episcopal polity, as such, it is often referred to as being a via media between these traditions. Anglicans understand the Old and New Testaments as containing all necessary for salvation and as being the rule. Reason and Tradition are seen as means to interpret Scripture. Anglicans understand the Apostles Creed as the symbol and the Nicene Creed as the sufficient statement of the Christian faith. Anglicans celebrate the sacraments, with special emphasis being given to the Eucharist, also called Holy Communion. Unique to Anglicanism is the Book of Common Prayer, the collection of services that worshippers in most Anglican churches used for centuries and it was called common prayer originally because it was intended for use in all Church of England churches which had previously followed differing local liturgies. The term was kept when the church became international because all Anglicans used to share in its use around the world, in 1549, the first Book of Common Prayer was compiled by Thomas Cranmer, who was then Archbishop of Canterbury. The founding of Christianity in Britain is commonly attributed to Joseph of Arimathea, according to Anglican legend, Saint Alban, who was executed in 209 AD, is the first Christian martyr in the British Isles. A new culture emerged around the Irish Sea among the Celtic peoples with Celtic Christianity at its core, what resulted was a form of Christianity distinct from Rome in many traditions and practices
14.
Wallsend
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Wallsend, historically Wallsend on Tyne, is a large town in North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, North East of England. Historically part of Northumberland, Wallsend derives its name as the location of the end of Hadrians Wall and it has a population of 42,842 and lies 3 1⁄2 miles east of Newcastle City Centre. The population of the Wallsend ward of the North Tyneside Borough was at the 2011 census 10,304, in Roman times, Wallsend hosted the fort Segedunum. This fort protected the eastern end of Hadrians Wall, which terminated at the wall of the fort. Ida the Saxon laid waste to the whole of the north in 547 and it was not until the golden age of Northumberland under Edwin, and the subsequent introduction of the Christian faith by King Oswald and Aidan that Wallsend enjoyed a time of peace and progress. This time of peace came to an end in 794 when the Danes swarmed up the Tyne in great number. The years preceding the coming of William of Normandy were a struggle between Danes and Saxons striving for mastery, several urban sanitary districts were formed in the parish in the late 19th century, Willington Quay, Howdon and Wallsend itself. Wallsend became incorporated as a borough in 1901, and in 1910 took over Willington Quay and Willington. This express liner held the Blue Riband, for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic, the story is retold in the movie The Red Tent, starring Sean Connery and Peter Finch. He features in a BBC film called The Inventor of the Twentieth Century, russian novelist Yevgeny Zamyatin worked at Swan Hunter in 1916–17, and used it as background for his great anti-utopian work We which was a major influence on George Orwells Nineteen Eighty-Four. WWII ships built here include HMS Sheffield and HMS Victorious which took part in the sinking of the Bismarck, other ships built there include the new HMS Ark Royal in the 1980s. The musical The Last Ship by Sting is set in the shipyard, much of Wallsends early industry was driven by coal mining. The Wallsend Colliery consisted of 7 pits which were active between 1778 and 1935, in the 1820s the pits became incorporated as Russells Colliery, which then became The Wallsend and Hebburn Coal Company Ltd. By 1924 the colliery employed 2,183 people and its most prominent manager was mining and railway engineer John Buddle who helped develop the Davy Lamp. Between 1767 and 1925 there were 11 major incidents recorded at the resulting in over 209 deaths. On 18 June 1835 a gas explosion in one of the tunnels killed 102 miners, the youngest of which was aged 8, many of the dead were found with their cloth caps in their mouth. This is believed to have been an attempt to prevent inhalation of the gas which eventually killed them, the bodies were extracted and buried in St Peters churchyard at the top of the bank overlooking the Wallsend Burn. A plaque has been erected within the churchyard to commemorate this tragedy, the town has expanded greatly in terms of housing since the end of World War II, and since the 1960s
15.
Wantage
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Wantage is a market town and civil parish in the Vale of the White Horse, Oxfordshire, England. The town is on Letcombe Brook, about 8 miles south-west of Abingdon,10 miles west of Didcot,15 miles south-west of Oxford and 14 miles north north-west of Newbury, historically part of Berkshire, it is notable as the birthplace of King Alfred the Great in 849. Wantage was a small Roman settlement but the origin of the toponym is somewhat uncertain and it is generally thought to be from an Old English phrase meaning decreasing river. King Alfred the Great was born at the palace there in the 9th century. Wantage appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 and its value was £61 and it was in the kings ownership until Richard I passed it to the Earl of Albemarle in 1190. Weekly trading rights were first granted to the town by Henry III in 1246 Markets are now held twice weekly on Wednesdays and Saturdays, royalist troops were stationed in Wantage during the English Civil War. In the 19th century, Lord Wantage became a local and national benefactor. He was very involved in founding the British Red Cross Society, in 1877 he paid for a marble statue of King Alfred by Count Gleichen to be erected in Wantage market place, where it still stands today. He also donated the Victoria Cross Gallery to the town and this contained paintings by Louis William Desanges depicting deeds which led to the award of a number of VCs, including his own gained during the Crimean War. It is now a shopping arcade, since 1848, Wantage has been home to the Community of Saint Mary the Virgin, one of the largest communities of Anglican nuns in the world. Wantage once had two breweries which were taken over by Morlands of Abingdon, in 1988 the town was thrust into the headlines after a Brass Tacks programme entitled Shire Wars exposed the drunken violence that plagued the town and surrounding villages at that time. Wantage has a council consisting of 16 councillors,11 of whom are Conservatives with the remaining five councillors being made up of four Liberal Democrats. It is also part of the district of the Vale of White Horse, until 1974, Wantage had two local government councils, Wantage Rural District, which had its headquarters in Belmont, Wantage and Wantage Urban District, which had its headquarters in Portway. These bodies were abolished as part of the Local Government Act 1972 and became part of the Vale of White Horse District Council. The Wantage constituency is represented by Conservative MP Ed Vaizey. Vaizey was first elected in the 2005 general election and was re-elected again in 2010 and 2015, the nearby towns of Didcot, Faringdon and Wallingford are also part of the Wantage constituency. At the time of the 2010 general election, the Wantage constituency had an electorate of 80,456. Wantage is at the foot of the Berkshire Downs escarpment in the Vale of the White Horse, there are gallops at Black Bushes and nearby villages with racing stables at East Hendred, Letcombe Bassett, Lockinge and Uffington
16.
Berkshire
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Berkshire is a county in south east England, west of London. It was recognised as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of Windsor Castle by the Queen in 1957, Berkshire is a county of historic origin and is a home county, a ceremonial county and a non-metropolitan county without a county council. Berkshire County Council was the main county governance from 1889 to 1998 except for the separately administered County Borough of Reading, in 1974, significant alterations were made to the countys administrative boundaries although the traditional boundaries of Berkshire were not changed. The towns of Abingdon, Didcot and Wantage were transferred to Oxfordshire, Slough was gained from Buckinghamshire, since 1998, Berkshire has been governed by the six unitary authorities of Bracknell Forest, Reading, Slough, West Berkshire, Windsor and Maidenhead and Wokingham. It borders the counties of Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Greater London, Surrey, according to Asser, it takes its name from a large forest of box trees that was called Bearroc. Berkshire has been the scene of notable battles through its history. Alfred the Greats campaign against the Danes included the Battles of Englefield, Ashdown, Newbury was the site of two English Civil War battles, the First Battle of Newbury in 1643 and the Second Battle of Newbury in 1644. The nearby Donnington Castle was reduced to a ruin in the aftermath of the second battle, another Battle of Reading took place on 9 December 1688. It was the only military action in England during the Glorious Revolution. Reading became the new county town in 1867, taking over from Abingdon, boundary alterations in the early part of the 20th century were minor, with Caversham from Oxfordshire becoming part of the Reading county borough, and cessions in the Oxford area. On 1 April 1974 Berkshires boundaries changed under the Local Government Act 1972, Berkshire took over administration of Slough and Eton and part of the former Eton Rural District from Buckinghamshire. 94 Signal Squadron still keep the Uffington White Horse in their insignia, the original Local Government White Paper would have transferred Henley-on-Thames from Oxfordshire to Berkshire, this proposal did not make it into the Bill as introduced. On 1 April 1998 Berkshire County Council was abolished under a recommendation of the Banham Commission, unlike similar reforms elsewhere at the same time, the non-metropolitan county was not abolished. Berkshire divides into two distinct sections with the boundary lying roughly on a north-south line through the centre of Reading. The eastern section of Berkshire lies largely to the south of the River Thames, in two places the county now includes land to the north of the river. Tributaries of the Thames, including the Loddon and Blackwater, increase the amount of low lying land in the area. Beyond the flood plains, the land rises gently to the county boundaries with Surrey, much of this area is still well wooded, especially around Bracknell and Windsor Great Park. In the west of the county and heading upstream, the Thames veers away to the north of the county boundary, leaving the county behind at the Goring Gap
17.
Home Guard (United Kingdom)
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The Home Guard was a defence organisation of the British Army during the Second World War. Their role was to act as a defence force, in case of invasion by the forces of Nazi Germany. They were to try to slow down the advance of the enemy, there was a Home Guard during the First World War although this was not on the same scale as its Second World War successor. The origins of the Second World War Home Guard can be traced to Captain Tom Wintringham, despite great interest by the War Office in the books assertion that security is possible, Wintringhams call to train 100,000 men immediately was not implemented. Calls for some form of defence force soon began to be heard from the press. This apparent lack of focus led to many LDV members becoming impatient, in the absence of proper weapons, many LDV units broke into museums and appropriated whatever weapons could be found, or equipped themselves with private weapons such as shotguns. Another problem that was encountered as the LDV was organised was the definition of the role the organisation was to play, the War Office believed that the LDV would act best in such a passive role because of its lack of training, weapons and proper equipment. However such a role clashed with the expectations of LDV commanders and members, the Home Guard had a number of secret roles. This included sabotage units who would disable factories and petrol installations following invasion and these bases, upwards of 600 in number, were able to support units ranging in size from squads to companies. The Home Guard did not, initially, admit women to its ranks, some women formed their own groups like the Amazon Defence Corps. In December 1941, an organised but still unofficial Womens Home Defence was formed under the direction of Dr Edith Summerskill. WHD members were taught weapons training and basic military training, limited female involvement was permitted later on the understanding that these would be in traditional female support roles and not in any way seen as combatants. Auxiliary Units however may have had members in both support and combat roles, although records are scarce. Even once the threat of invasion had passed, the Home Guard remained in existence manning guard posts, in 1942 the National Service Act allowed for compulsory enrolment where units were below strength. At this time, the lowest rank within the Home Guard and it is a common fallacy that the Home Guard never fired a shot in anger during the whole of the Second World War. In fact individual Home Guardsmen helped man anti-aircraft guns as far back as the Battle of Britain during the summer of 1940. By 1943 the Home Guard operated its own dedicated batteries of anti-aircraft guns and they are credited with shooting down numerous Luftwaffe aircraft and the V-1 flying bombs which followed them in the summer of 1944. The Home Guards first official kill was shot down on Tyneside in 1943, the Home Guard in Northern Ireland also took part in gun battles with the IRA
18.
Fleet Air Arm
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The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the British Royal Navy responsible for the operation of naval aircraft. The Fleet Air Arm currently operates the AgustaWestland Merlin, Westland Sea King, and AgustaWestland Wildcat helicopters, helicopters such as the Lynx and Westland Wasp have been deployed on smaller vessels since 1964, taking over the roles once performed by biplanes such as the Fairey Swordfish. During the Second World War, the Fleet Air Arm operated aircraft on ships as well as land-based aircraft that defended the Royal Navys shore establishments, British naval flying started in 1909, with the construction of an airship for naval duties. The Naval Wing of the RFC lasted until July 1914 when the Royal Navy reformed its air branch, under the Air Department of the Admiralty, naming it the Royal Naval Air Service. By the outbreak of the First World War, in August 1914, the RNAS had more aircraft under its control than the remaining RFC. In April 1918 the RNAS, which at this time had 67,000 officers and men,2,949 aircraft,103 airships and 126 coastal stations, merged with the RFC to form the Royal Air Force. On 1 April 1924, the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Air Force was formed, encompassing those RAF units that normally embarked on aircraft carriers, over the following months RAF Fleet Air Arm Fairey IIID reconnaissance biplanes operated off Hermes, conducting flying trials. On 24 May 1939 the Fleet Air Arm was returned to Admiralty control under the Inskip Award, at the onset of the Second World War, the Fleet Air Arm consisted of 20 squadrons with only 232 aircraft. By the end of the war the strength of the Fleet Air Arm was 59 aircraft carriers,3,700 aircraft,72,000 officers and men. During the war, the FAA operated fighters, torpedo bombers, following the Dunkirk evacuation and the commencement of the Battle of Britain, the Royal Air Force soon found itself critically short of fighter pilots. In the summer of 1940, the RAF had little more than 800 fighter pilots, with this desperate situation the RAF was forced to call upon the Admiralty for Fleet Air Arm assistance. The aircraft carrier had replaced the battleship as the Fleets capital ship, the top scoring fighter ace with 17 victories was Commander Stanley Orr, the Royal Marine ace was Ronald Cuthbert Hay with 13 victories. A number of Royal Marines served as FAA pilots during the war, after the war the FAA needed to fly jet aircraft from their carriers. The jet aircraft of the era were considerably less effective at low speeds than propeller aircraft, the FAA took on its first jet, the Sea Vampire, in the late 1940s. The Sea Vampire was the first jet credited with taking off, the Air Arm continued with high-powered prop aircraft alongside the new jets resulting in the FAA being woefully outpowered during the Korean War. Nevertheless, jets were not yet wholly superior to propeller aircraft, as jets became larger, more powerful and faster they required more space to take off and land. The US Navy simply built much larger carriers, the Royal Navy had a few large carriers built and completed after the end of the war but another solution was sought. An associated British invention, intended to more precise optical guidance to aircraft on final approaching the deck, was the Fresnel lens optical landing aid
19.
42 Commando
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42 Commando is a subordinate unit within the Royal Marines 3 Commando Brigade, the principal Commando formation, under the Operational Command of Commander in Chief Fleet. Tasked as a Commando unit,42 Cdo RM is capable of a range of operational tasks. Based at Bickleigh Barracks near Plymouth, personnel regularly deploy outside the United Kingdom on operations or training, whilst 3 Commando Brigade RM are the principal cold weather warfare formation, personnel are capable of operating in a variety of theatres including tropical jungle, desert or mountainous terrain. Early Commando units were all from the British Army but by February 1942, the Royal Marines were asked to organise Commando units of their own, and 6,000 men volunteered. No.42 Commando was raised in August 1943, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel R C de M. Leathes from the 1st Royal Marine Battalion, as part of the expansion of the commandos. They were assigned to the 3rd Special Service Brigade and served in India and Burma in 1943–45, including operations in the Arakan and it took part in the third Arakan campaign and carried out a series of amphibious landings down the Burmese coastline. Including the landings at Myebon and the Battle of Hill 170 and it then returned to India to prepare for Operation Zipper the invasion of British Malaya. The war ended before the operation began and the commando was diverted to reoccupy Hong Kong, following the Second World War 1st, 2nd and 4th commando brigades disbanded leaving only one brigade – the 3rd. The Commando was involved in operations during the confrontation with Indonesia and it was during this tour that the famous Limbang raid was conducted by Lima Company. Throughout the following decade it was based in Singapore at HMS Simbang, after the return to the UK, the Commando was deployed to Northern Ireland, the New Hebrides in 1980 and exercised regularly overseas. More recently the Commando has seen service in South Georgia, Montserrat in 1995, Iraq. In 1982, following the Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands, on 21 May the Commando were Brigade reserve at San Carlos under Lt. Col. Nick Vaux RM. The unit was deployed to seize Mount Kent in a move by helicopter. By 4 June the unit had moved forward, mostly under cover of darkness, to positions west of ground overlooking Port Stanley. After days of probing reconnaissance, a Brigade assault took place on the night of 11/12 June in which the Commandos task was to secure Mount Harriet on the Brigade right flank. By moonlight and in freezing temperatures,42 Commando moved undetected through enemy minefields in a 9 km right-flanking movement to surprise the enemy in their rear, consecutive assaults by K and L Companies followed, up steep slopes onto company positions. Against strong resistance and continuous bombardment, the Marines prevailed. By first light more than 30 enemy had been killed and over 300 prisoners taken as 42 Commando consolidated on Mount Harriet,42 Commando suffered two fatalities themselves – one on Mount Harriet and one on Wall Mountain
20.
Theology
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Theology is the critical study of the nature of the divine. It is taught as a discipline, typically in universities, seminaries. Augustine of Hippo defined the Latin equivalent, theologia, as reasoning or discussion concerning the Deity, the term can, however, be used for a variety of different disciplines or fields of study. Theologians use various forms of analysis and argument to help understand, explain, test, critique, the English equivalent theology had evolved by 1362. Greek theologia was used with the discourse on god in the fourth century BC by Plato in The Republic, Book ii. Drawing on Greek Stoic sources, the Latin writer Varro distinguished three forms of discourse, mythical, rational and civil. Theologos, closely related to theologia, appears once in some manuscripts, in the heading to the book of Revelation, apokalypsis ioannoy toy theologoy. The Latin author Boethius, writing in the early 6th century, used theologia to denote a subdivision of philosophy as a subject of study, dealing with the motionless. Boethius definition influenced medieval Latin usage, Theology can also now be used in a derived sense to mean a system of theoretical principles, an ideology. They suggest the term is appropriate in religious contexts that are organized differently. Kalam. does not hold the place in Muslim thought that theology does in Christianity. To find an equivalent for theology in the Christian sense it is necessary to have recourse to several disciplines, and to the usul al-fiqh as much as to kalam. Jose Ignacio Cabezon, who argues that the use of theology is appropriate, can only do so, he says, I take theology not to be restricted to its etymological meaning. In that latter sense, Buddhism is of course atheological, rejecting as it does the notion of God, within Hindu philosophy, there is a solid and ancient tradition of philosophical speculation on the nature of the universe, of God and of the Atman. The Sanskrit word for the schools of Hindu philosophy is Darshana. Nevertheless, Jewish theology historically has been active and highly significant for Christian. It is sometimes claimed, however, that the Jewish analogue of Christian theological discussion would more properly be Rabbinical discussion of Jewish law, the history of the study of theology in institutions of higher education is as old as the history of such institutions themselves. Modern Western universities evolved from the institutions and cathedral schools of Western Europe during the High Middle Ages
21.
Gin
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Gin is a spirit which derives its predominant flavour from juniper berries. From its earliest origins in the Middle Ages, gin has evolved from use in medicine to an object of commerce in the spirits industry. Gin is one of the broadest categories of spirits, represented by products of various origins, styles, Gin emerged in England in varying forms as of the early 17th century, and at the time of the Restoration, enjoyed a brief resurgence. Gin drinking in England rose significantly after the Government allowed unlicensed gin production and this created a market for poor-quality grain that was unfit for brewing beer, and thousands of gin-shops sprang up throughout England, a period known as the Gin Craze. Because of the price of gin, when compared with other drinks available at the same time and in the same geographic location. Of the 15,000 drinking establishments in London, not including coffee shops and drinking chocolate shops, Beer maintained a healthy reputation as it was often safer to drink the brewed ale than unclean plain water. Gin, though, was blamed for various problems. The reputation of the two drinks was illustrated by William Hogarth in his engravings Beer Street and Gin Lane, described by the BBC as arguably the most potent anti-drug poster ever conceived. The negative reputation of gin survives today in the English language, in terms like gin mills or the American phrase gin joints to describe disreputable bars, the epithet mothers ruin is a common British name for gin, the origin of which is the subject of ongoing debate. The Gin Act 1736 imposed high taxes on retailers and led to riots in the streets, the prohibitive duty was gradually reduced and finally abolished in 1742. The Gin Act 1751 was more successful, however, it forced distillers to sell only to licensed retailers, Gin in the 18th century was produced in pot stills, and was somewhat sweeter than the London gin known today. In London in the early 18th century, much gin was distilled legally in residential houses and was often flavoured with turpentine to generate resinous woody notes in addition to the juniper. As late as 1913, Websters Dictionary states without further comment, another common variation was to distill in the presence of sulphuric acid. Although the acid itself does not distil, it imparts the aroma of diethyl ether to the resulting gin. Sulphuric acid subtracts one water molecule from two molecules to create diethyl ether, which also forms an azeotrope with ethanol. The result is a spirit, and one that may have possessed additional analgesic or even intoxicating effects – see Paracelsus. Dutch or Belgian gin, also known as jenever or genever, evolved from malt wine spirits, Schiedam, a city in the province of South Holland, is famous for its jenever-producing history. The oude style of jenever remained very popular throughout the 19th century, the 19th century gave rise to a style of gin referred to as Old Tom Gin, which is a softer, sweeter style of gin, often containing sugar
22.
The Liquidator (novel)
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The Liquidator was the first novel written by John Gardner and the first novel in his Boysie Oakes series. After publishing his account of alcoholism Spin the Bottle, Gardner decided to write a novel about governments killing people. Inspired by the James Bond series of Ian Fleming novels and films, the success of the novel led to several more in the series, and interest from MGM in a Boysie Oakes film series, with only The Liquidator made in 1965 with Rod Taylor as Boysie. One of Gardners Boysie Oakes short stories A Handful of Rice mentions an actor named Roy Buster that expressed Gardners impressions of Taylor. New York Times Book Review reviewer Anthony Boucher remarked Gardner succeeds in having it both ways, he has written a clever parody which is also a genuinely satisfactory thriller. In Paris in 1944 Tank Corps Sergeant Boysie Oakes kills two Germans attempting to assassinate an Intelligence Corps officer named Mostyn, twenty years later Mostyns memories have transformed Oakes into a fearless master assassin though nothing could be further from the truth. Mostyn recruits Oakes into the Secret Service where after a course he is given an enviable lifestyle. Oakes function is to liquidate security risks for the State, Oakes hires a mild mannered professional assassin to do his dirty work for him. Going for a dirty weekend leads to Boysie being captured by agents who involve him in an assassination plot
23.
The New York Times
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The New York Times is an American daily newspaper, founded and continuously published in New York City since September 18,1851, by The New York Times Company. The New York Times has won 119 Pulitzer Prizes, more than any other newspaper, the papers print version in 2013 had the second-largest circulation, behind The Wall Street Journal, and the largest circulation among the metropolitan newspapers in the US. The New York Times is ranked 18th in the world by circulation, following industry trends, its weekday circulation had fallen in 2009 to fewer than one million. Nicknamed The Gray Lady, The New York Times has long been regarded within the industry as a newspaper of record. The New York Times international version, formerly the International Herald Tribune, is now called the New York Times International Edition, the papers motto, All the News Thats Fit to Print, appears in the upper left-hand corner of the front page. On Sunday, The New York Times is supplemented by the Sunday Review, The New York Times Book Review, The New York Times Magazine and T, some other early investors of the company were Edwin B. Morgan and Edward B. We do not believe that everything in Society is either right or exactly wrong, —what is good we desire to preserve and improve, —what is evil, to exterminate. In 1852, the started a western division, The Times of California that arrived whenever a mail boat got to California. However, when local California newspapers came into prominence, the effort failed, the newspaper shortened its name to The New-York Times in 1857. It dropped the hyphen in the city name in the 1890s, One of the earliest public controversies it was involved with was the Mortara Affair, the subject of twenty editorials it published alone. At Newspaper Row, across from City Hall, Henry Raymond, owner and editor of The New York Times, averted the rioters with Gatling guns, in 1869, Raymond died, and George Jones took over as publisher. Tweed offered The New York Times five million dollars to not publish the story, in the 1880s, The New York Times transitioned gradually from editorially supporting Republican Party candidates to becoming more politically independent and analytical. In 1884, the paper supported Democrat Grover Cleveland in his first presidential campaign, while this move cost The New York Times readership among its more progressive and Republican readers, the paper eventually regained most of its lost ground within a few years. However, the newspaper was financially crippled by the Panic of 1893, the paper slowly acquired a reputation for even-handedness and accurate modern reporting, especially by the 1890s under the guidance of Ochs. Under Ochs guidance, continuing and expanding upon the Henry Raymond tradition, The New York Times achieved international scope, circulation, in 1910, the first air delivery of The New York Times to Philadelphia began. The New York Times first trans-Atlantic delivery by air to London occurred in 1919 by dirigible, airplane Edition was sent by plane to Chicago so it could be in the hands of Republican convention delegates by evening. In the 1940s, the extended its breadth and reach. The crossword began appearing regularly in 1942, and the section in 1946
24.
The Liquidator (1965 film)
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The Liquidator is a 1965 British thriller film starring Rod Taylor as Brian Boysie Oakes, Trevor Howard, and Jill St. John. It was based on the first of a series of Boysie Oakes novels by John Gardner, the film follows the 1964 novel closely. Due to a dispute, the films original November 1965 release was delayed to the end of 1966. In 1944 during World War II, tank corps Sergeant Boysie Oakes stumbles and unwittingly shoots, Mostyn mistakenly believes Oakes was lethal on purpose. Twenty years later, Mostyn and his boss are in due to a series of embarrassing security disasters. To save his job, the chief orders Mostyn to hire an assassin to illegally eliminate security leaks without official authorisation, Mostyn recruits Boysie into the Secret Service without first telling him what his employment will entail, luring him in with a lavish apartment and a fancy car. After Boysie passes a training course, Mostyn informs him that his name is L. Unable to resign and not a killer himself, Boysie secretly hires a professional assassin to do the dirty work. Boysie is captured by agents led by Sheriek, who firmly believes he is on assignment. However, Sherieks superior, Chekhov, is furious that he has gone beyond his orders to merely watch Boysie. He has Sheriek arrange for Boysie to escape, then Quadrant arrives with a new mission for Boysie. He is to stage an assassination attempt on the Duke of Edinburgh when he visits a Royal Air Force base to test the security. Boysie has been duped, Quadrant is actually an agent. Boysie manages to shoot Quadrant and board the plane as it is taking off, to his surprise, the pilot is none other than Iris, who informs him that she is the coordinator of the operation. He is able to overpower her and, with radio help, producer Jon Pennington brought Australian screenwriter Peter Yeldham to the project after both had cooperated on The Comedy Man. Richard Harris was initially approached for the role but after negotiations chose to do The Heroes of Telemark instead, Taylor insisted on playing the role with an American accent because he was more comfortable with it by that stage in his career. The film opens with animated titles by the Richard Williams studio, like Where the Spies Are, also filmed in MGM-British Studios, MGM planned a Boysie Oakes film series. Cardiff recalled that the censors made them one of Taylors lines
25.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
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Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of feature films and television programs. Its headquarters are in Beverly Hills, California and it is one of the worlds oldest film studios. In 1971, it was announced that MGM would merge with 20th Century Fox, over the next thirty-nine years, the studio was bought and sold at various points in its history until, on November 3,2010, MGM filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. MGM Resorts International, a Las Vegas-based hotel and casino company listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol MGM, is not currently affiliated with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In 1966, MGM was sold to Canadian investor Edgar Bronfman Sr. whose son Edgar Jr. would later buy Universal Studios, the studio continued to produce five to six films a year that were released through other studios, mostly United Artists. Kerkorian did, however, commit to increased production and a film library when he bought United Artists in 1981. MGM ramped up production, as well as keeping production going at UA. It also incurred significant amounts of debt to increase production, the studio took on additional debt as a series of owners took charge in the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1986, Ted Turner bought MGM, but a few later, sold the company back to Kerkorian to recoup massive debt. The series of deals left MGM even more heavily in debt, MGM was bought by Pathé Communications in 1990, but Parretti lost control of Pathé and defaulted on the loans used to purchase the studio. The French banking conglomerate Crédit Lyonnais, the major creditor. Even more deeply in debt, MGM was purchased by a joint venture between Kerkorian, producer Frank Mancuso, and Australias Seven Network in 1996, the debt load from these and subsequent business deals negatively affected MGMs ability to survive as an independent motion picture studio. In 1924, movie theater magnate Marcus Loew had a problem and he had bought Metro Pictures Corporation in 1919 for a steady supply of films for his large Loews Theatres chain. With Loews lackluster assortment of Metro films, Loew purchased Goldwyn Pictures in 1924 to improve the quality, however, these purchases created a need for someone to oversee his new Hollywood operations, since longtime assistant Nicholas Schenck was needed in New York headquarters to oversee the 150 theaters. Mayer, Loew addressed the situation by buying Louis B. Mayer Pictures on April 17,1924, Mayer became head of the renamed Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, with Irving Thalberg as head of production. MGM produced more than 100 feature films in its first two years, in 1925, MGM released the extravagant and successful Ben-Hur, taking a $4.7 million profit that year, its first full year. Marcus Loew died in 1927, and control of Loews passed to Nicholas Schenck, in 1929, William Fox of Fox Film Corporation bought the Loew familys holdings with Schencks assent. Mayer and Thalberg disagreed with the decision, Mayer was active in the California Republican Party and used his political connections to persuade the Justice Department to delay final approval of the deal on antitrust grounds
26.
Sherlock Holmes
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Sherlock Holmes is a fictional private detective created by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. All but one are set in the Victorian or Edwardian periods, though not the first fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes is arguably the most well-known, with Guinness World Records listing him as the most portrayed movie character in history. Auguste Dupin is generally acknowledged as the first detective in fiction and served as the prototype for many that were created later, Conan Doyle once wrote, Each is a root from which a whole literature has developed. Where was the story until Poe breathed the breath of life into it. Conan Doyle repeatedly said that Holmes was inspired by the figure of Joseph Bell, a surgeon at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. Like Holmes, Bell was noted for drawing conclusions from minute observations. However, he wrote to Doyle, You are yourself Sherlock Holmes. Sir Henry Littlejohn, Chair of Medical Jurisprudence at the University of Edinburgh Medical School, is cited as an inspiration for Holmes. Littlejohn, who was also Police Surgeon and Medical Officer of Health in Edinburgh, One is thought to be Francis Tanky Smith, a policeman and master of disguise who went on to become Leicesters first private detective. Another might be Maximilien Heller, by French author Henry Cauvain and it is not known if Conan Doyle read Maximilien Heller, but in this 1871 novel, Henry Cauvain imagined a depressed, anti-social, polymath, cat-loving, and opium-smoking Paris-based detective. Details about Sherlock Holmess life, except for the adventures in the books, are scarce in Conan Doyles original stories, nevertheless, mentions of his early life and extended family paint a loose biographical picture of the detective. An estimate of Holmess age in His Last Bow places his year of birth at 1854 and his parents are not mentioned in the stories, although Holmes mentions that his ancestors were country squires. In The Adventure of the Greek Interpreter, he claims that his grandmother was sister to the French artist Vernet, without clarifying whether this was Claude Joseph, Carle. Mycroft has a civil service position as a kind of human database for all aspects of government policy. He lacks Sherlocks interest in investigation, however, preferring to spend his time at the Diogenes Club. Holmes says that he first developed his methods of deduction as an undergraduate, his earliest cases, the two take lodgings at 221B Baker Street, London, an apartment at the upper end of the street, up seventeen steps. Holmes worked as a detective for twenty-three years, with physician John Watson assisting him for seventeen and they were roommates before Watsons 1887 marriage and again after his wifes death. Their residence is maintained by their landlady, Mrs. Hudson, most of the stories are frame narratives, written from Watsons point of view as summaries of the detectives most interesting cases
27.
Edgar Bronfman Jr.
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Edgar Miles Bronfman Jr. is an American businessman who currently serves as a Managing Partner at Accretive LLC, a private equity firm focused on creating and investing in technology companies. He previously served as CEO of Warner Music Group from 2004 to 2011, in May 2011, the sale of WMG was announced, Bronfman would continue as CEO in the transaction. In August 2011, he became Chairman of the company as Stephen Cooper became CEO, Bronfman previously served as CEO of Seagram and vice-chairman of Vivendi Universal. He is the son of Edgar Miles Bronfman and the grandson of Samuel Bronfman, Edgar Jr. led the family on a series of disastrous business deals, ultimately losing the familys ownership of Seagram. Edgar Jr. is the second of five children of Ann and his mother was the daughter of John Langeloth Loeb Sr. and Frances Lehman. Edgar Jr. and his classmates created a film of the school that spawned the Collegiate Film Festival. In the summer before his year in high school, Bronfman went to London to work on a feature film. He produced The Blockhouse starring Peter Sellers at only 17 years of age and he later went on to produce titles such as The Border starring Jack Nicholson and Harvey Keitel before retiring to the family business. Bronfman proceeded to a career in entertainment in the 1970s as a film. The summer before his year of high school, in 1972, he was a credited producer on the film. Despite his inexperience, Bronfmans involvement was accepted because of his connections, in return, he learned many of the tricks of the trade by watching his more experienced peers. In 1973, Bronfman began a career under the pseudonyms Junior Miles. He often collaborated with Bruce Roberts on songs like Whisper in the Dark and his Efer Productions company was signed by Universal Studios in 1977 to a three-year movie production contract. He produced the unsuccessful film The Border, which starred Jack Nicholson, in 1982, Bronfman returned to the Seagram Company, spending three months learning the ropes before moving to London to become managing director of Seagram Europe. In 1984, Bronfman returned to New York as President of the House of Seagram, by 1994 he became the Chief Executive Officer, where he began a move away from the traditional liquor business and into entertainment. The first step in this diversification was the widely criticized sale of Seagrams stake in DuPont, in 1981, Edgar Bronfman Sr. had sold Seagrams stake in Conoco to DuPont, in exchange for almost 25% of the chemical giant. This stake in DuPont, by 1995, represented about 70% of Seagrams total earnings, nevertheless, Bronfman Jr. acting as Seagrams CEO, approached DuPont about buying back its shares, a deal that DuPont wasted no time in closing. However, the new entertainment conglomerate he created had a brief life, Bronfman, Jr. then led Seagram into a controversial all-stock acquisition by French conglomerate Vivendi in 2000
28.
Donald Sutherland
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Donald McNichol Sutherland, OC is a Canadian actor whose film career spans six decades. Since then, he established himself as one of the most respected, prolific, Sutherland has been nominated for eight Golden Globe Awards, winning two for his performances in the television films Citizen X and Path to War, the former also brought him a Primetime Emmy Award. Inductee of Hollywood Walk of Fame and Canadian Walk of Fame, several media outlets and movie critics describe him as one of the best actors who has never been nominated for an Oscar. He is father of actors Rossif Sutherland, Angus Sutherland, Sutherland was born in Saint John, New Brunswick, the son of Dorothy Isobel and Frederick McLea Sutherland, who worked in sales and ran the local gas, electricity and bus company. He is of Scottish, German and English ancestry, as a child, he battled rheumatic fever, hepatitis, and poliomyelitis. His teenage years were spent in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia and he obtained his first part-time job, at the age of 14, as a news correspondent for local radio station CKBW. Sutherland graduated from Bridgewater High School and he then studied at Victoria College, University of Toronto, where he met his first wife Lois Hardwick, and graduated with a double major in engineering and drama. He had at one point been a member of the UC Follies comedy troupe in Toronto and he changed his mind about becoming an engineer, and left Canada for Britain in 1957, studying at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. After quitting the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, Sutherland spent a year, in the early to mid-1960s, Sutherland began to gain small roles in British films and TV. He featured alongside Christopher Lee in horror films such as Castle of the Living Dead and he also had a supporting role in the Hammer Films production Die. With Tallulah Bankhead and Stefanie Powers, in 1966, Sutherland appeared in the BBC TV play Lee Oswald-Assassin, playing a friend of Lee Harvey Oswald, Charles Givens. In 1967, he appeared in The Superlative Seven, an episode of The Avengers and he also made a second, and more substantial appearance in The Saint. The episode, Escape Route, was directed by the star, Roger Moore. They came to view a rough cut and he got The Dirty Dozen, the film, which starred Lee Marvin and Charles Bronson, was the 5th highest-grossing film of 1967 and MGMs highest-grossing movie of the year. In 1968, after the breakthrough in the UK-filmed The Dirty Dozen and he then appeared in two war films, playing the lead role as Hawkeye Pierce in Robert Altmans MASH in 1970, and, again in 1970, as hippie tank commander Oddball in Kellys Heroes. He stars with Gene Wilder in the 1970 comedy Start the Revolution Without Me, during the filming of the Academy Award-winning detective thriller Klute, Sutherland had an intimate relationship with co-star Jane Fonda. Sutherland and Fonda went on to co-produce and star together in the anti-Vietnam War documentary F. T. A, consisting of a series of sketches performed outside army bases in the Pacific Rim and interviews with American troops who were then on active service. A follow up to their teaming up in Klute, Sutherland and Fonda performed together in Steelyard Blues and his role as Corpse of Lt. Robert Schmied in the Maximilian Schells 1976 German film-directed End of the Game is listed in crazy credits
29.
Ian Fleming Publications
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Ian Fleming Publications is the production company formerly known as both Glidrose Productions Limited and Glidrose Publications Limited, named after its founders John Gliddon and Norman Rose. In 1952, author Ian Fleming bought it after completing his first James Bond novel, Casino Royale, he assigned most of his rights in Casino Royale, in 1956 Ian Fleming hired literary agent Peter Janson-Smith to handle the foreign translation rights in the James Bond novels. He was the consultant and chairman of Ian Fleming Publications until 2001. Today, the Fleming family-owed Ian Fleming Publications administers all Flemings literary works, after Flemings death in 1964, the estate either commissioned or permitted new Bond works to be published. In 1968, Kingsley Amis published Colonel Sun, under the pseudonym Robert Markham, the company changed its name from Glidrose Productions to Glidrose Publications. Soon thereafter, in 1973, Glidrose sanctioned James Bond, The Authorized Biography of 007 by John Pearson, in 1977 and again in 1979, Eon Productions authorized Christopher Wood to write novelisations of his scripts for the Bond films The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker. In 1981 the James Bond book series was revived, with new novels written by John Gardner, after writing 14 Bond books, John Gardner retired in 1996, and Raymond Benson, controversially at first, the first American to write a James Bond novel, replaced him. Benson stopped writing Bond books in 2002, on what would have been Flemings 100th birthday—28 May 2008—the novel Devil May Care, appeared. Its author, Sebastian Faulks, was true to Bonds original character and background, next, Ian Fleming Publications commissioned Jeffery Deaver to write Carte Blanche, which was published in May 2011. In April 2012, the announced that William Boyd would write the next Bond novel and Jonathan Cape in the UK and HarperCollins in Canada. Anthony Horowitzs Trigger Mortis appeared in September 2015, between 2005 and 2008, Ian Fleming Publications has supported the publication of Charlie Higsons five Young Bond novels telling the adventures of a teenage James Bond in the 1930s. In 2005 the company launched another series of Bond-related spin-off books, The Moneypenny Diaries by Samantha Weinberg, Young Bond returned in 2013 with Shoot to Kill by Steve Cole. Casino Royale — first American paperback title, You Asked For It Live and Let Die Moonraker — first American paperback title, Too Hot to Handle Diamonds Are Forever From Russia, with Love Dr. The book was written to celebrate Ian Flemings centenary and was released on Flemings birthday,28 May 2008. Devil May Care - May 2008 The novel by Jeffery Deaver, Carte Blanche, Carte Blanche - May 2011 On 11 April 2012 it was announced that William Boyd would write the next James Bond novel, entitled Solo, set at the end of the 1960s. The novel was released in the United Kingdom on 26 September 2013, D. Mascott, it was the first James Bond related book not written by Ian Fleming to be published after Flemings death. To this day, Ian Fleming Publications has never disclosed or confirmed the authors identity, James Bond, The Authorized Biography of 007 — first book copyrighted under the Glidrose Publications name. Charlie Higsons novels, part of a series called Young Bond, are prequels to Flemings series, Shoot to Kill - November 2014 Heads You Die - May 2016 The Moneypenny Diaries is a trilogy chronicling the life of Miss Moneypenny
30.
Ian Fleming
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Ian Lancaster Fleming was an English author, journalist and naval intelligence officer who is best known for his James Bond series of spy novels. Fleming came from a family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co. Educated at Eton, Sandhurst and, briefly, the universities of Munich and Geneva and his wartime service and his career as a journalist provided much of the background, detail and depth of the James Bond novels. Fleming wrote his first Bond novel, Casino Royale, in 1952 and it was a success, with three print runs being commissioned to cope with the demand. Eleven Bond novels and two short-story collections followed between 1953 and 1966, the novels revolved around James Bond, an officer in the Secret Intelligence Service, commonly known as MI6. Bond was also known by his number,007, and was a commander in the Royal Naval Reserve. The Bond stories rank among the series of fictional books of all time. Fleming also wrote the childrens story Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang and two works of non-fiction, in 2008, The Times ranked Fleming 14th on its list of The 50 greatest British writers since 1945. Fleming was married to Ann Charteris, who was divorced from the second Viscount Rothermere owing to her affair with the author, Fleming and Charteris had a son, Caspar. Fleming was a smoker and drinker for most of his life. Two of his James Bond books were published posthumously, other writers have since produced Bond novels, Flemings creation has appeared in film twenty-six times, portrayed by seven actors. Ian Fleming was born on 28 May 1908, at 27 Green Street in the wealthy London district of Mayfair and his mother was Evelyn St Croix Rose, and his father was Valentine Fleming, the Member of Parliament for Henley from 1910. As an infant he lived, with his family, at Braziers Park in Oxfordshire. Fleming was the grandson of the Scottish financier Robert Fleming, who founded the Scottish American Investment Trust, in 1914, with the start of the First World War, Valentine joined C Squadron, Queens Own Oxfordshire Hussars, and rose to the rank of major. He was killed by German shelling on the Western Front on 20 May 1917, because the family owned an estate at Arnisdale, Valentines death was commemorated on the Glenelg War Memorial. Flemings elder brother Peter became a writer and married actress Celia Johnson. Fleming also had two brothers, Michael and Richard, and a younger maternal half-sister born out of wedlock, cellist Amaryllis Fleming. Amaryllis was conceived during an affair between John and Evelyn that started in 1923, some six years after the death of Valentine
31.
G. P. Putnam's Sons
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G. P. Putnams Sons is an American book publisher based in New York City, New York. Since 1996, it has been an imprint of the Penguin Group, the company began as Wiley & Putnam with the 1838 partnership between George Palmer Putnam and John Wiley, whose father had founded his own company in 1807. In 1841, Putnam went to London where he set up a branch office, in 1848, he returned to New York, where he dissolved the partnership with John Wiley and established G. Putnam Broadway, publishing a variety of works including quality illustrated books. Wiley began John Wiley, which is still an independent publisher to the present day, Putnam & Co. started Putnam’s Magazine with Charles Frederick Briggs as its editor. On George Palmer Putnam’s death in 1872, his sons George H. John and Irving inherited the business, son George H. Putnam became president of the firm, a position he held for the next fifty-two years. In 1874, the company established its own printing and manufacturing office, set up by John Putnam. On the death of George H. Putnam in 1930, the various Putnam heirs voted to merge the firm with Minton, George Palmer Putnams grandson, George P. Putnam, left the firm at that time. Melville Minton, the partner and sales manager of Minton Balch & Co. became acting president, in 1936, Putnam acquired the publisher Coward-McCann, and ran it as an imprint into the 1980s. Upon Melville Mintons death, his son Walter J. Minton took command of Putnams and brought the company to its lofty heights as one of the countrys most respected, in 1965, G. P. Putnams Sons acquired Berkley Books, a mass market paperback publishing house. Ten years later, Putnam Publishing Group and Berkley Publishing Group were sold to MCA, in 1982, Putnam acquired the respected childrens book publisher, Grosset & Dunlap, from Filmways. In 1996, the company was bought by the Penguin Group, the new owners merged Putnam/Berkley with Penguin USA to form Penguin Putnam Inc. who uses the name to publish the G. P. Putnams Sons Books for Young Readers, in 2013, Penguin merged with Bertelsmanns Random House, forming Penguin Random House. Some of the authors associated with G. P. Putnams Sons. Notes Bibliography About Putnam at Penguin Group
32.
The Man from Barbarossa
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The Man from Barbarossa, first published in 1991, was the eleventh novel by John Gardner featuring Ian Flemings secret agent, James Bond. Carrying the Glidrose Publications copyright, it was first published in the United Kingdom by Hodder & Stoughton, more so than any previous Bond novel, The Man from Barbarossa acknowledges then-current world events. The story begins in January 1991 just prior to the end of the Persian Gulf War, Gardner also predicted that hardliners within the Soviet Union might attempt a coup against the government, which did occur later in 1991 but under different circumstances. The book also suggests that the Cold War was soon to end. John Gardner has stated on many occasions that of the 007 novels he wrote, additionally, Gardner believes that of all his novels, this was also Glidroses favourite as well, although the American publishers took a strong disliking to it. Critics had a reaction with many feeling it was one of Gardners lesser Bond novels. When the story begins, an elderly American living in New Jersey is kidnapped by a Russian terrorist group called the Scales of Justice. The man, Joel Penderek, was captured under the belief that he is Josif Voronstov, the group demands the Soviet government put the man on trial for his crimes, and begins murdering government officials when leaders refuse and are slow to react. The situation is more complicated as the CIA and the Mossad believe Voronstov to be a man located in Florida who they had under surveillance. Captain James Bond is partnered with an Israeli Mossad agent, Pete Natkowitz and they are assigned to work with Bory Stepakov and his assistant Nina Bibikova from the KGB to infiltrate the Scales of Justice posing as a TV crew so as to discover their real motive. Accomplishing this, they learn that the plans to sabotage perestroika. The man behind the Scales of Justice, General Yevgeny Yuskovich, is a cousin of Josif Voronstov who is identified as Joel Penderek, the trial was staged in order to shift focus away from Yuskovichs other plans. James Bond M Bill Tanner Miss Moneypenny Josif Voronstov, Deputy to Paul Blobel, said to have driven the victims to their deaths. Is actually Joel Penderek who is captured in Hawthorne, New Jersey by the Scales of Justice, Voronstov is put on a mock trial where it is discovered he is the cousin of General Yevgeny Yuskovich. General Yevgeny Yuskovich, Yuskovich is the leader of the Scales of Justice and he attempts to sabotage perestroika and supply Iraq with nuclear arms
33.
The Guardian
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The Guardian is a British daily newspaper, known from 1821 until 1959 as the Manchester Guardian. Along with its sister papers The Observer and The Guardian Weekly, The Guardian is part of the Guardian Media Group, the Scott Trust became a limited company in 2008, with a constitution to maintain the same protections for The Guardian. Profits are reinvested in journalism rather than to the benefit of an owner or shareholders, the Guardian is edited by Katharine Viner, who succeeded Alan Rusbridger in 2015. In 2016, The Guardians print edition had a daily circulation of roughly 162,000 copies in the country, behind The Daily Telegraph. The newspaper has an online UK edition as well as two international websites, Guardian Australia and Guardian US, the newspapers online edition was the fifth most widely read in the world in October 2014, with over 42.6 million readers. Its combined print and online editions reach nearly 9 million British readers, notable scoops include the 2011 News International phone hacking scandal, in particular the hacking of murdered English teenager Milly Dowlers phone. The investigation led to the closure of the UKs biggest selling Sunday newspaper, and one of the highest circulation newspapers in the world, in 2016, it led the investigation into the Panama Papers, exposing the then British Prime Minister David Camerons links to offshore bank accounts. The Guardian has been named Newspaper of the Year four times at the annual British Press Awards, the paper is still occasionally referred to by its nickname of The Grauniad, given originally for the purported frequency of its typographical errors. The Manchester Guardian was founded in Manchester in 1821 by cotton merchant John Edward Taylor with backing from the Little Circle and they launched their paper after the police closure of the more radical Manchester Observer, a paper that had championed the cause of the Peterloo Massacre protesters. They do not toil, neither do they spin, but they better than those that do. When the government closed down the Manchester Observer, the champions had the upper hand. The influential journalist Jeremiah Garnett joined Taylor during the establishment of the paper, the prospectus announcing the new publication proclaimed that it would zealously enforce the principles of civil and religious Liberty. Warmly advocate the cause of Reform, endeavour to assist in the diffusion of just principles of Political Economy and. Support, without reference to the party from which they emanate, in 1825 the paper merged with the British Volunteer and was known as The Manchester Guardian and British Volunteer until 1828. The working-class Manchester and Salford Advertiser called the Manchester Guardian the foul prostitute, the Manchester Guardian was generally hostile to labours claims. The Manchester Guardian dismissed strikes as the work of outside agitators –, if an accommodation can be effected, the occupation of the agents of the Union is gone. CP Scott made the newspaper nationally recognised and he was editor for 57 years from 1872, and became its owner when he bought the paper from the estate of Taylors son in 1907. Under Scott, the moderate editorial line became more radical, supporting William Gladstone when the Liberals split in 1886
34.
Scorpius (novel)
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Scorpius, first published in 1988, is the seventh novel by John Gardner featuring Ian Flemings secret agent, James Bond. Carrying the Glidrose Publications copyright, it was first published in the United Kingdom by Hodder & Stoughton, after being connected to the death of a woman in London, Bond is called in by M to aid the investigation. Returning from Hereford, a Sergeant Pearlman tags along by driving Bond back, upon safely returning to headquarters, Bond is briefed on the investigation by M and Chief Superintendent Bailey. The woman, whom Bond does not know, was dead with Bonds telephone number. She is a member of a society known as The Meek Ones. With additional information from the CIA, the British Secret Service learn that Valentine is an alias for Vladimir Scorpius, as the countrys general election approaches, by the use of brainwashed cult members, Scorpius has begun a holy war against every man, woman, and child. Throughout the novel, The Meek Ones commit several acts of terrorism including multiple terrorist bombings, throughout the horror, Bond meets Harriett Horner, an IRS agent working undercover in England and investigating a credit card company run by Scorpius. The two work together along with Pearlman to attempt to track down Scorpius, after an interrogation of a captured cult member, Horner is taken captive by Scorpius men. Additionally, Pearlman confesses to Bond that he was secretly giving Scorpius information for the benefit of his daughter who had been brainwashed, together the two set out for Scorpius base of operations in South Carolina, having Scorpius believe Pearlman was taking Bond captive. At Scorpius island, Bond meets up with Horner once again, knowing that the marriage is invalid, Bond agrees to go ahead with it thinking it would buy him time until he can escape. On the night the two decide to escape, Harriett is killed by a water moccasin, at the same time the FBI is conducting a raid of Scorpius island, which further angers Bond since her death was in vain. Bond returns to the island, finding Scorpius attempting to flee, after giving chase, Bond successfully gets the upper hand and forces Scorpius to die in a similar manner to that of Horners death. James Bond M Bill Tanner Miss Moneypenny Harriett Horner, An IRS agent secretly working in England undercover, she is found by Bond, at Scorpius base, Bond and Horner pretend to marry, only for her to die a couple days later when attempting to flee Scorpius island. Sergeant Pearlman, Pearlman first meets Bond to deliver a message that he is requested by M. Pearlman drives Bond back, Bond later learns, however, that Pearlman was secretly feeding Scorpius information because his daughter was brainwashed and a member of The Meek Ones. He confesses this much to Bond and requests help in getting his daughter free from the society, unfortunately for Pearlman, when the opportunity arises, his daughter is sent on a death task to kill both the President of the United States and the British Prime Minister. She is unsuccessful and subsequently killed by Bond before she can detonate her explosives, Chief Superintendent Bailey, Bailey is sent by Special Branch to aid in the investigation of the terrorist activities in England. From the beginning he is aiding Scorpius by giving him information that allow Scorpius to be one step ahead of everyone. Bailey is shot and killed by Bond at the White House after attempting to witness the assassinations of both the President of the United States and the British Prime Minister
35.
Chippenham
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Chippenham is an historic market town in Wiltshire, England,13 miles east of Bath and 96 miles west of London. It was a vill, and probably a royal hunting lodge. The primary school, Kings Lodge School, gets its name from this tradition, the town continued to grow when the Great Western Railway arrived in 1841. The town is now a commuter town, Chippenham is twinned with La Flèche in France and Friedberg in Germany. The towns motto is Unity and Loyalty, the town is surrounded by sparsely populated countryside and there are several woodlands in or very near the town, such as Birds Marsh, Vincients Wood and Briars Wood. Chippenham lies 4 miles south of the M4 motorway, which links the town to Bristol, Swindon, South Wales, the A4 former coach road, A420 and B4069 provide further road links to Bath, Bristol and Oxford. The town is bypassed to the west by the A350, which links the M4 motorway with Chippenham and nearby towns to the south, such as Melksham, Warminster and Trowbridge. The A4 national route crosses the southern part of the town, linking Chippenham to nearby Corsham, Calne, local councillors have called for an eastern extension linking the A4 to the A350 north of Cepen Park although this has been opposed by many residents. Dualling work on a 2-mile /3 km stretch of the A350 eastern bypass commenced in January 2015 from Cepen Park North through to the A4, which is scheduled for completion in 2017. Two shorter single carriageway sections of the A350 from just south of the Plough crossroads to Cepen Park North were both converted to dual carriageway between October 2014 and March 2015, Chippenham has a bus station with several routes and companies serving it. APLtravel with the 33 to Devizes and it is served by main line services and a smaller service to Southampton Central via Melksham, Westbury and Salisbury. It is being electrified to make train times faster from London to the West Country, National Express Coach services connect at Chippenham to London, Wales, South West England, the Midlands and East Anglia. Bus services connect the town to Bristol, Bath, Corsham, Calne, Frome, Devizes, Trowbridge, Swindon and nearby villages. The original Buttercross, a structure, was erected in c.1570 and stood at the centre of the Shambles. It was used for the sale of meat and dairy products, in 1889, Mr E. C. Lowndes bought the Buttercross for £6 and re-erected it as a gazebo in the kitchen garden of the Castle Combe Manor House, where it subsequently fell into disrepair. The Buttercross was re-erected in 1995 by the Chippenham Civic Society, funded by local people. It currently stands as the centre-piece of the area of the town centre. The Yelde Hall is one of few remaining medieval timber framed buildings in the town
36.
Win, Lose or Die
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Win, Lose or Die, first published in 1989, was the eighth novel by John Gardner featuring Ian Flemings secret agent, James Bond. Carrying the Glidrose Publications copyright, it was first published in the United Kingdom by Hodder and Stoughton, beginning with this novel, and continuing for the remainder of the John Gardner series, Bond is promoted to the Royal Navy rank of Captain. W. Bush, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Russian Premier Mikhail Gorbachev, in the months leading to the top-secret summit, Bond spends his time training at Yeovilton learning to fly a Navy Sea Harrier jet. With knowledge of Bonds task, BAST decides that Bond is a hindrance to their plans and attempts to kill him, later, when Bond goes on holiday in Italy, another attempt is made on his life. Bond escapes and, presumably, ends up taking the life of his then-current girlfriend, James Bond M Bill Tanner Bassam Baradj, Born Robert Besavitsky in New York, Baradj is the main leader of BAST, codenamed Viper. BASTs plot to take over and hold the three most powerful leaders was his idea. He is later shot by Beatrice Maria da Ricci in Gibraltar, Abou Hamarik, Hamarik, codenamed Snake, is the second of three leaders of BAST. He is able to infiltrate HMS Invincible by killing an American Naval Intelligence officer who has called into replace another that was murdered on board the carrier. Hamarik is found out and is wounded by Nikki Ratnikov after he had taken Bond, after the incident, Hamarik is arrested by Bond. Clover Pennington, First Officer Clover Pennington is a Wren with the Royal Navy and she is secretly the third head of BAST, codenamed Cat. Under Penningtons leadership while Bond is away BAST is able to take over the carrier with a number of supporters. Pennington is accidentally killed by one of her supporters after being used as cover, Beatrice Maria da Ricci, Ricci is a secret operative working for the British secret service who has been tasked with protecting Bond, specifically while on holiday. She and Bond later team up to arrest Bassam Baradj, although ultimately she kills Baradj while saving Bonds life, Nikki Ratnikov, Nikki Ratnikov is a secret service agent from Russia who was sent to protect Mikhail Gorbachev during the Stewards Meeting. She is killed by Abou Hamarik during an exchange of gunfire while on board HMS Invincible, during the exchange she successfully wounds Hamarik, which later leads to his arrest. UK first hardback edition,1989 Hodder & Stoughton U. S. first hardback edition, the critic also believed that Bond was a product of his times. Gardner manages to remove most of the characteristics that made interesting and that the explosions, throat-cuttings and neck-breakings. The novel, has none of Flemings ability to build up tension or introduce detail casually, when Gardner talks knowledgeably about aircraft specifications the effect is only to reassure us that he has read the appropriate flight manual. The critic also accuses Gardner of cant quite bring himself to take it seriously, charles Champlin in the Los Angeles Times noted how different Fleming and Gardner are
37.
Margaret Thatcher
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She was the longest-serving British prime minister of the 20th century, and the first woman to have held the office. A Soviet journalist dubbed her The Iron Lady, a nickname that became associated with her uncompromising politics, as Prime Minister, she implemented policies that have come to be known as Thatcherism. A research chemist before becoming a barrister, Thatcher was elected Member of Parliament for Finchley in 1959, Edward Heath appointed her Secretary of State for Education and Science in his 1970 government. In 1975, Thatcher defeated Heath in the Conservative Party leadership election to become Leader of the Opposition and she became Prime Minister after winning the 1979 general election. Her political philosophy and economic policies emphasised deregulation, flexible labour markets, the privatisation of state-owned companies and she narrowly escaped an assassination attempt in 1984. Thatcher was re-elected for a term in 1987. During this period her support for a Community Charge was widely unpopular and she resigned as Prime Minister and party leader in November 1990, after Michael Heseltine launched a challenge to her leadership. After retiring from the Commons in 1992, she was given a peerage as Baroness Thatcher which entitled her to sit in the House of Lords. After a series of strokes in 2002, she was advised to withdraw from public speaking. Despite this, she managed to pre-record a eulogy to Ronald Reagan prior to his death, in 2013, she died of another stroke in London, at the age of 87. Always a controversial figure, she has described as one of the greatest and most influential politicians in British history. Thatcher was born Margaret Hilda Roberts on 13 October 1925, in Grantham and her father was Alfred Roberts, originally from Northamptonshire, and her mother was Beatrice Ethel from Lincolnshire. She spent her childhood in Grantham, where her father owned two grocery shops, Prior to the Second World War, in 1938 the Roberts family gave sanctuary to a teenage Jewish girl escaping Nazi Germany. Thatcher was to describe this in her memoirs as among the significant events of her formative years, Alfred Roberts was an alderman and a Methodist local preacher, and brought up his daughter as a strict Wesleyan Methodist attending the Finkin Street Methodist Church. He came from a Liberal family but stood as an Independent and he was Mayor of Grantham in 1945–46 and lost his position as alderman in 1952 after the Labour Party won its first majority on Grantham Council in 1950. Margaret Roberts attended Huntingtower Road Primary School and won a scholarship to Kesteven and her school reports showed hard work and continual improvement, her extracurricular activities included the piano, field hockey, poetry recitals, swimming and walking. She was head girl in 1942–43, in her upper sixth year she applied for a scholarship to study chemistry at Somerville College, Oxford, but she was initially rejected and was offered a place only after another candidate withdrew. Her dissertation was on the structure of the antibiotic gramicidin, even while working on chemistry, she was already thinking towards law and politics
38.
Raymond Benson
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Raymond Benson is an American author best known for being the official author of the James Bond novels from 1997 to 2003. Benson was born in Midland, Texas and graduated from Permian High School in Odessa in 1973, in primary school Benson took an interest in the piano which would later in his life develop into an interest in composing music. Other hobbies include film history and criticism, writing, and designing computer games, in 1984, Benson wrote The James Bond Bedside Companion, a book dedicated to Ian Fleming, the official novels, and the films. The book was updated in 1988 and has since been re-released digitally without further updating and it was nominated for an Edgar Award by Mystery Writers of America in the Best Biographical/Critical Work category. In 1985, he worked as a designer and writer on the computer game James Bond 007 and he followed this in 1986 with work on a computer game version of Goldfinger and co-authoring the You Only Live Twice II module of the popular role-playing game James Bond 007. In 1996, John Gardner resigned from writing Bond books, glidrose Publications promptly chose Benson to replace him. As a James Bond novelist, Raymond Benson was initially controversial for being American, the author did much to placate these concerns, however, and promptly embarked on regular tours to promote his novels in the UK, as well as occasional trips to mainland Europe. Several signing sessions were held at the offices of his UK publisher Hodder & Stoughton, in total, Benson wrote six James Bond novels, three novelizations, and three short stories. He was the first Bond author since Ian Fleming to write short stories, glidrose changed its name to Ian Fleming Publications commencing with Bensons novel, High Time to Kill. Benson resigned from writing Bond books in 2003, in 2008 High Time to Kill, Doubleshot, Never Dream of Dying and his 1997 short story Blast from the Past were grouped and released as an omnibus called The Union Trilogy, Three 007 Novels. In 2004, Benson began writing the first of two based on the acclaimed video game series, Splinter Cell, although both are credited to the pseudonym, David Michaels. Further titles in the Splinter Cell series have also credited to David Michaels. The first book, Tom Clancys Splinter Cell was published in 2004 followed by Tom Clancys Splinter Cell, in 2008 Benson wrote A Hard Days Death about a private investigator who looks into the death of a rock star. The book spawned a novel in 2009 called Dark Side of the Morgue. The two novels plus a short story, On the Threshold of a Death, were collected in 2011 as an e-book anthology, The Rock n Roll Detectives Greatest Hits. Benson also wrote the novelization of the video game Metal Gear Solid in 2008 and followed it in 2009 with a novelization of Metal Gear Solid 2, Sons of Liberty. His entry in the Gabriel Hunt pulp adventure series, Hunt Through Napoleons Web, further video game novelizations continued in 2011, when Benson co-authored Homefront--the Voice of Freedom with John Milius, as a prequel to the THQ videogame Homefront. 2012 saw the announcement that Benson would also write Hitman, Damnation, Bensons first novel in a series of womens action/adventure thrillers, The Black Stiletto, was published in September 2011
