by Andrew Lycett

Though Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's name is recognized the world over, for decades the man himself has been overshadowed by his better understood creation, Sherlock Holmes, who has become one of literature's most enduring characters. Based on thousands of previously unavailable documents, Andrew Lycett, author of the critically acclaimed biography Dylan Thomas, offers the first definitive biography of the baffling Conan Doyle, finally making sense of a long-standing mystery: how the scientifically minded creator of the world's most rational detective himself succumbed to an avid belief in spiritualism, including communication with the dead.Conan Doyle was a man of many contradictions. Always romantic, energetic, idealistic and upstanding, he could also be selfish and fool-hardy. Lycett assembles the many threads of Conan Doyle's life, including the lasting impact of his domineering mother and his wayward, alcoholic father; his affair with a younger woman while his wife lay dying; and his nearly fanatical pursuit of scientific data to prove and explain various supernatural phenomena. Lycett reveals the evolution of Conan Doyle's nature and ideas against the backdrop of his intense personal life, wider society and the intellectual ferment of his age. In response to the dramatic scientific and social transformations at the turn of the century, he rejected traditional religious faith in favor of psychics and séances -- and in this way he embodied all of his late-Victorian, early-Edwardian era's ambivalence about the advance of science and the decline of religion. The first biographer to gain access to Conan Doyle's newly released personal archive -- which includes correspondence, diaries, original manuscripts and more -- Lycett combines assiduous research with penetrating insight to offer the most comprehensive, lucid and sympathetic portrait yet of Conan Doyle's personal journey from student to doctor, from world-famous author to ardent spiritualist.

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by Andrew Lycett

An authoritative, fresh, and compelling look at the extraordinary life and enduring work of Dylan Thomas-the first in over ten years. In this riveting new account of the life of one of the most celebrated and contradictory figures of the twentieth century, acclaimed biographer Andrew Lycett peels back the layers of story that have accumulated around Dylan Thomas. When he died, in New York in 1953, Thomas was only 39 years old, and the myths soon took hold: he became the Keats and the Byron of his generation-the romantic poet who died too young, his potential unfulfilled. Making masterful use of original material from archives and personal papers, Lycett describes the development of the young poet, brings invaluable new insights to Thomas's youthful poetry and the themes that continued to appear in his work, and unearths fascinating details about the poet's many affairs and his tempestuous marriage to his passionate Irish wife, Caitlin. Lycett uses as his overwhelming motif the deeply ambivalent forces in Thomas's life-"I hold a beast, an angel, and a madman in me"-the forces that allowed him to be a wild boy in public and a private poet of deep sensitivity, that helped him bridge the gap between modernism and pop, between the written and spoken word, between individual and performance art, between the academy and the forum. Throughout, the social and historical context of Thomas's struggles and accomplishments are vividly presented. The result is a poignant yet stirring portrait of the chaos of Thomas's personal life and a welcome reevaluation of the lyricism and experimentalism of his poetry, plays, and short stories.

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by Andrew Lycett

Though Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's name is recognized the world over, for decades the man himself has been overshadowed by his better understood creation, Sherlock Holmes, who has become one of literature's most enduring characters. Based on thousands of previously unavailable documents, Andrew Lycett, author of the critically acclaimed biography Dylan Thomas, offers the first definitive biography of the baffling Conan Doyle, finally making sense of a long-standing mystery: how the scientifically minded creator of the world's most rational detective himself succumbed to an avid belief in spiritualism, including communication with the dead.Conan Doyle was a man of many contradictions. Always romantic, energetic, idealistic and upstanding, he could also be selfish and fool-hardy. Lycett assembles the many threads of Conan Doyle's life, including the lasting impact of his domineering mother and his wayward, alcoholic father; his affair with a younger woman while his wife lay dying; and his nearly fanatical pursuit of scientific data to prove and explain various supernatural phenomena. Lycett reveals the evolution of Conan Doyle's nature and ideas against the backdrop of his intense personal life, wider society and the intellectual ferment of his age. In response to the dramatic scientific and social transformations at the turn of the century, he rejected traditional religious faith in favor of psychics and séances -- and in this way he embodied all of his late-Victorian, early-Edwardian era's ambivalence about the advance of science and the decline of religion. The first biographer to gain access to Conan Doyle's newly released personal archive -- which includes correspondence, diaries, original manuscripts and more -- Lycett combines assiduous research with penetrating insight to offer the most comprehensive, lucid and sympathetic portrait yet of Conan Doyle's personal journey from student to doctor, from world-famous author to ardent spiritualist.

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by Chris Hunt

Bond james bond. Perhaps the greatest fictional cinema icon ever. He first appeared on the big screen in 1962 in dr. No and has remained the most powerful action hero ever since. The secret to his success is his adaptability. No matter what tight spots he finds himself in he always appears to be suave & cool. Studio: Genius Products Inc Release Date: 11/14/2006 Starring: Narrated By Miranda Richardson Run time: 52 minutes Rating: Nr Director: Chris Hunt

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by Andrew Lycett

Sportsman, womaniser,naval commander,traveller,spy, Flemings own life was an obvious backdrop for his stories of the renowned 007. This book provides an insightinto the very private life of the man himself.

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by Andrew Lycett

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by Gale Reference Team

Word count: 1231.

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by Chris Hunt

Has it really been decades since the first James Bond film? Over the course of 19 films and 5 Bonds, the beloved film spy has evolved to keep up with the times, but James Bond is at heart still the same suave, urbane tough guy that Sean Connery established in 1962's Dr. No. The James Bond Story traces the development of the character, interviewing Bond leading ladies Maud Adams and Jane Seymour and Bond actors Sean Connery, Roger Moore, George Lazenby, Timothy Dalton, and Pierce Brosnan and exploring the ups and downs of the filmic franchise over the years. Also, director Terence Young, producer Cubby Broccoli, and, of course, Ian Fleming follow the progression of the Bond character from its first onscreen realization through the 2000-model Bond. There's lip service paid to his progress from a womanizing, Martini-swilling Neanderthal in a tux to a somewhat more politically correct man, and the traditional Bond killing gadgets get treatment as well (complete with outtakes and flubs). This is just the thing for Bond fans and of the spy genre in general; an affectionate look at 40 years worth of James Bond. --Jerry Renshaw

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by ANDREW LYCETT DAVID BLUNDY

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by Andrew Lycett

In this authoritative, fresh, and compelling account of the extraordinary life and enduring work of Dylan Thomas -- author of "Under Milkwood, A Child's Christmas In Wales, Adventures in the Skin Trade, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog, and numerous poems and stories -- Andrew Lycett peels back the layers of story that have accumulated around this extraordinarily talented writer, one of the most celebrated and contradictory literary figures of the twentieth century.When Dylan Thomas died, in New York in 1953, he was only thirty-nine years old and the myths soon took hold. He became the Keats and the Byron of his generation -- the romantic poet who died too young, his potential unfulfilled. Making masterful use of original material from archives and personal papers, Lycett describes the development of the young poet and brings invaluable new insights to Thomas's early writing and the themes that continued to appear in all he wrote. This major new work unearths fascinating details about the poet's many affairs and about his tempestuous marriage to his passionate Irish wife, Caitlin.Lycett uses as his overwhelming motif the deeply ambivalent forces in Thomas's life -- "I hold a beast, an angel, and a madman in me" -- that allowed him to be a wild boy in public and a private poet of deep sensitivity -- the forces that helped him bridge the gap between modernism and pop, between the written and spoken word, between individual and performance art, between the academy and the forum. Throughout, the social and historical context of Thomas's struggles and accomplishments are vividly presented.

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by Rudyard Kipling

Rudyard Kipling is one of the greatest short-story writers in the English language, and it was the medium in which he wrote most personally and most profusely. The India of the Raj, into which Kipling was born in 1865, is vividly portrayed in all its many-splendoured moods, from the snobbery of Simla drawing rooms to the golden mosques and perfumed gardens of Lahore. But his writing went beyond these experiences of Empire to embrace the multiplicity of Kiplings interests and ideas, and to capture the extraordinary times through which he lived. Whatever his subject - trench warfare, murder on the barrack-square, futuristic modes of transportation, polo matches, early radio experiments - he wrote with verve, detail and energy, which lovers of his poetry and childrens books will immediately recognise and embrace. From high adventure to doomed romance, ghostly encounters to military yarns, social comedy to flights of scientific fancy, here are more than 200 tales by a master storyteller, arranged chronologically in five volumes from Kiplings first published story, in 1884, to his final collection, Limits and Renewals, in 1932.

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by Andrew Lycett

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