The real-life dame and on-screen dowager countess, who has died aged 89, earned fame in her 70s and 80s for blockbuster roles. But her early work at the National Theatre marked her out as a talent for the agesDame Maggie Smith’s trophy cabinet reflected her extraordinary achievements across theatre, film and television – and in the biggest arenas of British and US culture, from the BBC to Hollywood, the West End to Broadway. A measure of her versatility and durability is that, in the 1960s, she played nine major roles in the formative years of the National Theatre, but also, from the start of the 2000s, appeared in five series of Downton Abbey, the ITV Sunday night series that became one of the biggest popular hits of the new millennium.Her role in that show was Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham, who lived in such a bubble of exclusive comfort that, in trademark one-liners, she would drawl in mystification, for example: “What is a ‘weekend’?” That acerbic superiority was a signature throughout Smith’s career, including the part that brought her first Academy award in 1970, against a shortlist also featuring Liza Minnelli and Jane Fonda, for the title role in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, adapted from Muriel Spark’s novel about a maverick, arrogant schoolteacher in Edinburgh. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2024-09-27 13:37:47 UTC ]
An awesome daily roundup of the most interesting bookish links from around the web! Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-03-15 10:30:40 UTC ]
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Do you consider yourself a hard-core Potterhead? Did you defy your Veron Dursley-esque stepfather by joining the college Quidditch team? Did a rough breakup prompt an ill-advised dalliance with Snapism? Is your work commute enlivened by the dulcet tones of the weekly MuggleCast? Have you inked a... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2020-03-11 17:04:10 UTC ]
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Wild electoral swings and global public-health crises come at you fast. Two weeks ago, Bernie Sanders was in the driving seat of the Democratic primary, and the coronavirus—while certainly of growing concern—had yet to cause a death in the US; when seven Democratic presidential candidates (all... Continue reading at Columbia Journalism Review
[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2020-03-11 12:06:48 UTC ]
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Rally enables regular investors to buy and sell shares in high-end collectibles. Crafted from individually selected Nile crocodile scales in cream and gray, Hermès’s Himalaya Birkin is one of the world’s rarest handbags, fetching more than $100,000 at auction. Rally cofounder and CEO Chris... Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2020-03-10 05:00:57 UTC ]
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Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Bloomsbury) has been voted viewers’ favourite Blue Peter Book Award winner of the last 20 years, while Amanda Li’s Rise Up (Buster) and Vashti Hardy’s Wildspark (Scholastic) have also won prizes. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-05 02:44:21 UTC ]
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Beloved stars of the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts films will voice the first ever audiobook edition of J.K. Rowling's THE TALES OF BEEDLE THE BARD, with proceeds to benefit the Lumos foundation. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2020-02-27 16:09:37 UTC ]
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Niantic's real-world events for 2019 were so successful that they generated $249 million in tourism revenue across Chicago, Dortmund and Montréal. That's what the company has revealed in a new events website, which it launched alongside its fe... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2020-01-23 13:44:00 UTC ]
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There have been some ambitious Minecraft projects before, but this one may win for sheer sophistication. The modding team Floo Network is creating Minecraft School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, a Harry Potter-themed role-playing experience inside a Mi... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2020-01-13 18:43:00 UTC ]
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Harry Potter actress Evanna Lynch will narrate Irish author Sam Blake's feminist thriller, Keep Your Eyes on Me (Bolinda), billed as "Strangers on a Train” meets “Dial M For Murder”. The deal for world English language audio rights was agreed between Ellis Moore, senior rights and content... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-07 12:05:13 UTC ]
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Pottermore, the digital publisher of Harry Potter, recorded sales of £31.5m in the year to end March 2019, with pretax profit jumping to £6.9m. Describing the performance as "another very good year", chair Neil Blair highlighted "strong" sales of the original Harry Potter series across e-books... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-02 23:13:21 UTC ]
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Check out Harry Potter duvet covers in simple, nuetral colors, bright, fantastical images, and learn about Harry Potter pillows. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-12-27 11:31:39 UTC ]
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Gender policy is splitting the U.K. in two this week. Across the pond, Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling is being crucified online, blasted as “transphobic” and a “TERF,” after she tweeted the hashtag #IStandWithMaya. Who is Maya? What’s a TERF? We have answers.Read Full Story Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2019-12-19 15:21:28 UTC ]
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The Harry Potter creator’s year is now bookended by Twitter controversies, but this latest one is much worse. The constant hum of Twitter outrage makes it all sound the same at a distance. Everyone is mad online again? What else is new?Read Full Story Continue reading at Fast Company
[ Fast Company | 2019-12-19 12:15:49 UTC ]
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A girl who went blind is able to read again after being given a camera that reads for her. Continue reading at BBC World
[ BBC World | 2019-12-19 09:27:57 UTC ]
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Harry Potter and romance books? Of course!!!! Get ready to know more about these romance books matched with Hogwarts Houses. A Slytherin + Hufflepuff? Yes. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-12-18 11:38:39 UTC ]
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Here's all you need to know about Harry Potter music, including who wrote it, where you can buy it, and where to see it live. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-12-17 11:34:55 UTC ]
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TweetSomeone came up to one of our children’s specialists the other day and asked if anyone had ever retrieved the $200 Harry Potter boxed set that had been accidentally knocked into the hollow column next to the Harry Potter section during our storewide inventory in July. Since no one had... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-12-13 13:00:27 UTC ]
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AbeBooks has published a list of the most expensive books they sold this year, with The Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln, which sold for $40,000, at the top. Better luck next year, signed Harry Potter deluxe set ($38,560)! A first edition of The Maltese Falcon and Mark Twain’s complete writings... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2019-12-09 21:14:37 UTC ]
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Christmas is coming up, so consider gifting the Potterhead in your life (if that’s you, treat yourself!) some of these gorgeous Harry Potter earrings. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2019-12-05 11:36:56 UTC ]
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As the Harry Potter play officially opens in San Francisco on Sunday, the production continues to sidestep a deeper discussion about casting. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2019-12-01 23:54:38 UTC ]
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