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Fowles, John

(Encyclopedia) Fowles, John, 1926–2005, English writer, b. Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, grad. Oxford, 1950. A complex, cerebral writer and a superb storyteller, Fowles was interested in manipulating the…

Wyler, William

(Encyclopedia) Wyler, William, 1902–1981, American film director, producer, and writer, b. Mülhausen, Germany (now Mulhouse, France) as Willi Wilder. He came to the United States (1920) at the…

Brewer's: Guinea Fowl

So called because it was brought to us from the coast of Guinea, where it is very common. “Notwithstanding their barsh cry ... I like the Guinea-fowl. They are excellent layers, and…

Parliament

(Encyclopedia) Parliament, legislative assembly of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Over the centuries it has become more than a legislative body; it is the sovereign power…

Brewer's: Parliament

“My Lord Coke tells us Parliament is derived from `parler le ment' (to speak one's mind). He might as honestly have taught us that firmament is `firma mentis' (a farm for the mind) or `…

John Fowles 2005 Deaths

John FowlesAge: 79 British novelist whose works explore the limitations society places on free will. His books The Collector, The Magus, and The French Lieutenant's Woman. Died: Lyme Regis,…

Brewer's: Rump Parliament

Oliver Cromwell (1648) sent two regiments to the House of Commons to coerce the members to condemn Charles I. Forty-one were seized and imprisoned in a lower room of the House, 160 were…

Brewer's: Parliament of Bats

(The), 1426, during the regency in the reign of Henry VI. So called because the members, being forbidden by the Duke of Gloucester to wear swords, armed themselves with clubs or bats.…

Brewer's: Parliament of Dunces

Convened by Henry IV. at Coventry, in 1404, and so called because all lawyers were excluded from it. Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer,…