The eNotes Blog Bring Up theBooker

Bring Up theBooker Yesterday the prestigious Man Booker prize was awarded, breaking two important records in the process. The lucky recipient Hilary Mantel became the first woman to win the award twice, and the first author to win it for a consecutive sequel. British author Mantel won her first Booker prize in 2009 with the historical fiction novel Wolf Hall. The story follows the rapid rise to power of Thomas Cromwell in the court of Henry VIII of England. From there, Mantel set to work on creating a trilogy from the acclaimed novel. Bring Up the Bodies, the winner of this years Man Booker prize, is the second installment in that trilogy. The novel picks up where its predecessor left off, detailing Anne Boleyns fall from grace and eventual execution. Sir Peter Stothard, chairman of the judging committee, had high praise for both Mantel and Bring Up the Bodies: She has recast the most essential period of our modern English history; we have the greatest modern English prose writer reviving possibly one of the best known pieces of English history  It is well-trodden territory with an inevitable outcome, and yet she is able to bring it to life as though for the first time. Canadian author Margaret Atwood, five times shortlisted for the Booker prize herself, had equally raving comments for Mantel in her Guardian review  of Bring Up the Bodies from May of this year: Literary invention does not fail her: shes as deft and verbally adroit as ever. On top of those accolades, Mantel will take home a  Ã‚ £50,000 prize, not to mention a massive boost in sales. So influential is the award on readers, that revenue for every Booker winner increases by at least  Ã‚ £1m. When Yan Martel took home the Booker in 2002, his novel Life of Pi soared to over  Ã‚ £10m in sales (thats over $16m). Although, we wouldnt say that Mantels sales of her latest book are exactly suffering According to the latest figures, Mantels Bring up the Bodies has sold 108,342 copies, which is more than the other 11 Man Booker longlisted novels combined. Add to that the fact that Mantels first two installments of the trilogy have already been set to be adapted into a BBC TV series, and were sure the author is quite happy with her recent success. In fact, her happy disbelief came across onstage as she accepted her award with a quip: You wait 20 years for a Booker Prize and two come along at once. I know how privileged and lucky I am to be standing here tonight. I regard this as an act of faith and a vote of confidence. Congratulations to Hilary Mantel, not just for winning this award, prestigious in its own right, but for winning it twice and being the first woman to do so. Cheers! No doubt our fascination with all things Tudor and deliciously bloodthirsty will continue when Mantel releases the finale to her trilogy, which she has already named The Mirror and the Light. Perhaps the third time will be a charm that brings this writer another feather in her already impressive cap.

Free Essays on Monet

Claude Monet Over the years there have been many respectable artists but one of the most famous of these artists would have to have been French impressionist Claude Oscar Monet. Monet was born on Nov. 14, 1840 in Paris, France and started showing an appreciation for art at an early age. When he was nineteen Monet decided that he wanted to attend art school and soon after that he entered the studio of Charles Glegre. While he was there he met and worked with other respectable artists such as Frederic Bazille, Auguset Renoir, and Alfred Sisley. Monet began working outside with the invention of portable tubes of oil paint in the 1840’s. Soon he began presenting his pictures of the outdoors sunlight with a direct sketch-like application of bright color. Many felt that would cut off any possibilities of him ever becoming a successful painter. Many of Monet’s paintings from this time are extremely loosely structured and the colors seemed to have been applied in strong, distinct strokes as if no reworking had been attempted. This type of art seemed to suggest that the artist had captured the spontaneous impression of nature. This along with the fact that one of Monet’s first paintings was entitled Impression: Sunrise, the press began to label Monet and his colleagues the impressionists. In the early 1870’s Monet and other Impressionists were in desperate need to sell some paintings so in 1874 they decided to appeal directly to the public and had the first of many Impressionist exhibitions. The shows lasted a month and although it drew a large crowd not many paintings were actually sold. As the years progressed so did Monet’s technique. By the mid-1880’s he had achieved much recognition and he was also, finally, financially secure. At the fourth impressionist exhibition in 1879, which took place in Paris, there was a huge turnout and for the time a profit was made. Although a profit had been made Monet decided not to d... Free Essays on Monet Free Essays on Monet Claude Monet Over the years there have been many respectable artists but one of the most famous of these artists would have to have been French impressionist Claude Oscar Monet. Monet was born on Nov. 14, 1840 in Paris, France and started showing an appreciation for art at an early age. When he was nineteen Monet decided that he wanted to attend art school and soon after that he entered the studio of Charles Glegre. While he was there he met and worked with other respectable artists such as Frederic Bazille, Auguset Renoir, and Alfred Sisley. Monet began working outside with the invention of portable tubes of oil paint in the 1840’s. Soon he began presenting his pictures of the outdoors sunlight with a direct sketch-like application of bright color. Many felt that would cut off any possibilities of him ever becoming a successful painter. Many of Monet’s paintings from this time are extremely loosely structured and the colors seemed to have been applied in strong, distinct strokes as if no reworking had been attempted. This type of art seemed to suggest that the artist had captured the spontaneous impression of nature. This along with the fact that one of Monet’s first paintings was entitled Impression: Sunrise, the press began to label Monet and his colleagues the impressionists. In the early 1870’s Monet and other Impressionists were in desperate need to sell some paintings so in 1874 they decided to appeal directly to the public and had the first of many Impressionist exhibitions. The shows lasted a month and although it drew a large crowd not many paintings were actually sold. As the years progressed so did Monet’s technique. By the mid-1880’s he had achieved much recognition and he was also, finally, financially secure. At the fourth impressionist exhibition in 1879, which took place in Paris, there was a huge turnout and for the time a profit was made. Although a profit had been made Monet decided not to d...

What cultural, political and economic forces encouraged the nations of Essay

What cultural, political and economic forces encouraged the nations of Europe to create overseas empires in the late 19th century - Essay Example During the last quarter of the nineteenth century, the European civilization experienced a marvelous imperial expansion and, there have been plenty of efforts made by the European navigators to cross the sea to different other regions of the world for various reasons. European powers like England, France, Portugal, and Spain supported the search for new colonies and their objectives were economic exploitation, the spread of Christianity and the strengthening of their empires and England succeeded in establishing its power over the colonies even from the beginning of the nineteenth century. Europeans were focusing on the shores of Africa, Asia and Latin America and various social, political and cultural factors have motivated them in this widening of imperialism. Cultural factors: The desire to preserve the cultural values, identity and improvement of the society as a whole was an important driving force behind colonization. For instance, it was the British who introduced secondary ed ucation system in India which helped Indians to advance to the frontline of administration. These statements explain the impact of imperialism in carrying out modifications in the social and cultural set up of European colonies (Baker 184). The role of missionaries in the process of colonization is another important factor to be discussed. Their mission was to popularize the teachings of Bible and propagate Christ’s preaching; however, Christianity was employed by the missionaries as an ideology used to convince people to accept the domination of the white. Missionaries provided information regarding social political and economic structure of particular regions to the imperialists so that they could plan appropriate strategies for colonization. Political factors: One can never undermine the political motivations behind colonization during the nineteenth century. During the war of Sedan in1870, the political situation was disturbing and conflicts were there among European nati on. The French nationalism became deep rooted after the war and colonial imperialism turned to be a means of revenge for France. Other European nations used colonialism as an instrument to divert the attention from their internal issues. National prestige was another key factor which compelled the Europeans to concentrate more on the division of existing colonies and occupying power over new colonies (Mathias & Todorov 68). Modern systems of communication and transportation have been introduced as a result of the technological development. These innovations eventually restructured European colonies. Economic factors: The nineteenth century industrialization could be connected with the colonization. As a result of the industrial expansion, Europeans went in search of raw materials and new markets for their products. According to Lenin’s theory, an enlargement of scale of production would result in a decline of profit in capitalist economies and as a result of the accumulation of capital the production will increase and the excessive production would result in the accumulation of unsold products (Mathias & Todorov 68). Industrial revolution resulted in the generation of such a situation. Imperialist policy and an overseas expansion became necessary to overcome this difficulty. It became an important objective of the statesmen to improve on the participation and share in the world trade so as to increase the national wealth and thereby national power (Mathias & Todorov 68). Impact on the international relationship: Most of the Asian and African countries were European colonies and their influence played a major role in shaping the social and educational institutions and the economic structur