Author Topic: Author! Author! (Read 360488 times)

Gumtree · « **Reply #360 on:** August 14, 2009, 04:03:18 AM »

I can't think of any one who may be the likely candidate.

Mippy · « **Reply #361 on:** August 14, 2009, 09:24:56 AM »

Alors ... my author is clearly below the radar ... hints today are more grande ...

Author:
One of my bestselling books (1999) was somewhat overshadowed by a later book (2005) by a different author, whose title included an earring.

Character:
I want to be accepted by the establishment, but being a woman makes it difficult.

JoanK · « **Reply #362 on:** August 14, 2009, 12:35:57 PM »

OK, the other book has to be "The Girl with the Pearl Earring". Still don't know your book, but I'll bet others do.

Mippy · « **Reply #363 on:** August 15, 2009, 07:02:01 AM »

Joan ~ Correct

Author:
I am often confused with Tracy Chevalier, the author of Girl with a Pearl Earring.
My five novels are historical fiction, and they are about people from various nations.

Character: I'm an artist from Canada, who eventually found recognition.

Shall I try to give more detailed hints tomorrow, or just post the answer?
I'll be away all day today, visiting family.

Mippy · « **Reply #364 on:** August 16, 2009, 11:29:21 AM »

Let's wind this up ... hope someone can come up with a book that works better than this one.

Author: Susan Vreeland. Her other books on artists and art history include:
   Girl in Hyancinth Blue, 1999 (about Vermeer)
   The Passion or Artemisia, 2002
   Life Studies, 2005
   Luncheon of the Boating Party, 2007 (I'm reading this one now, about the life of Renoir)

Character: Emily Carr, a plein-air painter from British Columbia, Canada

Book: The Forest Lover, 2004. Excellent historical fiction!

Gumtree · « **Reply #365 on:** August 16, 2009, 12:34:43 PM »

Mippy I have been wracking my brains trying to think of Susan Vreeland's name since you mentioned the 'Earring' - all to no avail. I would never have guessed the book as haven't seen or heard of it.

Good one !

JoanK · « **Reply #366 on:** August 16, 2009, 01:45:13 PM »

Good one! I don't know the books, but it sounds like I should!!

PatH · « **Reply #367 on:** August 16, 2009, 02:23:41 PM »

Mippy, have you read the book about Artemesia? She is a person who interests me greatly. The National Museum of Women in the Arts had an exhibit which included 3 of her paintings, and they outshone everything else, especially her "Judith and Holofernes". It's an amazing painting, and I've never seen a reproduction that did justice to Judith's expression, which is a mixture of distaste at what she's doing and a sort of judicial calm and firmness of purpose.

The exhibit made the point that a fashionable portrait painter of the time (that's how you made a living out of your painting) had to establish a persona that clicked with the clientele, and hers was the quiet gentlewoman, comfortable for a woman subject.

Gumtree · « **Reply #368 on:** August 20, 2009, 12:38:59 AM »

H'mm... Three days have passed and no action here. Who got the answer to Mippy's quiz ? Who will pose the next puzzle ?

Mippy · « **Reply #369 on:** August 20, 2009, 06:51:01 AM »

nemo ... that's Latin for no one

Gum ~ do you want to start a new one? I'm out of ideas.

Gumtree · « **Reply #370 on:** August 20, 2009, 11:01:10 AM »

Thanks for the offer Mippy -but no, I can't do it at the moment ... maybe someone will volunteer this time round.

PatH · « **Reply #371 on:** August 20, 2009, 11:02:10 PM »

I've been on the west coast, visiting my new grandson and JoanK. Am home now, too tired to think. will check in tomorrow.

Mippy · « **Reply #372 on:** August 21, 2009, 07:02:44 AM »

Be well, Gum and Pat!
I hope someone will re-start this game one of these days!

PatH · « **Reply #373 on:** August 21, 2009, 08:56:26 PM »

There are all sorts of problems coming up with a puzzle here. One is what the rest of us have read. JudeS ran into one end of this, hitting a nest of O'Brian enthusiasts. Mippy ran into the other end, when what looked like a terrific puzzle turned out to be something none of us had read.

There is also the question of figuring out whether your clues are hard or easy, and that's harder than you'd think.

That said, I'll have a go at another puzzle.

Author: I trained as a physician and practiced medicine for some time.

Character: I also trained as a physician.

PatH · « **Reply #374 on:** August 21, 2009, 09:53:16 PM »

When I was thinking of a new puzzle, I realized that I wasn't certain whether the author had already been used (s/he hadn't). This is going to get harder and harder, so I thought I'd make a list. Here it is. I'll try to update it from time to time. Should I also put in who posed the puzzle? I'm surprised how many we've done so far.

Beck Wethers Left for Dead

John Steinbeck Journal of a Novel

Henry James Wings of a Dove

George Orwell

T S Eliot Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, Bustopher Jones

Agatha Christie Hastings

Alexander McCall Smith Mma Ramotswe

Jane Austen Mary Bennett

Elizabeth George Lynley and Havers

Xenophon

George Eliot Daniel Deronda

Roger Tory Peterson Field guide to the Eastern Birds Mockingbird

Joanna Trollope The Best of Friends Sophie

Joseph Conrad Heart of Darkness Marlow

J. R. R. Tolkien Lord of the Rings Frodo

Emily Bronte Wuthering Heights Heathcliff

Margaret Atwood The Blind Assassin

Zane Grey Riders of the Purple Sage

Wilkie Collins The Moonstone Rachel Verinder

Patrick O’Brian Master and Commander Jack Aubrey

L. Frank Baum The Wizard of Oz Dorothy

Susan Vreeland The Forest Lover Emily Carr

JoanK · « **Reply #375 on:** August 21, 2009, 10:09:10 PM »

Thanks. That's very useful.

Frybabe · « **Reply #376 on:** August 21, 2009, 11:26:21 PM »

quote from Mippy

Quote

nemo ... that's Latin for no one

I always thought Jules Verne had a sense of humor. Did the people who did Finding Nemo know what nemo means? No one, nobody indeed.

Gumtree · « **Reply #377 on:** August 22, 2009, 01:02:36 AM »

PatH Good girl ! Thanks for the list - is there some way we can just add to it as we go? Or maybe get the tech people to put it in the heading and update from time to time ? Anyway good idea - I think where applicable, the author, the book and the character should be shown.

And yes, there are problems trying to select a mystery author - like -would anyone ever have heard of this particular Aussie writer I have in mind?

Frybabe Are you saying that nemo working on the film actually knew the meaning of nemo or are you just wondering whether they did or not?

Now, I'll try to work out the quiz as I go about my mundane Saturday. - Physician HuH!

Gumtree · « **Reply #378 on:** August 22, 2009, 12:34:50 PM »

Here's a guess - I can't get Sir Arthur Conan Doyle out of my mind - so maybe that's who PatH has in mind. And is Dr. Watson the character?

Frybabe · « **Reply #379 on:** August 22, 2009, 01:04:16 PM »

HI Gumtree, I was just wondering out loud whether they people who named it, knew that nemo is latin and what it means. Jules Verne would have known as in his day, latin was studied more. Everybody I have mentioned it to around here didn't even know it is latin, but they all got the joke when I said Captain Nobody and Finding Nobody.

The end is near. My bathroom is almost done, but of course there is a hang up. The contractor forgot to order the flooring so now we are still waiting for it. I had trouble getting a matching spout for my bathtub too. It appears that the manufacturers are keeping inventories very low and only manufacturing as they need them. I guess in this economy they don't feel they can afford to sit on stuff that isn't selling well.

I may actually be ready to post another quiz in a week or so.

PatH · « **Reply #380 on:** August 22, 2009, 03:20:54 PM »

You got it, Gumtree! I mean the book to be "A Study in Scarlet", but any of the books would do. Rats, I had all sorts of good clues. The author also wrote science fiction, the character had recently traveled to a country currently in the news (Afghanistan), both have silly mustaches, etc.

JoanK · « **Reply #381 on:** August 22, 2009, 08:34:54 PM »

I'm kicking myself -- I should have gotten that. GUM, are you up to posting the next quiz?

It's hard to think of something that is neither too easy nor too obscure. You want everyone to know the book, but not guess it right away.

Gumtree · « **Reply #382 on:** August 23, 2009, 02:20:51 AM »

That's ridiculous ! I only put Doyle up to get him out of the way as I thought it too obvious. Never dreamt it would be right! And I don't even read Sherlock Holmes....next time I won't jump in and possibly spoil the fun again.

I would be grateful if someone else would do the next one as I can't be sure of coming in regularly enough just now. Thanks!

Mippy · « **Reply #383 on:** August 23, 2009, 06:47:55 AM »

Heavy winds here on Cape Cod this a.m., although thank goodness the hurricane didn't hit us. I'd better shut down here before we have power flickers ... have fun today, everyone!

JudeS · « **Reply #384 on:** August 27, 2009, 06:34:57 PM »

Oh Gosh. I return and read the clue and know the answer but so does everybody else. Eeks!

The list was not only helpful but also made me realize how many authors we have touched on. I like this game a lot even when I am mistaken or when somebody guesses my clue.

Hope your winds have died down Mippy. The weather here in CA is so warm and bland I sometimes forget the ups and downs of other regions.

Yes, we have wildfires, but they're mostly in the hills and earthquakes-well they come and go so fast that there really can't be any foreboding attached to them. Damage yes, but worry, no. Its all over before you know it and all that remains is to count the cracks and pick up the pieces of crockery.

JoanK · « **Reply #385 on:** August 28, 2009, 03:07:57 PM »

JUDE: where in California are you? I moved to Socal, near the ocean, and I just love the weather. I wish I could bottle it and send it everywhere. I don't find it bland at all --even after two years, every time I go outside and get that sea breeze, I'm thrilled.

They used to say that unless you have a million dollar house, you don't have to worry about wildfires -- now it's probably up to five million. But I admit, the earthquakes scare me.

And believe it or not, I miss thunderstorms. I've always loved thunderstorms, even after seeing a lightning bolt land a few feet from me once. When my Eastern friends complain about them, I sympathize, but secretly, I'm jealous. Of course, I didn't live in the tornado belt, and only once every 10 years worry about hurricanes.

PatH · « **Reply #386 on:** August 29, 2009, 07:15:48 PM »

Well, don't everyone speak at once!

I'm afraid this will either be obvious, like last time, or hopeless, but here goes.

Author: My father was a minister, and "Pilgrim's Progress" influenced my childhood.

Character: Unexpectedly, I had to survive in strange ways.

PatH · « **Reply #387 on:** August 30, 2009, 07:05:15 PM »

OK, I started out obscure, and it's too obscure.

Author: I ended up my days elevated to the peerage and with an important post.

Character: The first movie of my exploits was made in the '30s--rather inaccurate, I must say.

Gumtree · « **Reply #388 on:** August 30, 2009, 10:09:52 PM »

Thanks for coming to the rescue PatH

So, you're saying the author is British, brought up by a minister (of religion? parliament? H'm) who read Pilgrim's Progress as a child and who was recognised by becoming Knight of the Realm.

Too hard by far - the only one penetrating the grey fog of my mind is C P Snow who became Baron Snow - but the other clues don't fit for character Lewis Eliot - Strangers and Brothers

PatH · « **Reply #389 on:** August 31, 2009, 12:14:48 AM »

Gumtree, that's a very ingenious (though incorrect) answer, and my author is not such a literary heavyweight as Snow.

By the way, are you aware that Snow's first novel was a detective story--"Death Under Sail"? It's not bad, though kind of formulaic, and the sailing is enjoyable. I was a big Snow fan at one point, and read all of the "Strangers and Brothers" series.

I didn't say "knight", I said "peer".

Gumtree · « **Reply #390 on:** August 31, 2009, 09:42:23 AM »

OK OK - so I said Knight - but a Baron (as in Baron Snow) is a Peer

And yes, I was under Snow's spell for a time and still have the S & B sequence. His prose is superb - exquisite at times. Have you read his scientific stuff? 'The Physicists - A Generation that Changed the World'. Brilliant. "Vivid interplay of personalities and politics in the world of science - Einstein - Rutherford - Bohr" etc.

PatH · « **Reply #391 on:** August 31, 2009, 12:37:57 PM »

Sorry, Gumtree, "nitpicking" is my middle name. More clues later.

PatH · « **Reply #392 on:** August 31, 2009, 08:26:47 PM »

Still too obscure, obviously. I bet some of you have seen the movie, old though it is.

Author: Early on, I won a prize in poetry. Surprisingly, I ended my days in Canada, which I found was like a large-scale version of my beloved Scotland.

Character: My first adventure took place just before WWI, but I continued to save my country for many years after. The first movie about me (1935) had a very famous director, whose movies you have all watched.

Mippy · « **Reply #393 on:** September 01, 2009, 08:44:29 AM »

The movie: 39 Steps, which was directed by Hitchcock (1935).
I have no idea what the name was of the main protagonist was.

But I didn't follow the rules: after I guessed the movie, I looked up the author of the novel. Isn't the idea here to do it from memory?

So I don't "win" and with Latin classes starting today, I ought not to post a new query

PatH · « **Reply #394 on:** September 01, 2009, 04:27:27 PM »

Does anyone else want to fill in the gaps?

Mippy, I'm with you about guessing from memory, though if I've thought of someone who would fit, I feel free to check facts to be sure they do, but I don't think anyone has formalized it.

JudeS · « **Reply #395 on:** September 01, 2009, 07:01:05 PM »

Joan K
Hi-
I'm not sure whether you mean Southern CA or Soquel which is a lovely community on the ocean in Northern Ca.
We live in San Jose but are often in Southern CA to visit our son who doesn't live near the Ocean. I hope you are in no danger from the wild fires that are presently raging in the state.

My first earthquake was a shock and a surprise but after that you get used to it. The house shakes for less than a second than some aftershocks and then all that's left is to assess the damage. The first one I experienced was when I walked into a Chinese restaurant and naively said, "Look, they have a dancing chandelier." I was quickly disabused of that idea.

The more serious earthquakes (in S.F. and Northridge) did not effect us. Unless you live on a "fault" your house is probably in no danger.
WELCOME to CA. Perhaps we shall meet one day.

PatH · « **Reply #396 on:** September 03, 2009, 09:56:41 AM »

No one wants to fill in the gaps, so I will.

The Author is John Buchan, the book, as Mippy guessed, is "The 39 Steps", and the character is Richard Hannay. Buchan, son of a Scottish minister (church, not political) was a politician and historian as well as fiction writer. His lifelong love of "Pilgrim's Progress" is evident in several of his books, most notably "Mr. Standfast". In 1935, Buchan was made 1st Baron Tweedsmuir in preparation for his appointment as Governor-General of Canada, which he held until his death in 1940.

"The 39 Steps" is the first book featuring Richard Hannay. A man is murdered in Hannay's apartment and Hannay, the principal suspect, flees all over England and Scotland, changing disguise in each chapter, trying to escape both the police and the spies who really killed the victim. The plot is slight, and was much mangled to make the 1935 movie, starring Robert Donat.

I liked these stories when I was growing up, and still have a fondness for them, though they really are dreadfully corny.

Mippy · « **Reply #397 on:** September 03, 2009, 10:00:53 AM »

Thanks for all the interesting details, Pat. I hope someone else can keep the game going, as I'm under the Latin load, including being a TA in the 101 class on Friday, so I'll have to pass.

Gumtree · « **Reply #398 on:** September 03, 2009, 12:29:09 PM »

Thanks PatH for the Buchan details - I read a few of his but not many and you say these days they are a bit 'corny' I remember the Robert Donat version but seem to remember they did a remake maybe in the 1950/60 era? Technicolour and all that...

I'm under a Latin load too having been silly enough to enrol for 101 but hope to come in here from time to time once the course settles - if it does.

PatH · « **Reply #399 on:** September 03, 2009, 01:12:13 PM »

Apparently the remake followed the altered plot of the '35 movie. There's going to be another one in 2010.

I would dearly love to take the Latin course---I've always wanted to learn it, but I know if I do, it will completely wash out my attempts to re-learn Spanish. I get annoyed at myself for not working on the Spanish. It's not a hard language, and I could speak it 50 years ago, can still read it some, and it's becoming increasingly useful to speak it here. Laziness.

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Author Topic: Author! Author! (Read 360488 times)