The AnswerBank Articles

What is pulp fiction

A. Also known as 'dime novels' in the USA and 'penny dreadfuls' in Britain, pulp magazines, the original home of what became pulp fiction, contained series, short novels or novels in serial form.00:00 Mon 09th Jul 2001

Who was Lee Miller

A. Born in New York in 1907, Lee Miller became a model in Paris in the 1920s. She was lover, model and photographic collaborator of the Surrealist photographer Man Ray, and her other contacts in the00:00 Mon 02nd Jul 2001

What exactly is a first edition book

A. Collectors of first editions are looking for books they term 'first edition, first state', which means that it is the first edition, first print-run. Publishers, on the other hand, might call a00:00 Mon 02nd Jul 2001

Why are the descendents of Victor Hugo trying to suppress the publication of Cosette

A. What's eating the family of the 19th-century French novelist is the publication of a continuation to his masterpiece Les Mis rables (1862). Cosette or The Time of Lost Illusions was written by00:00 Mon 02nd Jul 2001

A rose by any other name, can you tell me about authors' pseudomyms

A. Aliases, noms de plume, pen names: writers have been masking their true identity since writing was invented, and more often than not, the reading public will be unaware that an author is hiding00:00 Mon 25th Jun 2001

What are audiobooks

A. It's kind of a contradiction in terms, but they are 'books' that you listen to. A more accurate term is spoken word publications, in that, while a lot of the recordings issued are adaptations of00:00 Mon 25th Jun 2001

What exactly is Modernism in literature

A. It would be hard to give a precise and succinct definition of the term Modernism, as there was, unlike movements such as the Surrealists or the Futurists, no organised group and no manifesto. 00:00 Mon 25th Jun 2001

Longest words

Q. Why is the word abbreviate so long A. There's no reason why words should necessarily reflect in some way the concept they express. Unless, of course, like whistle or splash, a word is an00:00 Mon 25th Jun 2001

Fifty ways to describe the weather

Q. Red sky at night... ... shepherd's delight A. ...Red sky in the morning, sailor's warning We've all heard this rhyme, and we in Britain are, it seems, obsessed with the weather. How many times00:00 Mon 25th Jun 2001

Kith and kin

Q. What's the difference between a first cousin, once removed and a second cousin A. A perennial problem this, as almost no-one seems to know how these relationships work. So, here goes: Second00:00 Mon 25th Jun 2001

Is it true, the Science Museum in London is about to scrap its admission charges

A. Yes and no. It will only be free to get into the museum on Sunday, 17 June - Father's Day. But there are plans to abolish admission charges to the museum from 1 December. Sunday will be a trial00:00 Thu 14th Jun 2001

Is it true you can now get to relatively cheap tickets for the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

A. Yes, tickets start from as low as 3 to 10 on Fridays and Saturdays and 4 to 12 on other days of the week. Q. What is being done to ensure that tickets remain affordable A. The Royal Opera00:00 Wed 06th Jun 2001

Has graffiti been around for along as paint

asked Chicken A. Well, the word 'graffiti' actually derives from the Greek word graphein, which means: to write. This should give you some idea of how long people have been trying to make their mark00:00 Sun 10th Jun 2001

Adoration of the Magi

Detail from Adoration of the Magi Q. Why are British art experts so angry over plans to restore Leonardo da Vinci's Adoration of the Magi A. They think that restoration will damage the painting. 00:00 Mon 04th Jun 2001

What was the Year of the Artist

A. The Year of the Artist was a national project which started in June 2000 and ran through to May 2001. The purpose of the year was to take art in England out of seemingly elitist venues such as00:00 Mon 04th Jun 2001

What are the origins of the spy novel

A. One of the most popular forms of fiction over the last century, the spy novel emerged during the international tensions - in particular the arms race between Britain and Germany - during the years00:00 Mon 04th Jun 2001

What is postmodernism

A. Webster's dictionary defines it as 'of, relating to, or being any of several movements (as in art, architecture or literature) that are reactions against the philosophy and practices of modern00:00 Mon 04th Jun 2001

Who was Jan Vermeer

A. Jan - or Johannes - Vermeer was born on 31 October 1632, in the town of Delft in the Netherlands. Remaining in the town all his life, he was buried there on 15 December 1675. He was one of the00:00 Mon 28th May 2001

What are the origins of the ghost story

A. Ghosts and spirits have been part of folklore and common belief from time immemorial. Although such spectral figures have always appeared in stories and literature - think of Banquo's ghost in00:00 Mon 28th May 2001

What is Surrealism

A. Surrealism was one of the most influential movements in art and literature to come out of the 20th century. Although it was at its height in the years between the two world wars, it's legacy can00:00 Mon 28th May 2001