As the latest film adaptation of the Agatha Christie classic Murder on the Orient Express hits our screens, Alison Bouhmid investigates women thriller-writers’ works, spanning a century of mystery writing. It is undeniable that British women writers have consistently been attracted to and excelled in detective fiction (though the genre was invented by a man, … Continue reading “Murder in the Bookshops”
Britain will have something to distract it from Brexit negotiations in 2018 — a royal wedding always improves national morale. Prince Harry has announced his engagement to American actress Meghan Markle, with a wedding planned on 19 May. The couple has been dating since July 2016 and initially managed to keep the relationship surprisingly secret … Continue reading “Prince Harry to Wed”
The sixth edition of the This is England Festival will take place from 13-18 November. If you are in the Rouen area, sign your classes up now for screenings, and download the teaching packs for collège and lycée. Short films are a brilliant way to introduce British culture to language learners, as is an exhibition … Continue reading “This Is England Short Films Festival in Rouen”
The 2017 Man Booker Prize, the UK’s most prestigious literary award, has been awarded to a first novel by American short-story writer George Saunders for Lincoln in the Bardo. Saunders is a veteran author but up till now he has specialised in short stories – Time magazine declared him the best short-story writer alive today. … Continue reading “Experimental Novel about Abraham Lincoln Wins 2017 Booker Prize”
The 2017 Nobel Prize for Literature has been awarded to British-Japanese novelist Kazuo Ishiguro whose work includes The Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go. A more conventional choice than the 2016 winner, singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. Ishiguro, 62, was born in Nagasaki, Japan, but arrived in Britain at the age of five. His … Continue reading “Nobel Prize for Novelist Kazuo Ishiguro”
From 27 September to 1 October, Dinard will celebrate the 27th edition of its British Film Festival. The winners’ statuettes for the festival are “Hitchcocks”, and the trailer for the festival sets a suitably eccentric British tone with an Alfred Hitchcock lookalike participating in a Busby Berkeley-style synchronised swimming routine. The films in this year’s … Continue reading “Hitchcock’s Home in Dinard”
In this A1+ article, your students will read a very short biography of Princess Diana. They may already know a few things about the British Royal Family, some of them may have heard about Prince William’s wife and children in particular. This worksheet can be used as part of a unit about family and friends, … Continue reading “Princess Diana”
The biggest music festival in the world isn’t Glastonbury or Lollopallooza, it’s a classical music festival: the two-month annual BBC Proms series in London. Started in 1895 with the specific aim of popularising classical music, the final night of the series, the Last Night of the Proms, is now an institution watched by millions around … Continue reading “Rocking to the Classics”
In both her life and her death, Diana, Princess of Wales, had a very special place in the British public’s hearts. Twenty years after the tragic car accident which killed her in Paris at the age of just 36, her two sons, and her admirers, are looking back on her legacy. Diana’s death on 31 … Continue reading “Diana: 20 Years On”
It was the British equivalent of making an announcement during the halftime break in the U.S. Superbowl game. Immediately after the 2017 Wimbledon men’s final the BBC revealed what the entire U.K. seemed to have been waiting for… that the next actor to portray the lead in sci-fi series Dr Who would be… a woman! … Continue reading “Doctor She”
