Temple Theaters Presents
ARCADIA
By Tom Stoppard
February 11-21, 2015
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
A
Admiralty (p. 75): The Admiralty was the authority responsible for the command of the Royal Navy in the Kingdom of England, and later in Great Britain and until 1964 in the United Kingdom.
Anchorite (p. 30): A person who lives in seclusion usually for religious reasons.
Arcadia (p. 29): is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Peloponnese. It is situated in the central and eastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. It takes its name from the mythological character Arcas. In Greek mythology, it was the home of the god Pan. In European Renaissance arts, Arcadia was celebrated as an unspoiled, harmonious wilderness. (Further reading - Encyclopedia Brittanica)
Archimedes (p. 42): an Ancient Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor, and astronomer. Although few details of his life are known, he is regarded as one of the leading scientists in classical antiquity. Archimedes anticipated modern calculus and analysis by applying concepts of infinitesimals and the method of exhaustion to derive and rigorously prove a range of geometrical theorems, including the area of a circle, the surface area and volume of a sphere, and the area under a parabola. Other mathematical achievements include deriving an accurate approximation of pi, defining and investigating the spiral bearing his name, and creating a system using exponentiation for expressing very large numbers. He was also one of the first to apply mathematics to physical phenomena, founding hydrostatics and statics, including an explanation of the principle of the lever. He is credited with designing innovative machines, such as his screw pump, compound pulleys, and defensive war machines to protect his native Syracuse from invasion. (Further reading - Famous Scientists).
Arithmetica (p. 10): Arithmetica is an ancient Greek text on mathematics written by the mathematician Diophantus in the 3rd century AD. It is a collection of 130 algebraic problems giving numerical solutions of determinate equations and indeterminate equations.
B
Balefully (p. 58): portending evil; ominous
The Baptist in the wilderness (p. 18): Refers to John the Baptist. From the Bible: As in the Gospel of Mark, Matthew explicitly states that "John was the one who was spoken of in the prophet Isaiah" as one "crying aloud in the wilderness". John is again described as being "in the wilderness", wearing clothes of "camel's hair", living on "locusts and wild honey". John preaches baptism for the forgiveness of sin and he proclaims a future leader who "will baptize you with the Holy Spirit".
Bathos (p. 46): (from Greek bathys, “deep”), unsuccessful, and therefore ludicrous, attempt to portray pathos in art, i.e., to evoke pity, sympathy, or sorrow. Bathos may result from an inappropriately dignified treatment of the commonplace, the use of elevated language and imagery to describe trivial subject matter, or from such an exaggeration of pathos (emotion provoked by genuine suffering) as to become overly sentimental or ridiculous.
Beau Brummell (p. 37): George Bryan "Beau" Brummell (7 June 1778 – 30 March 1840) was an iconic figure in Regency England, the arbiter of men's fashion, and a friend of the Prince Regent, the future King George IV. He established the mode of dress for men that rejected overly ornate fashions for one of understated, but perfectly fitted and tailored bespoke garments. This look was based on dark coats, full-length trousers rather than knee breeches and stockings, and above all immaculate shirt linen and an elaborately knotted cravat. He is credited with introducing, and establishing as fashion, the modern men's suit, worn with a necktie. He claimed he took five hours a day to dress, and recommended that boots be polished with champagne. His style of dress is often referred to as dandyism.
"being engaged in closing the stable door" (p. 7): British idioim; closing/shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted. I.e: trying to stop something bad happening when it has already happened and the situation cannot be changed.
Bishop’s mitre (p. 95): a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial head-dress of bishops and certain
abbots in the Roman Catholic Church, as well as in the Anglican Communion, some Lutheran churches, and also bishops
and certain other clergy in the Eastern Orthodox churches, Eastern Catholic Churches and the Oriental Orthodox Churches.
Bladder (p. 46): In this context: an air-bag, full of hot air.
Bollocks (p. 63): British idiom. The word is often used figuratively in British English and Hiberno-English as a noun to mean "nonsense", an expletive following a minor accident or misfortune, or an adjective to mean "poor quality" or "useless". Similarly, the common phrases "Bollocks to this!" or "That's a load of old bollocks" generally indicate contempt for a certain task, subject or opinion.
Bonhomie (p. 23): good-natured easy friendliness.
Broadwood (p. 85): A piano made by Broadwood and Sons, an English piano manufacturer, founded in 1728
Brideshead Regurgitated (p. 27): A reference to Evelyn Waugh’s novel 1945 Brideshead Revisited, which revolves around an aristocratic British family in the mid-20th century. (Further reading - New York Times review)
Brighton and Hove Argus (p. 23): The Argus is a local newspaper based in Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, with editions serving the city of Brighton and Hove and the other parts of both East and West Sussex. (Further reading - Brighton and Hove Argus website)
Brocket Hall (p. 28): Brocket Hall is an architecturally Grade I-listed classical three-to-four story country house
set in Brocket Hall Park and Garden at the northern end of the very large town council area of Hatfield,
Hertfordshire, England, 22 miles (35 km) from London by road. In its grounds are two golf courses and
seven smaller listed buildings, such as the early 17th-century house, Brocket Lea and The Temple built
by Paine later that century. (Further reading - Brocket Hall, Hertfordshire - Britain's most racy stately home)
“…burned the great library of Alexandria” (p. 42): The Library at Alexandria was one of the largest and most significant libraries in the ancient world, containing over 700,000 scrolls. The library was eventually destroyed, although accounts differ on how exactly that happened. Thomasina refers to a popular theory that the library was burned during Julius Caesar’s siege of the city in 48 BC.
Butts and Beaters (p. 51): The name 'driven grouse shooting' refers to the way in which the grouse are driven towards the hunters (termed 'guns') by beaters. A shooting party usually includes 8–10 guns who stand in a line in the butts—hides for shooting spaced some 20–30 m apart, screened by a turf or stone wall and usually sunken into the ground to minimize their profile—to shoot the grouse in flight.
C
Cabalistic (p. 31): Having an occult, mystical, or esoteric meaning .
Canard (p. 13): A false or unfounded report or story; especially a fabricated report; a groundless rumor or belief
Capability Brown (p. 31): Lancelot Brown (Baptised 30 August 1716 – 6 February 1783), more commonly known as Capability Brown, was an English landscape architect. He is remembered as "the last of the great English eighteenth-century artists to be accorded his due", and "England's greatest gardener." He designed over 170 parks, many of which still endure. His influence was so great that the contributions to the English garden made by his predecessors Charles Bridgeman and William Kent are often overlooked; even Kent's apologist Horace Walpole allowed that Kent had been followed by "a very able master." (See more of Capability Brown's work.)
Caroline Lamb (p. 24): Lady Caroline Lamb (13 November 1785 – 26 January 1828) was a British aristocrat and novelist, best known for her affair with Lord Byron in 1812. Her husband was William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, who later became Prime Minister.
Lamb's most famous work is Glenarvon, a Gothic novel that was released in 1816 just weeks after Byron's departure from England. Although published anonymously, Lamb's authorship was an open secret. It featured a thinly disguised pen-picture of herself and her former lover, who was painted as a war hero who turns traitor against Irish nationalism. The book was notable for featuring the first version of the Byronic hero outside of Byron's own work as well as a detailed scrutiny of the Romantic Period.
Byron responded to the novel; "I read Glenarvon too by Caro Lamb….God damn!" The book was a financial success that sold out several editions but was dismissed by critics as pulp fiction. However, Goethe deemed it worthy of serious literary consideration.
In 1819, Lamb put her ability to mimic Byron to use in the narrative poem "A New Canto." Years before, Lamb had impersonated Byron in a letter to his publishers to have them send her a portrait of Byron. It worked; the tone and substance of her request fooled them into sending the painting. She used that skill to respond to Byron's "Don Juan I and II". Lamb was most concerned with those allusions Byron had made about her; for example, the line "Some play the devil—and then write a novel" from "Don Juan II". In "A New Canto", Lamb wrote – as Byron – "I'm sick of fame; I'm gorged with it; so full I almost could regret the happier hour; When northern oracles proclaimed me dull." Byron never publicly responded to the poem. A reviewer of the time opined, in part; "The writer of this lively nonsense has evidently intended it as an imitation of Lord Byron. It is a rhapsody from beginning to end."
Lamb published three additional novels during her lifetime: Graham Hamilton (1822), Ada Reis (1823), and Penruddock (1823).
(Further reading - Lady Caroline Lamb website)
Caro (p. 24): Byron nicknamed Caroline Lamb: Caro, both short for Caroline and the Italian masculine for "dear," and they enjoyed secret assignations in which she would arrive disguised as a boy. Caro also provides the title of Hannah's revisionist book on Lady Caroline, which depicts her as a neglected Romantic genius, a verdict with which few scholars would agree.
"Ce soir il faut qu’on parle francais, je te demande" (p. 91): "Tonight it is necessary that one speaks French" Lady Croom, Act 2, Scene 7.
Chatsworth (p. 87): Chatsworth House in Derbyshire is the seat of the Duke of Devonshire, home to the aristocratic Cavendish family. Devonshire House was the family's home in London. Byron did have connections to the Cavendish family, through his paramour, Lady Caroline Lamb.
Chemical ‘Ladies’ (p. 20): Portable toilet.
“Childe Harold” (p. 32): reference to “Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage,” a narrative poem written by Lord Byron between 1812 and 1818. The poem describes the travels and reflections of a world-weary young man who, disillusioned with a life of pleasure and revelry, looks for distraction in foreign lands. (Read the poem here)
Chippendale (p. 66): Furniture style named for cabinet-maker and furniture design Thomas Chippendale (1718-1779), based on mid-Georgian, English Rococo and Neoclassical styles.
Claude (p. 29): Claude Lorrain; born Claude Gellée, dit le Lorrain; traditionally just Claude in English; c. 1600 – 23 November 1682) was a French painter, draughtsman and engraver of the Baroque era. He spent most of his life in Italy, and is admired for his achievements in landscape painting.
(See his work here.)
Close season (p. 17): the period of the year when it is prohibited to kill certain game or fish.
Coleridge (p. 29): Samuel Taylor Coleridge (21 October 1772 – 25 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic and philosopher who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets. He wrote the poems "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" and "Kubla Khan," as well as the major prose work Biographia Literaria. His critical work, especially on Shakespeare, was highly influential, and he helped introduce German idealist philosophy to English-speaking culture. He coined many familiar words and phrases, including the celebrated suspension of disbelief. He was a major influence on Emerson, and American transcendentalism.
Commode (p. 22): In the United Kingdom, the term "commode" is very frequently used for a chair, often on wheels, enclosing a chamber pot—as such it is used in hospitals and the homes of those with incontinence or limited mobility OR a chest of drawers or chiffonier of a decorative type popular in the 18th century.
Cornhill Magazine (p. 30): a Victorian magazine and literary journal named after Cornhill Street in London. (See digitized copies of Cornhill magazine.)
Corsican Brigands (p. 14): Corsica is a Mediterranean island SE of France. Corsica is known even today as a site of blood feuds and banditry. A brigand is a robber or bandit.
Coterie (p. 12): A small group of people who are interested in the same thing and who usually do not allow other people to join the group
Culpability (p. 87): A measure of the degree to which an agent, such as a person, can be held morally or legally responsible for action and inaction. Lady Croom's reference to Mr. Noakes as "Culpability" Noakes is a play on words based on his contemporary, Capability Brown.
Curlew (p. 89): a group of eight species of birds, characterised by long, slender, downcurved bills and mottled brown plumage.
Cycle-clips (p. 53): Thin straps that you wear around the bottom of your trousers when you are riding a bicycle to prevent the trousers from becoming caught in the bicycle's chain.
DDNB (p. 25): Dictionary of National Biography.
D. H. Lawrence (p. 23): David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, literary critic and painter who published as D. H. Lawrence. His collected works, among other things, represent an extended reflection upon the dehumanising effects of modernity and industrialisation. In them, some of the issues Lawrence explores are emotional health, vitality, spontaneity and instinct.
Doggerel (p. 44): Comic or burlesque, and usu. loose or irregular in measure; crude; having no aesthetic value; poorly written.
Derbyshire (p.5): County in the East Midlands of England (central England); predominantly agricultural
Diffident (p. 92): Lacking confidence in one's own ability, worth, or fitness; timid; shy; restrained or reserved in manner, conduct, etc.
E
East India Company (p. 30): The East India Company (EIC), originally chartered as the Governor and Company of Merchants of London trading into the East Indies, and more properly called the Honourable East India Company (HEIC), was an English, and later (from 1707) British joint-stock company, formed to pursue trade with the East Indies but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent, Qing Dynasty China, North-West Frontier Province and Balochistan. The company rose to account for half of the world's trade, particularly trade in basic commodities that included cotton, silk, indigo dye, salt, saltpetre, tea and opium. The company also ruled the beginnings of the British Empire in India.
East India Library in Blackfriars (p. 30): The India Office Records are a very large collection of documents relating to the administration of India from 1600 to 1947, the period spanning Company and British rule in India. The archive is held in London by the British Library and is publicly accessible. The records come from four main sources: the English and later British East India Company (1600–1858), the Board of Control (1784–1858), the India Office (1858–1947), and the Burma Office (1937–1948). The collection also includes records from many smaller related institutions. Overall, the collection is made up of approximately 175,000 items, including official publications and records, manuscripts, photographs, printed maps and private papers. These items take up approximately nine miles of shelving units.
In 1947, the year of Indian independence, ownership of the records transferred to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the British government. In 1967, the Office decided to move the records to a new facility on Blackfriars Road, where they were merged with the India Office Library. It was during this transition that the records were transformed into a modern archival collection. A classification system for the records was determined, most of which is still being used.
"Elder brother… being a Septimus." (p. 92): Septimus is the Latin word for seventh, and the name belongs to the same class as the masculine praenomina Quintus, Sextus, Octavius, Nonus, and Decimus, as well as the feminine names Prima, Secunda, Tertia, Quarta, Quinta, Sexta, Octavia, Nona, and Decima. Originally, the praenomen was probably used for a seventh child.
Edinburgh (p. 57): The second Edinburgh Review, founded in 1802, became one of the most influential British magazines of the 19th century. It promoted Romanticism and Whig politics. (Though it was also notoriously critical of some major Romantic poetry.)
Started on 10 October 1802 by Francis Jeffrey, Sydney Smith, Henry Brougham, and Francis Horner, it was published by Archibald Constable in quarterly issues until 1929. It began as a literary and political review. Under its first permanent editor, Francis Jeffrey (the first issue was edited by Sydney Smith), it was a strong supporter of the Whig party and liberal politics, and regularly called for political reform. Its main rival was the Quarterly Review which supported the Tories. The magazine was also noted for its attacks on the Lake Poets, particularly William Wordsworth.
"English Bards and Scotch Reviewers" (p. 32): Satirical poem written by Lord Byron. First published anonymously in 1809. An expanded version was released later that year. (Read the full poem.)
English Don (p. 25): A university professor, particularly one at Oxford or Cambridge.
Enlightenment (p. 31): The Age of Enlightenment (or simply the Enlightenment or Age of Reason) is the era from the 1650s or a bit earlier to about the 1780s in which cultural and intellectual forces in Western Europe emphasized reason, analysis and individualism rather than traditional lines of authority. It was promoted by "philosophes" and local thinkers in urban coffeehouses, salons and masonic lodges. It challenged the authority of institutions that were deeply rooted in society, such as the Catholic Church; there was much talk of ways to reform society with toleration, science and skepticism.
Eros (p. 6) - The Greek god of love; companion to Aphrodite.
Et in Arcadia Ego (p. 16): The translation of the phrase is "Even in Arcadia, there am I".
The usual interpretation is that "I" refers to death, and "Arcadia" means a utopian land.
It would thus be a memento mori: (remembrance of Death). A Latin phrase that most
famously appears as the title of two paintings by Nicolas Poussin.
Etonian (p. 9): A student or former student of Eton College. Eton College, often informally referred to as Eton, is an English independent boarding school located in Eton, Berkshire, near Windsor. It educates over 1,300 pupils, aged between 13 and 18 years and was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"
Euclid (p. 88): A Greek mathematician, often referred to as the "Father of Geometry". He was active in Alexandria during the reign of Ptolemy I (323–283 BC). His Elements is one of the most influential works in the history of mathematics, serving as the main textbook for teaching mathematics (especially geometry) from the time of its publication until the late 19th or early 20th century.
"Except the one in the wheelchair" (p. 65): Bernard is referring to Stephen Hawking, the British theoretical physicist stricken with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, better known in the U.S. as Lou Gehrig's disease) and author of the best-selling A Brief History of Time (1988).
F
Fastidiously (p. 61): Very careful about how you do something.
Fermat’s Last Theorem (p. 6): In number theory, Fermat's Last Theorem (sometimes called Fermat's conjecture, especially in older texts) states that no three positive integers a, b, and c can satisfy the equation an + bn = cn for any integer value of n greater than two.
This theorem was first conjectured by Pierre de Fermat in 1637 in the margin of a copy of Arithmetica where he claimed he had a proof that was too large to fit in the margin. The first successful proof was released in 1994 by Andrew Wiles, and formally published in 1995, after 358 years of effort by mathematicians. The unsolved problem stimulated the development of algebraic number theory in the 19th century and the proof of the modularity theorem in the 20th century. It is among the most notable theorems in the history of mathematics and prior to its proof it was in the Guinness Book of World Records for "most difficult mathematical problems." (Learn more about Fermat's Last Theorem.)
G
Gallic Wars (p. 6) : The Gallic Wars were a series of military campaigns waged by the Roman proconsul Julius Caesar against several Gallic tribes. Rome's war against the Gallic tribes lasted from 58 BC to 50 BC and culminated in the decisive Battle of Alesia in 52 BC, in which a complete Roman victory resulted in the expansion of the Roman Republic over the whole of Gaul (mainly present day France and Belgium). The wars paved the way for Julius Caesar to become the sole ruler of the Roman Republic. The phrase “The Britons live on milk and meat” ("lacte et carne vivunt") comes from Roman commentaries on the Gallic wars.
Gibe (p. 41): A taunting or sarcastic remark.
Gothic Novel (P. 30): European Romantic, pseudo-medieval fiction having a prevailing atmosphere of mystery and terror. Its heyday was the 1790s, but it underwent frequent revivals in subsequent centuries.
Called Gothic because its imaginative impulse was drawn from medieval buildings and ruins, such novels commonly used such settings as castles or monasteries equipped with subterranean passages, dark battlements, hidden panels, and trapdoors. The vogue was initiated in England by Horace Walpole’s immensely successful Castle of Otranto (1765). His most respectable follower was Ann Radcliffe, whose Mysteries of Udolpho (1794) and Italian (1797) are among the best examples of the genre.
Grand Tour (p. 29): A common occurrence for the wealthy and aristocratic in the 17th
and 18th centuries, the Grand Tour was a two- to four-year trip around Europe taken by young
men and women to broaden their horizons, and learn about the culture, language and
geography of other countries.
Grassed (p. 61): To tell the police about somebody's criminal activities.
Groom (p. 7): The person responsible for some or all aspects of the management of horses
and/or the care of the stables themselves.
Grouse (p. 48): A group of birds that inhabit temperate and subarctic regions of the
northern hemisphere. Grouse are heavily built like other Galliformes such as chickens.
Grotto (p. 68): Any type of natural or artificial cave that is associated with modern, historic, or prehistoric use by humans. When it is not an artificial garden feature, a grotto is often a small cave near water and often flooded or liable to flood at high tide.
Gunnery (p. 88): The operation of guns and artillery
H
Ha-ha (p. 24): a recessed landscape design element that creates a vertical barrier
while preserving views. The design includes a turfed incline which slopes downward
to a sharply vertical face, typically a masonry retaining wall. Ha-has are used in
landscape design to prevent access to a garden, for example by grazing livestock,
without obstructing views. In security design, the element is used to deter vehicular
access to a site while minimizing visual obstruction. The name "ha-ha" derives from
the unexpected (i.e., amusing) moment of discovery when, on approach, the recessed
wall suddenly becomes visible.
Harrow (p. 36): Harrow School, commonly referred to as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.[2] There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243, but the Harrow School of today was formally founded by John Lyon under a Royal Charter of Elizabeth I in 1572.[3] Harrow is one of the original nine public schools that were regulated by the Public Schools Act 1868.
Headlong Hall (p. 30): the first novel by Thomas Love Peacock, written in 1815 and published in 1816. (Read Headlong Hall online.)
Heather (p. 50): Heather grows vigorously on peat and acid soils. Three main varieties are found
on British moors. Ling (Calluna vulgaris) a bushy evergreen shrub with many, often tortuous stems,
is by far the most common. It can grow to 60cms, twice the height of the other two. Cross-leaved
heath (Erica tetralix) and bell heather (Erica Onerea) - Ling is the last of the three to flower. In late
August it covers the hilltops with a carpet of purple. Heather is kept young and vigorous by controlled
burning. If left unburned, it eventually grows long and lank, reducing its nutritional value.
Henry Fuseli (p. 66) (7 February 1741 – 17 April 1825) was a Swiss painter, draughtsman and writer
on art who spent much of his life in Britain. (See Henry Fuseli's work.)
Hermitage (p. 29): A settlement where a person or group lives religiously, in seclusion
Hobbes (p. 88): (5 April 1588 – 4 December 1679), in some older texts Thomas Hobbs of Malmsbury, was an English philosopher, best known today for his work on political philosophy. His 1651 book Leviathan established social contract theory, the foundation of most later Western political philosophy.
Holograph (p. 58): a manuscript handwritten by the person named as its author.
Horace Walpole (p. 17): Horatio Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford (24 September 1717 – 2 March 1797) was an English art historian, man of letters, antiquarian and Whig politician. In 1764 he anonymously published his Gothic novel, The Castle of Otranto, claiming on its title page that it was a translation "from the Original Italian of Onuphirio Muralto". The second edition's preface, according to James Watt, "has often been regarded as a manifesto for the modern Gothic romance, stating that his work, now subtitled 'A Gothic Story', sought to restore the qualities of imagination and invention to contemporary fiction". However, there is a playfulness in the prefaces to both editions and in the narration within the text itself. The novel opens with the son of Manfred (the Prince of Otranto) being crushed under a massive helmet that appears as a result of supernatural causes. However, that moment, along with the rest of the unfolding plot, includes a mixture of both ridiculous and sublime supernatural elements. The plot finally reveals how Manfred's family is tainted in a way that served as a model for successive Gothic plots.
Humphry Repton’s ‘Red Books’ (p. 14): Humphry Repton (21 April 1752 – 24 March 1818) was the last great English landscape designer of the eighteenth century, often regarded as the successor to Capability Brown; he also sowed the seeds of the more intricate and eclectic styles of the 19th century. That Repton, with no real experience of practical horticulture, became an overnight success, is a tribute to his undeniable talent, but also to the unique way he presented his work. To help clients visualize his designs, Repton produced 'Red Books' (so called for their binding) with explanatory text and watercolors with a system of overlays to show 'before' and 'after' views. In this he differed from Capability Brown, who worked almost exclusively with plans and rarely illustrated or wrote about his work. Repton's overlays were soon copied by the Philadelphian Bernard M'Mahon in his 1806 American Gardener's Calendar.
I
"I had a dream…in the moonless air" (p. 83) : from "Darkness" by Lord Byron
Improved Newcomen Steam Pump (p. 89): The atmospheric engine invented by Thomas Newcomen
in 1712, often referred to simply as a Newcomen engine, was the first practical device to harness the
power of steam to produce mechanical work. Newcomen engines were used throughout Britain and
Europe, principally to pump water out of mines, starting in the early 18th century. James Watt's later
Watt steam engine was an improved version of the Newcomen engine. As a result, Watt is today better
known than Newcomen in relation to the origin of the steam engine.
The main problem with the Newcomen design was that it was very expensive to operate.
After the cylinder was cooled to create the vacuum, the cylinder walls were cold enough to condense
some of the steam as it was admitted. This meant that a considerable amount of fuel was being used
just to heat the cylinder back to the point where the steam would start to fill it again. As the heat losses
were related to the surfaces, while useful work related to the volume, increases in the size of the engine
increased efficiency. Newcomen engines became larger in time. However, efficiency did not matter very
much within the context of a colliery, where coal was freely available.
Newcomen's engine was only replaced when James Watt improved it in 1769 to avoid this problem (Watt had been asked to repair a model of a Newcomen engine by Glasgow University. A model exaggerated the scale problem of the Newcomen engine). In the Watt steam engine, condensation took place in a separate container, attached to the steam cylinder via a pipe. When a valve on the pipe was opened, the vacuum in the condenser would, in turn, evacuate that part of the cylinder below the piston. This eliminated the cooling of the main cylinder, and dramatically reduced fuel use. It also enabled the development of a double-acting cylinder, with upwards and downwards power strokes more suited to transmitting power to a wheel.
Watt's design, introduced in 1769, did not eliminate Newcomen engines immediately. Watt's vigorous defence of his patents resulted in the desire to avoid royalty payments as far as possible.
The expiry of the patents led to a rush to install Watt engines in the 1790s, and Newcomen engines were eclipsed, even in collieries.
Ineradicable (p. 61): Not eradicable; not capable of being eradicated, rooted out, or completely removed.
Iterated algorithm (p. 47): Any process of successive approximation used in such problems as numerical solution of algabraic equations, differential equations, or the interpolation of values of a function. Also known as iteration.
J
Jeffrey (p. 57): Francis Jeffrey, Lord Jeffrey (23 October 1773 – 26 January 1850) was a Scottish judge and literary critic. Editor of the Edinburgh Review.
Journal of English Studies (p. 25): The Review of English Studies was founded in 1925 to publish literary-historical research in all areas of English literature and the English language from the earliest period to the present. From the outset, RES has welcomed scholarship and criticism arising from newly discovered sources or advancing fresh interpretation of known material. Successive editors have built on this tradition while responding to innovations in the discipline and reinforcing the journal’s role as a forum for the best new research.
Just William books (p. 23): Just William is the first book of children's short stories about the young school boy William Brown, written by Richmal Crompton, and published in 1922. The book was the first in the series of William Brown books which was the basis for numerous television series, films and radio adaptations. Just William is also sometimes used as a title for the series of books as a whole, and is also the name of various television, film and radio adaptations of the books. The William stories first appeared in Home magazine and Happy Mag.
K
Kew (p. 16): A suburban district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north-east of Richmond and 7.1 miles (11.4 km) west by south-west of Charing Cross. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is also the home of important historical documents such as Domesday Book, which is on public display at The National Archives.
L
Landskip (p. 6): Archaic variant of landscape
‘Latin Unseen’ (p. 39): A Latin passage for translation in a test or examination, not previously read or prepared.
Leibniz (p. 65): Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz (July 1, 1646 – November 14, 1716) was a German mathematician and philosopher. Leibniz developed calculus independently of Isaac Newton, and Leibniz's mathematical notation has been widely used ever since it was published. He became one of the most prolific inventors in the field of mechanical calculators.
Lesbos (p. 45): A Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea.
Levant (p. 73): The area consisting of those countries bordering on the eastern Mediterranean Sea from Turkey to Egypt.
Leviathan (p. 88): Leviathan or The Matter, Forme and Power of a Common Wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil—commonly referred to as Leviathan—is a book written by Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679) and published in 1651 (revised Latin edition 1668). The work concerns the structure of society and legitimate government, and is regarded as one of the earliest and most influential examples of social contract theory. He declares the pessimistic philosophy that humans are fundamentally brutish and selfish creatures.
Linnean Society (p. 75) The Linnean Society of London is the world’s oldest active biological society. Founded in 1788, the Society takes its name from the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) whose botanical, zoological and library collections have been in its keeping since 1829.
Lisbon (p. 45): the capital and the largest city of Portugal.
Lisbon (p. 45): The capital and largest city in Portugal
"Look to the mote in your own eye" (p. 64): A biblical reference to the KJV of Matthew 7:5: ‘And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?’ In the NIV: "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?”
Lords (p. 36): Lord's Cricket Ground, generally known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St. John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), the European Cricket Council (ECC) and, until August 2005, the International Cricket Council (ICC). Lord's is widely referred to as the "home of cricket" and is home to the world's oldest sporting museum.
Lord Byron (p. 25):
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, later George Gordon Noel, 6th Baron Byron, FRS
(22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), commonly known simply as Lord Byron, was an English
poet and a leading figure in the Romantic movement. Among Byron's best-known works
are the lengthy narrative poems "Don Juan" and "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage" and the
short lyric "She Walks in Beauty." He is regarded as one of the greatest British poets and
remains widely read and influential.
He travelled all over Europe especially in Italy where he lived for seven years and then
joined the Greek War of Independence, fighting the Ottoman Empire, for which Greeks
revere him as a national hero. He died one year later at age 36 from a fever contracted
while in Missolonghi in Greece.
Often described as the most flamboyant and notorious of the major Romantics, Byron
was celebrated in life for aristocratic excesses, including huge debts, numerous love affairs
with both sexes, rumours of a scandalous liaison with his half-sister, and self-imposed exile.
He also fathered the Countess Ada Lovelace, whose work on Charles Babbage's Analytical
Engine is considered a founding document in the field of computer science, and Allegra Byron,
who died in childhood - as well as, possibly, Elizabeth Medora Leigh out of wedlock.
Lord Holland (p. 12): Henry Richard Vassall-Fox, 3rd Baron Holland PC (21 November 1773 – 22 October 1840) was an English politician and a major figure in Whig politics in the early 19th century.
M
Malta packet (p. 45): The Falmouth Packet Service commenced to operate out of Falmouth in 1689 and ceased operations in 1850. The ships carried mail to and from the far corners of the British Empire.
Marie of Romania (p. 63): was the last Queen consort of Romania as the wife of King Ferdinand I.
Milton (p. 11): John Milton (12/9/1608-11/8/1674) was an English poet, most famous for the blank-verse epic Paradise Lost. Other notable works include Paradise Regained, Samson Agonistes, "On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity," "On Shakespeare," “L’Allegro," “Il Penseroso," and the pastoral elegy "Lycidas.”
Paradise Lost, which chronicles Satan’s temptation of Adam and Eve and their expulsion from Eden, is widely regarded as his masterpiece and one of the greatest epic poems in world literature. Since its first publication, the work has continually elicited debate regarding its theological themes, political commentary, and its depiction of the fallen angel Satan who is often viewed as the protagonist of the work. The epic has had wide-reaching effect, inspiring other long poems, such as Alexander Pope‘s The Rape of the Lock, William Wordsworth‘s The Prelude and John Keats‘s Endymion, as well as Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein, and deeply influencing the work of Percy Bysshe Shelley and William Blake, who illustrated an edition of the epic.
During English Civil War, Milton was avid supporter of the Puritans and Oliver Cromwell, serving as secretary for foreign languages in Cromwell’s government. After the Restoration of Charles II in 1660, Milton was arrested, fined and released. (http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poet/john-milton)
Monograph (p. 25): A learned treatise on a small area of learning; also, a written account of a single thing
Moore (p. 44): Thomas Moore (28 May 1779 – 25 February 1852) was an Irish poet, singer, songwriter, and entertainer, now best remembered for the lyrics of "The Minstrel Boy" and "The Last Rose of Summer." He was responsible, with John Murray, for burning Lord Byron's memoirs after his death. In his lifetime he was often referred to as Anacreon Moore.
Moorland (p. 50): A type of habitat found in upland areas in temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands and montane grasslands and shrublands biomes, characterized by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils. Moorland nowadays generally means uncultivated hill land (such as Dartmoor in South West England), but the Old English mōr also refers to low-lying wetlands (such as Sedgemoor, also SW England). It is closely related to heath.
N
Napoleonic fit (p. 45): The Napoleonic era is a period in the history of France and Europe. It is generally classified as including the fourth and final stage of the French Revolution, the first being the National Assembly, the second being the Legislative Assembly, and the third being the Directory. The Napoleonic era begins roughly with Napoleon Bonaparte's coup d'état, overthrowing the Directory, establishing the French Consulate, and ends during the Hundred Days and his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo (9 November 1799 – 28 June 1815).
Whilst working to stabilize France, Napoleon also sought to extend his authority throughout Europe. Napoleon's armies conquered the Iberian and Italian peninsulas, occupied lands, and he forced Austria, Prussia, and Russia to ally with him and respect French hegemony in Europe. The United Kingdom refused to recognize French hegemony and continued the war throughout.
Newstead (p. 32): Newstead Abbey in Nottinghamshire, England, the ancestral home of Lord Byron.
Newtonian (p. 9): Referring to Sir Issac Newton: an English physicist and mathematician (described in his own day as a "natural philosopher") who is widely recognized as one of the most influential scientists of all time and as a key figure in the scientific revolution. His book Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy), first published in 1687, laid the foundations for classical mechanics. Newton also made seminal contributions to optics and shares credit with Gottfried Leibniz for the development of calculus.
Newton’s law of motion (p. 9): Newton's laws of motion are three physical laws that together laid the foundation for classical mechanics. They describe the relationship between a body and the forces acting upon it, and its motion in response to said forces. They have been expressed in several different ways over nearly three centuries,[1] and can be summarized as follows:
FIRST LAW: When viewed in an inertial reference frame, an object either remains at rest or continues to move at a constant velocity, unless acted upon by an external force.[2][3]
SECOND LAW: The vector sum of the forces F on an object is equal to the mass m of that object multiplied by the acceleration vector a of the object.
THIRD LAW: When one body exerts a force on a second body, the second body simultaneously exerts a force equal in magnitude and opposite in direction on the first body.
The three laws of motion were first compiled by Isaac Newton in his Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy), first published in 1687. Newton used them to explain and investigate the motion of many physical objects and systems. For example, in the third volume of the text, Newton showed that these laws of motion, combined with his law of universal gravitation, explained Kepler's laws of planetary motion.
1. The first law says that an object at rest tends to stay at rest, and an object in motion tends to stay in motion, with the same direction and speed. Motion (or lack of motion) cannot change without an unbalanced force acting. If nothing is happening to you, and nothing does happen, you will never go anywhere. If you're going in a specific direction, unless something happens to you, you will always go in that direction. Forever.
2. The second law says that the acceleration of an object produced by a net (total) applied force is directly related to the magnitude of the force, the same direction as the force, and inversely related to the mass of the object (inverse is a value that is one over another number... the inverse of 2 is 1/2). The second law shows that if you exert the same force on two objects of different mass, you will get different accelerations (changes in motion). The effect (acceleration) on the smaller mass will be greater (more noticeable). The effect of a 10 newton force on a baseball would be much greater than that same force acting on a truck. The difference in effect (acceleration) is entirely due to the difference in their masses.
3. The third law says that for every action (force) there is an equal and opposite reaction (force). Forces are found in pairs. Think about the time you sit in a chair. Your body exerts a force downward and that chair needs to exert an equal force upward or the chair will collapse. It's an issue of symmetry. Acting forces encounter other forces in the opposite direction. There's also the example of shooting a cannonball. When the cannonball is fired through the air (by the explosion), the cannon is pushed backward. The force pushing the ball out was equal to the force pushing the cannon back, but the effect on the cannon is less noticeable because it has a much larger mass. That example is similar to the kick when a gun fires a bullet forward.
O
Obelisk (p. 16): A stone pillar, typically having a square or rectangular cross section
and a pyramidal top, set up as a monument or landmark.
Observer (p. 26): Sunday sister paper to British national newspaper The Guardian.
Oeuvre (p. 25): (ˈo͞ovrə/) A substantial body of work constituting the lifework of a writer, an artist, or
a composer.
Old Murray ( p. 24): James Murray (1837-1915), primary editor of the Oxford English Dictionary.
Onan (p. 6): A minor biblical person in the Book of Genesis chapter 38, who was the second son of Judah. Like his older brother, Er, Onan was killed by Yahweh. Onan's death was retribution for being "evil in the sight of the Lord" through being unwilling to father a child by his widowed sister-in-law.
After Onan's brother Er was slain by God, his father Judah told him to fulfill his duty as a brother-in-law to Tamar, by giving her offspring. However, when Onan had sex with Tamar, he withdrew before climax and "spilled his seed [or semen] on the ground," since any child born would not legally be considered his heir. He disregarded the principle of a levirate union, so God slew him.
Opencast mine (p. 90): A surface mining technique of extracting rock or minerals from the earth
by their removal from an open pit or borrow.
This form of mining differs from extractive methods that require tunneling into the earth such as
long wall mining. Open-pit mines are used when deposits of commercially useful minerals or rock
are found near the surface; that is, where the overburden (surface material covering the valuable
deposit) is relatively thin or the material of interest is structurally unsuitable for tunneling (as would
be the case for sand, cinder, and gravel). For minerals that occur deep below the surface - where the
overburden is thick or the mineral occurs as veins in hard rock - underground mining methods extract
the valued material.
Ovid (p. 46): Ancient Roman poet best known for Metamorphoses. His verse had immense influence both by its imaginative interpretations of classical myth and as an example of supreme technical accomplishment.
P
Parterre (p. 93): A formal garden constructed on a level surface, consisting of
planting beds, typically in symmetrical patterns, separated and connected by
gravel pathways. Beds may be edged in stone or tightly clipped hedging and
may not contain flowers.
Pedant (p. 94): One who makes a show of knowledge; one who is unimaginative or who
unduly emphasizes minutiae in the presentation or use of knowledge; a formalist or
precisionist in teaching.
Penurious (p. 46): Extremely stingy; parsimonious; miserly; extremely poor; destitute;
indigent; poorly or inadequately supplied; lacking in means or resources.
Pericles (p. 75): Arguably the most prominent and influential Greek statesman, orator and general of Athens during the Golden Age— specifically the time between the Persian and Peloponnesian wars.
Pianoforte (p. 45): Piano
Piccadilly Recreation (p. 12): In Arcadia this is fictional publication reviewing and satirizing literature.
Picturesque (p. 8): An aesthetic ideal introduced into English cultural debate in 1782 by William Gilpin in Observations on the River Wye, and Several Parts of South Wales, etc. Relative Chiefly to Picturesque Beauty; made in the Summer of the Year 1770, a practical book which instructed England’s leisured travelers to examine “the face of a country by the rules of picturesque beauty”. Picturesque, along with the aesthetic and cultural strands of Gothic and Celticism, was a part of the emerging Romantic sensibility of the 18th century.
The term “picturesque” needs to be understood in relationship to two other aesthetic ideals: the beautiful and the sublime. By the last third of the 18th century, Enlightenment and rationalist ideas about aesthetics were being challenged by looking at the experiences of beauty and sublimity as being non-rational. Aesthetic experience was not just a rational decision – one did not look at a pleasing curved form and decide it was beautiful –, rather it was a matter of basic human instinct and came naturally. Edmund Burke, in his 1757 Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and the Beautiful, argued that the soft gentle curves appealed to the male sexual desire, while the sublime horrors appealed to our desires for self-preservation. Picturesque arose as a mediator between these opposed ideals of beauty and the sublime, showing the possibilities that existed in between these two rationally idealized states. As Thomas Gray wrote in 1765 of the Scottish Highlands: “The mountains are ecstatic […]. None but those monstrous creatures of God know how to join so much beauty with so much horror.”
Po-faced (p. 54): having a serious expression on the face; too serious
Portmanteau (p. 45): A large suitcase
Preoration (p. 63): The concluding part of a discourse and especially an oration; a highly rhetorical speech
PT (p. 69): Physical Training, the British equivalent of gym class.
Ptolemy (p. 42): The Egyptian ruling family to whom Cleopatra was born.
Q
QED (p. 6): An initialism of the Latin phrase quod erat demonstrandum, originating from the Greek analogous hóper édei deîxai meaning, "which had to be demonstrated." The phrase is traditionally placed in its abbreviated form at the end of a mathematical proof or philosophical argument when what was specified in the enunciation — and in the setting-out—has been exactly restated as the conclusion of the demonstration. The abbreviation thus signals the completion of the proof.
Queen Dido (p. 40): According to ancient Greek and Roman sources, the founder and first Queen of Carthage (in modern-day Tunisia). She is primarily known from the account given by the Roman poet Virgil in his Aeneid.
Quantum (p. 52): quantum physics, mechanics, theory - a fundamental branch of physics which deals with physical phenomena at nanoscopic scales where the action is on the order of the Planck constant. It departs from classical mechanics primarily at the quantum realm ofatomic and subatomic length scales. Developed out of scientific inquiry into the nature of light in the 17th & 18th centuries
Quarto (p. 5): The size of a piece of paper cut four from a sheet; also : paper or a page of this size; a book printed on quarto pages.
R
Mrs. Radcliffe (p. 17): Ann Radcliffe (née, Ward 9 July 1764 – 7 February 1823) was an English author and a pioneer of the Gothic novel. Her style is romantic in its vivid descriptions of landscapes and long travel scenes, yet the Gothic element is obvious through her use of the supernatural. It was her technique " the explained supernatural," the final revelation of inexplicable phenomena, that helped the Gothic novel achieve respectability in the 1790s. The Mysteries of Udolpho is one of her published works.
Rake (p. 73): A term applied to a man who is habituated to immoral conduct, particularly womanizing. Often a rake was also prodigal who wasted his (usually inherited) fortune on gambling, wine, women and song, incurring lavish debts in the process.
Recording Angel (p. 17): The Recording angel is, in Judaic, Christian and Islamic angelology, one or more angels assigned by God with the task of recording the events, actions, and/or prayers of each individual human. In the Book of Malachi 3:16, the prophet describes Heaven as having conferring angels, and "The LORD took note and listened, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who revered the LORD and thought on his name." In Judaic thought, Gabriel is the principal recording angel, as shown in Ezekiel 9:3-4, where he is "the man clothed in linen, who had the writing case at his side" who put the mark of Passover on Jewish houses in Egypt.
Rill (p. 16): A very small brook
Rogers (p. 44): Samuel Rogers (30 July 1763 – 18 December 1855) was an English poet, during his lifetime one of the most celebrated, although his fame has long since been eclipsed by his Romantic colleagues and friends Wordsworth, Coleridge and Byron. His recollections of these and other friends such as Charles James Fox are key sources for information about London artistic and literary life, with which he was intimate, and which he used his wealth to support. He made his money as a banker and was also a discriminating art collector.
Romantic Imagination (p. 29): Romanticism (also the Romantic era or the Romantic period) was an artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe toward the end of the 18th century and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate period from 1800 to 1850. Partly a reaction to the Industrial Revolution, it was also a revolt against the aristocratic social and political norms of the Age of Enlightenment and a reaction against the scientific rationalization of nature. It was embodied most strongly in the visual arts, music, and literature, but had a major impact on historiography, education and the natural sciences. Its effect on politics was considerable and complex; while for much of the peak Romantic period it was associated with liberalism and radicalism, its long-term effect on the growth of nationalism was probably more significant.
The movement validated intense emotion as an authentic source of aesthetic experience, placing new emphasis on such emotions as apprehension, horror and terror, and awe—especially that which is experienced in confronting the sublimity of untamed nature and its picturesque qualities: both new aesthetic categories. It elevated folk art and ancient custom to a noble status, made spontaneity a desirable characteristic (as in the musical impromptu), and argued for a natural epistemology of human activities, as conditioned by nature in the form of language and customary usage. Romanticism reached beyond the rational and Classicist ideal models to raise a revived medievalism and elements of art and narrative perceived to be authentically medieval in an attempt to escape the confines of population growth, urban sprawl, and industrialism. Romanticism embraced the exotic, the unfamiliar, and the distant in modes more authentic than Rococo chinoiserie, harnessing the power of the imagination to envision and to escape.
Rooks (p. 17): A European bird, Corvus frugilegus, of the crow family.
Rota (p. 11): An infantry or cavalry unit. In Poland it was known increasingly from the 16th century by the alternative name of Chorągiew.
After about 1630, the term was used to describe a file of 6-10 soldiers in formations (especially infantry) in the Polish army raised on the Foreign model.
Round the houses (p. 93): To waste time doing or asking something in a very complicated way
S
Salvator Rosa (p. 15): Salvator Rosa (1615 – March 15, 1673) was an Italian Baroque painter, poet and printmaker, active in Naples, Rome and Florence. As a painter, he is best known as an "unorthodox and extravagant" and a "perpetual rebel" proto-Romantic.
The Second Law of Thermodynamics (p. 69): Thermodynamics is the branch of physics that deals with the relationships between heat and other forms of energy. The first law of thermodynamics deals with the conservation of energy. The second law of thermodynamics states that entropy cannot decrease in a system for any spontaneous process. Entropy refers to the amount of disorder in a system. An example of this is that heat cannot pass from a colder body to a warmer body, but only from a warmer body to a colder body.
"She walks in beauty like the night…her eye" (p. 65): A poem written in 1814 by Lord Byron, and is one of his most famous works. It is said to have been inspired by an event in Byron’s life; while at a ball, Byron met Mrs. John Wilmot, his cousin by marriage. She was in mourning, wearing a black dress set with spangles, as in the opening lines:
“She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies”
He was struck by her unusual beauty, and the next morning the poem was written. (Read the full poem.)
Shilling (p. 84): A coin worth one-twelfth of a pound sterling in British currency. A shilling is made up of twelve pence; therefore, when Thomasina says of the steam engine, "It repays eleven pence in the shilling at most," she means one will only get eleven out of the twelve pence put in to run the engine.
Snipe (p. 17): Any of about 25 wading bird species. They are characterized by a very long, slender bill and crypsis (camouflage) plumage.
Sod (p. 20) : This word has many uses. My father always used to say "Oh Sod!" or "Sod it!" if something went wrong and he didn't want to swear too badly in front of the children. If someone is a sod or an "old sod" then it means they are a bit of a bastard or an old git. "Sod off" is like saying "piss off" or "get lost" & "sod you" means something like "f*** off". It also means a chunk of lawn of course. You can usually tell the difference!
Solicitor (p. 57): A member of the legal profession qualified to deal with conveyancing, the drawing up of wills, and other legal matters.
Mr. Southey (p. 11): Robert Southey (12 August 1774 – 21 March 1843) was an English poet of the Romantic school, one of the so-called "Lake Poets", and Poet Laureate for 30 years from 1813 to his death in 1843. Although his fame has been long eclipsed by that of his contemporaries and friends William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Southey's verse still enjoys some popularity.
Southey was also a prolific letter writer, literary scholar, essay writer, historian and biographer. His biographies include the life and works of John Bunyan, John Wesley, William Cowper, Oliver Cromwell and Horatio Nelson. The last has rarely been out of print since its publication in 1813 and was adapted for the screen in the 1926 British film, Nelson. He was also a renowned scholar of Portuguese and Spanish literature and history, translating a number of works from those two languages into English and writing a History of Brazil (part of his planned History of Portugal, which he never completed) and a History of the Peninsular War. Perhaps his most enduring contribution to literary history is the children's classic The Story of the Three Bears, the original Goldilocks story, first published in Southey's prose collection The Doctor.
Poems referenced: "Thalaba" - Thalaba the Destroyer, an 1801 epic poem and "Madoc" - an 1805 epic poem composed by Robert Southey. It is based on the legend of Madoc, a supposed Welsh prince who fled internecine conflict and sailed to America in the 12th century.
Sub Rosa (p. 68): The Latin phrase sub rosa means "under the rose" and is used in English to denote secrecy or confidentiality, similar to the Chatham House Rule. The rose as a symbol of secrecy has an ancient history.
Superscription (p. 53): something written or engraved on the surface of, outside, or above something else.
Sussex (p. 26): from the Old English Sūþsēaxe ('South Saxons'), is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. Clockwise, it is bounded to the west by Hampshire; north by Surrey, north-east by Kent, south by the English Channel and is divided for local government into West Sussex and East Sussex and the city of Brighton and Hove. Brighton and Hove was created as a unitary authority in 1997, and was granted City status in 2000. Until then, Chichester had been Sussex's only city.
T
Teal (p. 17): A very small, brightly patterned duck, the Green-winged Teal prefers shallow ponds with lots of emergent vegetation. Along the coast, it prefers tidal creeks, mudflats, and marshes to more open water.
Thackeray (p. 30) William Makepeace Thackeray (18 July 1811 – 24 December 1863) was an English novelist of the 19th century. He was famous for his satirical works, particularly Vanity Fair, a panoramic portrait of English society.
Theodolite (p. 5): A precision instrument for measuring angles in the
horizontal and vertical planes. Theodolites are used mainly for surveying
applications, and have been adapted for specialized purposes in fields like
metrology and rocket launch technology. A modern theodolite consists of
a movable telescope mounted within two perpendicular axes—the horizontal
or trunnion axis, and the vertical axis. When the telescope is pointed at a target
object, the angle of each of these axes can be measured with great precision,
typically to seconds of arc.
Thomas Love Peacock (p. 30): an English novelist, poet, and official of the East India
Company. He was a close friend of Percy Bysshe Shelley and they influenced each other's
work. Peacock wrote satirical novels, each with the same basic setting — characters at a
table discussing and criticizing the philosophical opinions of the day.
Tom Moore (p. 57): Thomas Moore (1779-1852): Irish-born Romantic poet, contemporary of Lord Byron and Sir Walter Scott. Wrote a biography of Byron in 1830.
Trainers (p. 78): Sneakers
Trinity (p. 36): Trinity College, part of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England.
Trumps (p. 68): turn up trumps (of a person) to bring about a happy or successful conclusion (to an event, problem, etc.), especially unexpectedly.
Tush (p. 44): expressing disapproval, impatience, or dismissal. In Slang: rear-end, butt, behind
U
Up the pole on that one (p. 24): In confusion or error.
V
Valet (p. 74): Male servants who serve as personal attendants to their employer.
Viaduct (p. 68): A long bridge-like structure, typically a series of arches, carrying a road or railroad across a valley or other low ground.
Virgil (p. 29): Publius Vergilius Maro (October 15, 70 BC – September 21, 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He is known for three major works of Latin literature, the Eclogues (or Bucolics), the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid. A number of minor poems, collected in the Appendix Vergiliana, are sometimes attributed to him.
Virgil is traditionally ranked as one of Rome's greatest poets. His Aeneid has been considered the national epic of ancient Rome from the time of its composition to the present day. Modeled after Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, the Aeneid follows the Trojan refugee Aeneas as he struggles to fulfill his destiny and arrive on the shores of Italy—in Roman mythology the founding act of Rome. Virgil's work has had wide and deep influence on Western literature, most notably the Divine Comedy of Dante, in which Virgil appears as Dante's guide through hell and purgatory.
W
"When Father Painted the Parlour" (p. 65): "When Father Papered the Parlour" is a popular song, written and composed by R. P. Weston and Fred J. Barnes in 1910. It was performed by comedian Billy Williams, and was one of his most successful hits. Bernard mis-speaks the title in the script.
Mr. Walter Scott (p. 13): Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet, (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832) was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright, and poet. Scott was the first English-language author to have a truly international career in his lifetime, with many contemporary readers in Europe, Australia, and North America. His novels and poetry are still read, and many of his works remain classics of both English-language literature and of Scottish literature. Famous titles include Ivanhoe, Rob Roy, The Lady of the Lake, Waverley, The Heart of Midlothian and The Bride of Lammermoor.
Woodcock (p. 17): Woodcocks have stocky bodies, brown and blackish plumage and long slender bills.
Wordsworth (p. 34): William Wordsworth (7 April 1770 – 23 April 1850) was a major English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in Engthlish literature with their joint publication Lyrical Ballads (1798).
Wordsworth's magnum opus is generally considered to be The Prelude, a semiautobiographical poem of his early years that he revised and expanded a number of times. It was posthumously titled and published, before which it was generally known as "the poem to Coleridge". Wordsworth was Britain's Poet Laureate from 1843 until his death in 1850.
Wrinklies (p. 21): old people.
Y
"Yes - The barge she sat in…I hope you die."(p. 43): The essence of this exchange is that Septimus is using Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra - therefore not actually translating.