Famous Last Words

Contains an anthology of famous last words, quotes, deathbed scenes, epitaphs, and obituaries from a number of notable individuals including Bob Hope, Alexander Blackwell, and Roman Emperor Vespasian.

In the final days of the Second World War, Hugh Selwyn Mauberley scrawls his desperate account on the walls and ceilings of his ice-cold prison high in the Austrian Alps. Officers of the liberating army discover his frozen, disfigured corpse and his astonishing testament - the sordid truth that he alone possessed. Fascinated but horrified, they learn of a dazzling array of characters caught up in a scandal and political corruption.Famous Last Words is part-thriller, part-horror story; it is also a meditation on history and the human soul and it is Findley's fine achievement that he has combined these elements into a web that constantly surprises and astounds the reader.

During a summer internship as an obituary writer for her local northern New Jersey newspaper, 16-year-old Samantha D'Angelo makes some momentous realizations about politics, ethics, her family, romance, and most importantlyNherself.

Famous Last Words traces a broad historical transition- from the 1840s to the 1980s- from the more rigid dichotomy of the Victorian novel, in which good women must marry and fallen women die, to the more open alternatives of twentieth-century fiction, which sometimes permit the independent female protagonist to survive and occasionally allow alternative constructions of gender as well as plot. Each essay treats a narrative- novel, novella, or novel poem- by a single author in light of conventions of closure and of gender in historical context. The contributors recover forgotten texts, revise our understanding of women writers once successful, but now somewhat marginalized, and give voice to cultural "others." Works by the already canonized George Eliot are reassessed, and the representation of women in the canonical novels of male writers William Thackeray and Henry James is explored.

Daniels refutes the contention that a literary crisis is raging through the United States and that the English language is deteriorating. By showing that panics concerning the state of language have occured at regular intervals since 2400 B.C., he asserts that language cannot die, that it changes constantly and that attitudes toward language are social attitudes. He identifies several classes of language critics including journalistic critics like Edwin Newman, William Safire and John Simon; educational critics who employ techniques that preclude a student from communicating effectively; and a group of critics he identifies as "the higher authorities" - authors of English handbooks and usage panelists of dictionaries. Also demonstrates the futility of "back-to-basics" literacy programs that drill grammar but ignore actual writing and offers a program for teacher training in writing instruction. ISBN 0-8093-8093-7 (pbk.) : $10.95.

Who said 'I should have drunk more champagne'? Did Nelson really utter 'Kiss me Hardy' from his deathbed? Which statesman was, at the end, 'bored with it all'? Which king begged, 'Let not poor Nelly starve ...'An extraordinary number of deathbed sayings have been recorded over the years, some proving irresistible to embellishment, others displaying wry humour, still more showing remarkable lucidity in the final hours of life.The last words of politicians, kings, queens, actors, philosophers, scientists and writers are sometimes profound, sometimes prescient, often strange, funny and usually poignant. They can reveal the essence of an extraordinary life or tell us something about a celebrated person's final hours.In our ultimate moments, it seems, we are not averse to cracking a joke, losing our temper or begging for help from those we are leaving behind. The most interesting, controversial and insightful of these exit lines are collected here, from deathbed desperation to the fondest of farewells.

Last Words of Notable People is a comprehensive reference work on "last words," "dying words" or "famous last words". A work of unprecedented scope and study...Covering the final utterances of noted people over the span of thousands of years and the entire globe; each person is presented with a relevant biographical treatment. Each entry is meticulously documented, citing best sources available. Connection or relation of cited sources to entries are presented. Accuracy or veracity of reputed "last words" is often questioned. Conflicting variations of reported "last words" for many entries are presented for the purpose of further research. Contains a detailed selected annotated bibliography of significant "last word" sources. Well indexed.The conclusion of more than a dozen years work and consultation of tens of thousands of sources, Last Words of Notable People is far and away the definitive compilation and treatment of recorded "last words" compiled to date. This is the soft cover book edition of the last words tome featured in John Green's "Dying Declarations" video. Last Words of Notable People was an Amazon Top 100 Bestseller in December 2011. For: Trivia Lovers, Biography and History Buffs, Nerdfighters, Academic and Public Library Reference Collections and Library Circulating collections

This collection of 700 quotes includes the last words of commoners, atheists, poets, and politicians along with noted Christians and martyrs. Ready reference source for the pastor or public speaker.

Heads will roll! Paris, France: a city of fashion, chocolate croissants, and cute boys. Colette Iselin is thrilled be there for the first time, on her spring break class trip.But a series of gruesome murders are taking place around the city, putting everyone on edge. And as she tours the sights, Colette keeps seeing a strange vision: a pale woman in a ball gown and powdered wig, who looks like Marie Antoinette.Colette knows her status-obsessed friends won't believe her, so she seeks out the help of a charming French boy. Together, they discover that the murder victims areall descendants of people who ultimately brought about Marie Antoinette's beheading. The queen's ghost has been awakened, and now she's wreaking her bloodthirsty revenge.And Colette may just be one of those descendants . . . which means she might not make it out of this trip alive.Acclaimed author Katie Alender brings heart-stopping suspense to this story of betrayal, glamour, mystery, history--and one killer queen.