Wednesday, November 28, 2007

1859 to 1860

Literature
A Tale of Two Cities. Charles Dickens. British. 1859. Novel. French Revolution. London and Paris are the two cities. Description taken from Carlyle's French Revolution. Darnay and Carton are look-alikes; the latter substitutes for the former on the guillotine. Carton also loves Lucy; completely cynical about himself.

The Ordeal of Richard Feveral. George Meredith. British. 1959. Novel. Father attempts to educate his son to be a perfect specimen of manhood. Fails tragically. Problem is his attempt to keep him away from women.

A Nest of the Greatfolk. Ivan Turgenev. Russian. 1859. Novel. Tragic love affair ended because his wife who was thought to be dead returns and he must resume his duty. Evokes the peaceful atmosphere of a provincial Russian estate.

Adam Bede. George Eliot. British. 1859. Novel. Actual author is Mary Ann Evans. Principled Adam loves pretty, superficial Hetty Sorrel who is seduced by Squire Donnithorne; she kills the baby. Adam eventually marries Dinah Morris, a young Methodist preacher.

Oblomov. Ivan Goncharov. Russian. 1859. Novel. Hero is the embodiment of physical and mental laziness.

"Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking." Walt Whitman. American. 1859. Poetry. Interprets the song of a bird at seaside to mean death.

The Friend of the Family. Fyodor Dostoevsky. Russian. 1859. Novel. Russian Tartuffe. Petty, talentless ex-toady rules the household by playing on guilt feelings.

Elle et lui (He and She). George sand. British. 1859. Novel. Sand's interpretation of her love affair with Alfred de Musset and its complexities.

Origin of Species. Charles Darwin. British. 1859. Nonfiction. Theory of evolution by natural selection; survival of the fittest.

A Hard Lot. Aleksey Pisemsky. Russian. 1859. Play. Tragic conflicts caused by the love affair between the estate owner and the wife of one of his serfs. Realistic.

Idylls of the King. Alfred Lord Tennyson. British. 1859/85. Poetry. Based on the Arthurian legend. Introduction of evil into hitherto unblemished Camelot through Lancelot's sin.

Society
1860. The United States becomes less united following the election of Abraham Lincoln as president

1860. South Carolina adopts an Ordinance of Secession to protest the election.

1860. Elizabeth Cady Stanton urges women's suffrage in an address to a joint session of the New York State Legislature.

1860. John D. Rockefeller enters the oil business at age 20.

1860. The first Pony Express riders leave St. Joseph, Mo., April 3, and delivers mail to Sacramento, Cal., 10 days later.

1860. The first world heavyweight boxing championship bout, April 17, at Farnborough, Hampshire, pits U.S. champion John C. Heenan against the British champion Tom Sayers. The fight continues for 42 rounds until Sayers is unable to use his right arm. Heenan is blinded from his own blood, and the crowd breaks into the ring to stop the fight.

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