#books

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When the past comes back to haunt you. ‘The Danger of Life’ is a fast-paced thriller set in Scotland during World War Two. It uses many real settings, transported eight decades back in time.

The busy port of Mallaig lies at the end of the ‘Road to the Isles’. This modern photograph shows it in beautiful weather: quite unlike the stormy day on which a deadly manhunt reaches its climax here in the book.

Find out more on our website:
https://www.arachnid.scot/book-dol/index.html

The image shows a view from a pier across a busy harbour towards the village of Mallaig. Small fishing boats are moored up to three abreast and there is a boatyard with slipways beyond them, with boats being repaired and a large shed in the upper left of the frame. The front cover of ‘The Danger of Life’ is shown in the top left corner.

replied to Project Gutenberg's status

"The difficulties which would have to be overcome to make several of the preceding experiments conclusive are so great as to be almost insurmountable."

Warning about the non-conclusiveness for the experimental foundation of electrostatic theory, in a footnote of the third edition of: James Clerk Maxwell (1891). A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism, Vol.1, 3rd Edition.

~J. J. Thomson (18 December 1856 – 30 August 1940)

J. J. Thomson, who was born in 1856, received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1906 for his discovery of the electron, the first subatomic particle to be found.

Thomson was also a teacher, and seven of his students went on to win Nobel Prizes: Ernest Rutherford, Lawrence Bragg, Charles Barkla, Francis Aston, Charles Thomson Rees Wilson, Owen Richardson and Edward Victor Appleton.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._J._Thomson

Books by J.J. Thomson at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/38322

J.J. Thomson, Nobel Prize photograph (1906). Nobel foundation - http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1906/thomson-bio.html Joseph John Thomson (1856–1940), often referred to as J.J. Thomson, is shown in a candid pose, engrossed in writing or drawing, likely related to his scientific work. He is depicted as a middle-aged man with receding hair, a neatly groomed mustache, and a composed, intellectual demeanor. Thomson is wearing formal attire typical of the early 20th century: A dark tweed suit jacket with a subtle texture. A high-collared white shirt and a decorative tie or cravat. A pocket square neatly tucked into his breast pocket, adding to the formal appearance. He is wearing round spectacles, which were characteristic of the period and contributed to his scholarly appearance.

in 1873.

Louisa May Alcott's family satire "Transcendental Wild Oats" is published in the newspaper The Independent.

The work was first published in a New York newspaper in 1873, and reprinted in 1874, 1876, and 1915 and after. Alcott's view of male arrogance and female exploitation in this piece is paralleled in her novel Work, published in the same year as Transcendental Wild Oats.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcendental_Wild_Oats

Transcendental Wild Oats at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/34920

Louisa May Alcott c. 1870, writer, abolitionist, and Civil War nurse. Warren's Portraits, 465 Washington St., Boston. Alcott’s face is captured in a three-quarter profile, looking slightly to her right, with a contemplative and composed expression. She is dressed in a formal Victorian-era dress, characterized by its high neckline adorned with a small, lace-trimmed collar. The bodice is decorated with ruching (gathered fabric) and a row of cloth-covered buttons, typical of 19th-century women’s fashion. Her hair is neatly styled, parted down the center and pulled back, revealing soft waves around the forehead, which was a practical and modest hairstyle of the time. Her face is serious and refined, with strong features, including high cheekbones and a straight nose, reflecting both her intellectual nature and determination.

18/12: What are your biggest turnoffs or turn-ons when reading?
I try not to turn off immediately I see second-person narrative, but it very rarely works for me. Tense-flipping for no reason is a big turnoff too. Also, dialogue without quotation marks. It’s not clever, it’s just very annoying.
It’s harder to pin down what turns me on, but I know it when I see it.. Good story, engaging characters, and lucid writing are the magic ingredients.