The AnswerBank Articles

Anthony d'Offay announces his retirement

Q. Who A. D'Offay's a big wheel in the world of London's private art galleries. Based around New Bond Street and Cork Street in Mayfair, these galleries - including the Waddington Galleries and the01:00 Mon 17th Sep 2001

Mervyn Peake

Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Steerpike in the BBC production of Gormenghast Q. Did Mervyn Peake illustrate Alice in Wonderland A. In 1945 the Continental Book Company of Stockholm, Sweden, wanted to01:00 Mon 10th Sep 2001

Troubled bridge over water: The London Millennium Bridge

Q. Will the wobbly Millennium Bridge ever reopen A. According to the Press Office of Ove Arup, the contractor for the project, the bridge will reopen 'by the end of the year [2001]'. You heard it01:00 Mon 10th Sep 2001

What's your story : Autobiography and memoirs

Q. What's the difference between autobiography and memoirs A. An autobiography is a biography written by its subject, often to explain as well as to inform. For example, John Henry Newman's Apologia01:00 Mon 10th Sep 2001

The Decameron

Q. What is The Decameron A. The Decameron is a collection of tales from many sources collated by the Florentine Giovanni Boccaccio. Thought to have been written down over many years, they were put01:00 Mon 03rd Sep 2001

Chick Lit

Q. What is Chick Lit A. Chick Lit, or Chick Fic, is often described as 'post-feminist fiction' - that is, a post-feminist take on the mass-appeal romance novel. This could be defined as a literary01:00 Mon 03rd Sep 2001

Notting Hill

Q. When was the first Notting Hill Carnival A. The Notting Hill Carnival has been taking place in west London during the August Bank Holiday since 1964. Q. How did it start A. In the 1950s,01:00 Mon 03rd Sep 2001

Antique walking sticks

Q. Are walking sticks really collectable A. If they're old or interesting enough, yes. Although no longer fashionable - and there's a fair chance of getting at least a sideways glance from a police01:00 Mon 27th Aug 2001

The Edinburgh Festival

The Edinburgh Festival is an umbrella title encompassing seven separate festivals: the International, Fringe, Film, Jazz, Book and Television Festivals, and the Military Tattoo. The 2002 Edinburgh01:00 Mon 27th Aug 2001

What goes on at the British Library

Q. What is the British Library A. The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, equivalent to the Archives Nationales in France or the Library of Congress in the USA. Q.01:00 Mon 27th Aug 2001

Aboriginal art

Q. What is Australian Aboriginal art all about A. Traditional Aboriginal art is almost entirely religious and ceremonial, and it portrays - often in a very abstract manner - stories of 'the01:00 Mon 20th Aug 2001

Give a dog a home: The Dog of Alcibiades

Q. What is the Dog of Alcibiades A. 'The Dog of Alcibiades' - also known as the 'Jennings Dog' - is a twice-lifesize marble sculpture of a Molossian Hound, the ancestor of modern mastiffs and01:00 Mon 20th Aug 2001

Aldous Huxley (1894-1963)

Q. Who was Aldous Huxley A. The English novelist and essayist Aldous Leonard Huxley was born in Godalming, Surrey, on 26 July 1894. He came from a distinguished scientific and literary family: his01:00 Mon 20th Aug 2001

Francois Mansart (1598-1666)

Q. Who was Fran ois Mansart A. Mansart - also spelt Mansard - was the first really important purveyor of French classicism in architecture and he played a leading role in shaping the French baroque01:00 Mon 13th Aug 2001

Covinous, my dear Watson: Literary frauds

Q. What's behind the story that Conan Doyle was not the author of The Hound of the Baskervilles A. Historian Roger Garrick-Steele has suggested that the super-sleuth's most celebrated adventure was01:00 Mon 13th Aug 2001

The Elgin Marbles

Q. What's the history of the Elgin Marbles A. After their victory against the Persians at Plataea in 479BC, the Athenians returned to find the Acropolis in ruins. It was rebuilt under the patronage01:00 Mon 13th Aug 2001

What are the Arts Councils and what do they do with your money

Q. What arts funding bodies are there in the UK A. There are four separate arts councils in the UK: the Scottish Art Council, the Arts Council of Wales, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and the01:00 Mon 06th Aug 2001

Art Nouveau and Art Deco

Q. What's the difference between Art Nouveau and Art Deco A. These two movements, while they have much common ground, are quite distinct from one another, though many people mix them up. Both found01:00 Mon 06th Aug 2001

Just a cold and lonely, lovely work of art : The Mona Lisa

Q. What's the story behind the theft of the Mona Lisa A. On Monday 21 August 1911, Leonardo da Vinci's La Gioconda - better known as the Mona Lisa, the world's most famous work of art - was stolen01:00 Mon 06th Aug 2001

Eudora Welty: Who was she

A. Eudora Welty - who died following a bout of pneumonia on 23 July 2001 - was perhaps the most discreetly eminent of the 20th century's great American writers. She became famous for her short stories01:00 Mon 30th Jul 2001