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How many of the original Sherlock Holmes stories are fixed in time?
While re-reading this Q&A, I was wondering how we know that, for example, the story "The Final Problem" is set in 1891. Presumably it's mentioned somewhere in the story. I recall the occasional mention of years in the Sherlock Holmes canon, but now…
Rand al'Thor
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What is Ayn Rand's view of marriage and children?
It's difficult not to notice that the vast majority of heroes in Atlas Shrugged are unmarried and have no kids.
Dagny Taggart - unmarried, no kids
John Galt - unmarried, no kids
Francisco - unmarried, no kids
Hugh Akston - unmarried, no kids
Ellis…
HerrimanCoder
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Why did John Galt explain how to fix the torture device?
Consider the following segment from Atlas Shrugged:
"But I don't know what's wrong with it." The man sighed, bewildered.
"I don't know what to do."
"It's the vibrator that's out of order," said a voice behind them;
they whirled around; Galt…
HerrimanCoder
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Are the Goosebumps books connected in any way?
In the Goosebumps series, are any of the books, except for the sequels, connected to each other? I.e. characters appearing in another book.
For instance, if Slappy the dummy appeared in the book about the girl turning into a bird, that would be a…
Mithical
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Was Mrs Croft really an invalid?
In Agatha Christie's detective story Peril at End House, was Mrs Croft really an invalid? Or did she just pretend to be one?
We find out in the ending of the novel that Mrs Croft was a criminal. She could get away with pretending, because she…
b_jonas
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Can I read David Mitchell's books in any order?
Though David Mitchell's novels differ wildly in style and substance, all occur within the same universe, with links between them - some subtle, some very central.
I don't think the books are meant to be read as a series, in one particular sequence.…
Standback
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Which short story describes a man climbing a tower and then discovering he’s underground?
I remember this story about a man living in a castle. I think he wanted to escape and he decided to reach the tallest tower in the castle. He climbs the wall from the inside and when he’s finally at the top, he moves a heavy object and he figures…
Puzzle
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Is the Man-Mountain Agreement a satire of a specific event?
Gulliver's Travels, is a story by Jonathan Swift that is widely accepted to be a satire. In it when Gulliver visits Lilliput he agrees to a set of articles about his presence, which read as follows:
Golbasto Momarem Evlame Gurdilo Shefin Mully Ully…
Benjamin
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Short story where people are handicapped in the name of fairness and equality
I remember part of a story, maybe a short story. In it, people are handicapped in different ways depending on what they're good at. People that are really strong have weights attached to them. People that are really smart have devices that…
DForck42
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Earliest work of fiction in which characters using telepathy can't lie
In Liu Cixin's novel The Three-Body Problem (2006/2008),
the inhabitants of the planet Trisolaris communicate with each other using telepathy and are unable to lie. In Ursula Le Guin's novel The Left Hand of Darkness (1969), Genly Ai is capable of…
Tsundoku
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What are the other (aside from the Iliad) classical sources for the saga of Troy?
I recently read the Iliad, and I was surprised by how many of the events surrounding the fall of Troy that I had heard about here and there were left out. What are the oldest extant sources for the other parts of the myth not touched on in the…
tel
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Is the impenetrability of Chapter 14 of Ulysses deliberate, or a consequence of its stylistic pastiches?
Chapter 14 of Joyce's Ulysses, The Oxen of the Sun, frequently changes writing styles as it unfolds. Joyce was attempting to mimic the development of the English language, from its Latin roots through to modern-day street slang.
Many of these…
Matt Thrower
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In Huxley's "Brave New World", are there female Alphas?
All of the Alpha characters I can think of--Bernard, Helmholtz, Mustapha Mond, the DHC, Henry Foster--are men. And none of the female characters seem to be Alphas. Lenina is probably a Beta. Linda is stated to be a Beta-Minus. Fanny Crowne is…
Torisuda
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How did Theseus woo Hippolyta by doing her injuries?
In A Midsummer Night's Dream, Theseus tells Hippolyta:
THESEUS:
Hippolyta, I woo'd thee with my sword
And won thy love doing thee injuries,
But I will wed thee in another key,
With pomp, with triumph, and with reveling.
Why does he say this? How…
Josef K
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What does this passage about the atmosphere blowing from Cyprus and the Galilee mean in "Jude the Obscure"?
When Jude is in the church, when he was following Sue, we see this line:
...was like the dew of the Hermon, and he remained throughout the service in a sustaining atmosphere of ecstasy.
Though he was loth to suspect it, some people might have said…
Mithical
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