Blackmail 高级英语第六课背景知识介绍

"Fast-moving storytelling rich with interesting and bizarre characters.“
----The Denver Post
Adaptation
Hotel was adapted into a movie in 1967, and in 1983 Aaron Spelling turned it into a television series, airing for five years on ABC. In the TV series the St. Gregory Hotel was moved from New Orleans to San Francisco.
Born in Luton, England, in 1920
After a brief career as an office boy, he joined the British Royal Air Force in 1939 and served during World War II, then he became a pilot and flight lieutenant.
His well-known works
• first TV drama (1958)
• first novel (1959)
His well-known works
• newscasters(1990)
• last novel (1997)
He would spend about one year researching a subject, followed by six months reviewing his notes and, finally, about 18 months writing the book.
Hotel is one of his bestsellers.
About Hotel About Blackmail
About Hotel
The St. Gregory Hotel is the largest in New Orleans, Louisiana. For 4 days from Monday evening to Friday, the hotel goes through a succession of dramatic events. With the hotel’s mortgage due by the weekend and with no chance of getting further renewal, the owner, Warren Trent, reluctantly makes up his mind to sell his hotel to a chain hotel owner, Curtis O’Keefe.
• Instead of reporting to the police, the Duke and Duchess drove away.
• The hotel’s chief house detective Ogilvie noticed the battered car when it came back.
Lesson Six
Blackmail
宋海梅
20111501134
Arthur Haileywk.baidu.com
Brief introduction The book Hotel Ending of Hotel
Blackmail Ending of the Duke Other information
Arthur Hailey(1920.04.05–2004.11.24)
•
1552年这个词第一次出现，到1826年衍生为
敲诈，勒索的意思。
Summary
• On Monday evening while driving back with his wife from a gambling house, the Duke knocked down a woman and her child and killed both.
DeecpoMntenatning
Reflection of American capitalist society
Lack of the sense of responsibility Blackmail Corruption Discrimination Degeneration Greediness
Ending of Hotel
However, the novel ends with a pleasant surprise. A sick, old eccentric man staying in the hotel turns out to be an extremely wealthy man from Montreal, Canada. Earlier, he fell seriously ill and was saved by Peter and his girl friend. To show his gratitude and repay their kindness, he buys the hotel from its former owner and makes Peter the new executive vice-president, with complete authority to run the hotel.
Ending of the Duke
At first the Duchess tries to deny everything, but doesn’t succeed in convincing the police. The Duke then decides to go over to police headquarters before they come for him, wishing to save the little shreds of decency left in him. He takes an elevator to go down. This elevator which has been out of order for some time breaks down. As it goes down, one set of clamps holds and the other fails. The elevator car twists, buckles and splits open, throwing the Duke nine floors down to the cement ground. He dies instantly.
Comments
"Instant readability... catches the reader by his lapels and holds him through its last crowded page."
----Chicago Tribune
"A great story." ----Cleveland Press
• Ogilvie went to see the Duke and Duchess, promised to keep quiet about what he had discovered and asked for a large sum of money in return for the favor.
• The Duchess understood the hot situation she and her husband were in and agreed to give Ogilvie twice the money he had charged if he drove their car to Chicago in the north.
In 1969, he moved to the Bahamas to avoid taxes.
1958 Flight into Danger (with John Castle) 1959 The Final Diagnosis-- hospital politics 1962 In High Places--Cold War Era politics in North America 1965 Hotel--hotels 1968 Airport--airport politics 1971 Wheels--automobile industry 1975 The Moneychangers--banks 1979 Overload--power crisis in California 1984 Strong Medicine--pharmaceutical industry 1990 The Evening News--newscasters 1997 Detective--investigation politics
Blackmail
• 起源于一个海盗部落的旧例，海盗们欺凌百
姓横行乡里，他们向苏格兰的农夫们收取保护金 ，如果农夫们不给，他们就偷取他们的庄稼和牲 畜。mail 在古英语中有定金，保证金的意思， black或者表示这种做法的黑暗，或者表示这种保 护费是以实物如牛等进行支付的，区别于银币， 也就是白色的钱。
In 1947 Mr. Hailey emigrated to Canada, where he was a real estate salesman, business paper editor and a sales and advertising executive.
In 1956 Arthur Hailey scored his first writing success with a TV drama, "Flight into Danger" and a novel, Runway Zero-Eight.