Yukio Mishima
Yukio Mishima , 1925-70, Japanese author, b. Tokyo. His original name was Kimitake Hiraoka and he was born into a samurai family. Mishima wrote novels, short stories, essays, and plays. He appeared on stage in some of his plays as well as directing and starring in films. During World War II he worked in an aircraft factory. Upon graduation (1947) from Tokyo Univ., he served a brief time in the finance ministry before devoting himself entirely to writing. Mishima and the youthful members of his Tatenokai [Shield Society] practiced physical fitness and the ancient arts of the samurai, e.g., karate and swordsmanship, attempting to return to the ideals of Japan under Imperial rule. His tetralogy The Sea of Fertility traces the fading of the old Japan in the first decade of the 20th cent. and continues through the aftermath of World War II. The individual novels of this group are: Spring Snow (tr. 1972), Runaway Horses (tr. 1973), The Temple of Dawn (tr. 1973), and The Decay of the Angel (tr. 1974). Other important novels include the semiautobiographical Confessions of a Mask (1949; tr. 1958); The Sound of Waves (1954; tr. 1956), a simple love story of a boy and girl in a Japanese fishing village; The Temple of the Golden Pavilion (1956; tr. 1963), a brilliant depiction of a psychopathic monk who destroys the temple he loves; After the Banquet (1960; tr. 1963), the story of a successful businesswoman who marries an aging politician and attempts to restore his former glory; and the allegorical tale The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea (1963; tr. 1965). All contain paradoxes: beauty equated with violence and death; the yearning for love and its rejection when offered; plus an exquisite attention to detail in the delineation of character. After an unsuccessful demonstration in which he harangued the Japanese self-defense forces for their lack of power under the Japanese constitution, Mishima committed ritual suicide ( seppuku ).
Bibliography: See biographies by J. Nathan (1974) and H. S. Stokes (1975).
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ERIC AMBLER'S DARK FRONTIERS.
Magazine article from: Quadrant; 1/1/2000; ; 700+ words
; ...rediscovery of his greatest work. Eric Ambler wrote a series of books in the 1930s...befalls many such literary pioneers -- Ambler is the original and in many ways...time. Plans to reissue three of Ambler's best novels -- The Mask of Dimitrios...
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Eric Ambler Dies; Lauded as Father of Modern Spy Thriller
Newspaper article from: The Washington Post; 10/25/1998; ; 700+ words
; Eric Ambler, 89, the prolific novelist whose tense...and "The Dogs of War," hailed Mr. Ambler as the writer who "took the spy thriller...The late Graham Greene, who called Mr. Ambler "unquestionably our best thriller writer...
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Still writing after all these years.(Eric Ambler)(Interview)
Magazine article from: The Progressive; 3/1/1995; ; 700+ words
; Eric Ambler is hard at work on his next book. Repeat: that's Eric Ambler, who, beginning in the mid-1930s, wrote a...my writing, and then he said, `That book is by Mr. Eric Ambler and, incredible as it may seem, he's still...
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Eric Ambler
Newspaper article from: The Scotsman; 10/29/1998; ; 700+ words
; Eric Ambler, author, screenplay writer Born: 28 June...Amblerian", to describe his quali-ties. Eric Ambler revolution-ised the art of the spy...tombstone-like cover entitled Here Lies Eric Ambler. The first chapter concluded...
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Eric Ambler's revisionist thrillers: Epitaph for a spy, A Coffin for Dimitrios, and the Intercom Conspiracy.(Critical essay)
Magazine article from: Papers on Language & Literature; 6/22/2009; ; 700+ words
; ...1990 revised hardcover edition of Eric Ambler's The Dark Frontier (1936...Lizard paperback reprints of ten other Ambler texts, all published in the Vintage...their different ways of categorizing Ambler's fiction suggest his work's...
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Eric Ambler; wrote thrillers, screenplays
Newspaper article from: Chicago Sun-Times; 10/25/1998; 578 words
; LONDON Eric Ambler, 89, author of modern thrillers and...has died, his agent said Friday. Mr. Ambler had been ill and died at his London apartment...cause of death. Among the best-known of Ambler's 21 published books are Epitaph for...
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Thriller writer Eric Ambler dead at 89
News Wire article from: AP Online; 10/23/1998; 561 words
; ...Online 10-23-1998 LONDON (AP) _ Eric Ambler, author of modern thrillers and...his agent said Friday. He was 89. Ambler had been ill and died at his London...death. Among the best-known of Ambler's 21 published books are ``Epitaph...
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Eric Ambler, 89; wrote mysteries, screenplays
Newspaper article from: Chicago Sun-Times; 10/24/1998; 517 words
; LONDON Eric Ambler, author of modern thrillers and an Oscar...his agent said Friday. He was 89. Mr. Ambler had been ill, and he died at his London...death. Among the best-known of Mr. Ambler's 21 published books are Epitaph for...
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Obituary: Eric Ambler
Newspaper article from: The Independent - London; 11/4/1998; 645 words
; ...perhaps they never realised - that Eric Ambler had a sense of humour, writes Jack...No one can deny any of this, but Ambler enjoyed a joke as much as the next...largely a parody of the form in which Ambler had fun with his predecessors such...
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Eric Ambler, Author, screenwriter
Newspaper article from: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; 10/24/1998; 361 words
; Eric Ambler, a pioneering author of modern thrillers...died, his agent said Friday. He was 89. Ambler had been ill and died Thursday at his London...cause of death. Among the best-known of Ambler's 21 published books are "Epitaph for...
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Eric Ambler
Encyclopedia entry from: Encyclopedia of World Biography
Eric Ambler Eric Ambler (born 1909) is considered one of the masters of the thriller novel...World War II, four have been adjudged outstanding examples of the genre. Eric Ambler was born in London on June 28, 1909. In 1927 and 1928 he served...
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Ambler, Eric
Book article from: The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature
Ambler, Eric (1909–98), writer of thrillers, spy fiction , and screenplays. His many works of fiction include The Dark Frontier...
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Harrison, Joan
Dictionary entry from: International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers
...Oxford University, B.A. Family: Married the writer Eric Ambler, 1958. Career: Secretary; 1935—began...of London. (She married the famous spy genre author Eric Ambler.) Her first film away from Hitchcock in Hollywood...
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spy fiction
Book article from: The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature
...Building on the foundations laid by Maugham and Mackenzie, Eric Ambler crafted plots of considerable technical skill and authenticity...novel of this period was The Mask of Dimitrios (1939). Ambler's ideological outlook was shared by G. Greene , whose...
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Intelligence Literature
Encyclopedia entry from: Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, and Security
...literature reflects a perspective increasingly critical of official state authority. The spies in works by authors including Eric Ambler, Somerset Maugham, and especially, Graham Greene, often are lonely individuals on the outskirts of a power-hungry...
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