Here’s what I saw on the internet this week, in between my study sessions for upcoming exams:
News of an upcoming movie, based on a true story and set in England during the early 1800s, about the mixed-race daughter, Dido Belle, of an admiral in the Royal Navy. Dido was raised by her wealthy great-uncle and his wife in their aristocratic country home. Despite the privileged class of society in which she was brought up, she was restricted by the colour of her skin and shunned by people around her.
Here is an article which explains her story in greater detail: Dido Belle: the slave’s daughter who lived in Georgian elegance. I am looking forward to seeing the movie. Dido had a unique and fascinating life; I don’t know of any other mixed-race or black people who were members of the upper classes during a time when racism was the norm.
In other news, I wasn’t expecting to see breakdancing monks on my Facebook feed this week! The video in the link is fun to watch!
Finally, do you live in/near New York City? Fancy finding out which neighborhood is the most rat-infested? Check out the interactive rat information portal! I found the name of this very amusing when I heard about it: the name of the portal makes it sound like it is supplying information to the rodents themselves. 😉
Have a fun Friday! Have you spotted anything interesting and/or amusing on the interwebz this week?
Cultural Life 
Thanks for the heads up on thi book. I hope to read it soon!
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Do you mean the book about Lord Mansfield (Dido’s great-uncle) and his role in abolishing the slave trade? It does sound like an interesting read.
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. 🙂
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That movie looks really interesting! I wonder if there are any books on it?! I read The Other Boleyn Girl and then saw the movie and enjoyed it. I also want to read Cleopatra!
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I did a Google search just now and came up with this book. It’s only got a 3-star review average though. http://www.amazon.com/Belle-Slave-Daughter-Chief-Justice/dp/0062310771/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1400081172&sr=8-1&keywords=dido+belle
I enjoyed The Other Boleyn Girl as well. 🙂 Cleopatra would definitely be an interesting read!
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Thanks!! I’ll check it out 🙂
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You’re welcome. 🙂 I think I’ll put it on my TBR list for after I finish my exams! I don’t have much time to read at the moment so it will be nice to have some free time this summer. The weather is so gorgeous here at the moment; it makes it hard to stay indoors studying!
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That’s a good idea! Just remember that you’ll be done soon enough! At least you can go outside during study breaks 🙂
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Thanks for the encouragement. 🙂
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The other Boleyon girl is a good one!! I believe there’s a follow up book. I read it a couple years ago.
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Oh, I didn’t know there was a sequel! I’ll check it out.
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yes. I love those historic novels. Maybe I need to go to a book store this afternoon 🙂
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No way?! I want to read the follow up book now!
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Historical novels and movies are so interesting. It is a shame that so many people think history is boring.
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It’s certainly far from boring to me! 🙂 I am especially interested in the Georgian/Regency era because I love Jane Austen’s novels, so I am looking forward to seeing this after I have finished my exams. Thanks for your comment.
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Oh I want to watch that movie. Thanks Grace! 🙂
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I hope you enjoy it. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by.
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I recently saw the movie. It’s a fascinating meditation on female power and agency when a woman of any race had almost none. Well worth seeing.
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It’s great to hear good feedback for Belle. I am planning on going to see it this week; it is released tomorrow here in the U.K. I am a big fan of Jane Austen and have been for over half my life (I first read Pride and Prejudice when I was 9 and saw the wonderful BBC adaptation of it around the same time), so I am really interested in that era of history.
The last movie I saw, a few days ago, was Grace of Monaco but I heard that doesn’t have a U.S. release date yet. If you get a chance to see it, I don’t think it is as bad as the critics are making it out to be. Sure, I dare say it isn’t 100% factually accurate but the movie does begin with a disclaimer that it is a fictitious story based on true events.
Are there any other new movie releases you would recommend?
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We just returned from 10 days’ vacation — which included no movies — so nothing else new to recommend. I’m on the hunt now for a few good ones myself!
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