Merlin Holland

Christopher Merlin Vyvyan Holland (born 1945 in London) is a biographer, editor, and the only grandchild of Oscar Wilde.

Biography

Holland is the son of the author Vyvyan Holland and his second wife, Thelma Besant, and is the only grandchild of Oscar Wilde. Although he is a direct male-line descendent of Oscar Wilde, his last name is Holland because Wilde's wife, Constance, changed her children's surname to Holland, an old family name on her side to avoid shame after Wilde's trial for gross indecency, and subsequent imprisonment and fall from grace.

Work

For the last 30 years Holland has studied and researched Wilde′s life. He is the co-editor, with Rupert Hart-Davis, of The Complete Letters of Oscar Wilde, and the editor of Irish Peacock and Scarlet Marquess, the first uncensored version of his grandfather's 1895 trials, (also titled The Real Trial of Oscar Wilde for release in the US). Holland has criticized Richard Ellmann′s 1989 biography, Oscar Wilde, as inaccurate, particularly the claim of syphilis. According to The Guardian, Holland has also "unearthed medical evidence within private family letters, which has enabled a doctor to determine the likely cause of Constance’s demise. The letters reveal symptoms nowadays associated with multiple sclerosis but apparently wrongly diagnosed by her two doctors. One [an unnamed German 'nerve doctor'] resorted to dubious remedies and the other [Luigi Maria Bossi] conducted a botched operation that days later claimed her life."

Merlin

Merlin is a legendary figure best known as the wizard featured in Arthurian legend. The standard depiction of the character first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, written c. 1136, and is based on an amalgamation of previous historical and legendary figures. Geoffrey combined existing stories of Myrddin Wyllt (Merlinus Caledonensis), a North Brythonic prophet and madman with no connection to King Arthur, with tales of the Romano-British war leader Ambrosius Aurelianus to form the composite figure he called Merlin Ambrosius (Welsh: Myrddin Emrys). He is allegedly buried in the Broceliande forest, near Paimpont in Brittany.

Geoffrey's rendering of the character was immediately popular, especially in Wales. Later writers expanded the account to produce a fuller image of the wizard. Merlin's traditional biography casts him as a cambion: born of a mortal woman, sired by an incubus, the non-human from whom he inherits his supernatural powers and abilities. The name of Merlin's mother is not usually stated but is given as Adhan in the oldest version of the Prose Brut. Merlin matures to an ascendant sagehood and engineers the birth of Arthur through magic and intrigue. Later authors have Merlin serve as the king's advisor until he is bewitched and imprisoned by the Lady of the Lake.

The Sword in the Stone (film)

The Sword in the Stone is a 1963 American animated fairy tale film produced by Walt Disney and originally released to theaters on December 25, 1963 by Buena Vista Distribution. It was the final Disney animated film released before Walt Disney's death. The songs in the film were written and composed by the Sherman Brothers, who later wrote music for other Disney films like Mary Poppins (1964), The Jungle Book (1967), and Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971).

The film is based on the novel of the same name, first published in 1938 as a single novel. It was later republished in 1958 as the first book of T. H. White's tetralogy The Once and Future King.

Plot

After the King of England, Uther Pendragon, dies, leaving no heir to the throne, a sword appears inside an anvil in London. The sword bears an inscription proclaiming that whoever removes it will be the new king. No one can remove the sword, which is eventually forgotten, leaving England in the Dark Ages.

Years later, a 12-year-old orphan named Arthur, commonly called Wart, accidentally scares off a deer his foster brother Kay was hunting, causing Kay to launch his arrow into the forest. In retrieving the arrow, Arthur lands in the cottage of Merlin the wizard, who declares himself Arthur's tutor and returns with the boy to his home, a castle run by Sir Ector, Arthur's foster father. Ector's friend, Sir Pellinore, arrives with news that the annual jousting tournament will be held on New Year's Day in London, and the winner will be crowned king. Ector decides to put Kay through serious training for the tournament and appoints Arthur as Kay's squire.

Merlin (given name)

Merlin is a masculine given name. Notable people with the name include:

Holland (publisher)

Holland (publisher) (Uitgeverij Holland) is an independent Dutch publishing house of books for children and books for adults, founded in 1921 by Jan Bernhard van Ulzen in Amsterdam.

From 1921 until 1951

After having worked a few years as a sales representative for several publishing houses Jan Berhard van Ulzen established his own publishing business at his home address. The first publications were financed by his wife who had been a successful fashion cutter in Paris. After a few years the business could be located on the canal Herengracht in Amsterdam. In these years Holland specialized in social, Christian publications by original Dutch writers. A few translations were published, for instants (1937) Søren Kierkegaard, (1951) Pär Lagerkvist, and (1940) Denis de Rougemont. Next to books Holland also published a Christian literary magazine called Opwaartsche Wegen, which was published for 17 years. Poetry was published since 1950 in a series called De Windroos

From 1951 until 1981

Holland (SEPTA station)

Holland is a derelict station located along SEPTA's Fox Chase/Newtown Line located on Holland Road in Holland, Pennsylvania near the Churchville Reservoir.

History

Holland Station was a stop on the Reading Railroad's Newtown Line. It later became a part of SEPTA's Fox Chase Rapid Transit Line. The station, and all of those north of Fox Chase, was closed on January 14, 1983, due to failing diesel train equipment.

In addition, a labor dispute began within the SEPTA organization when the transit operator inherited 1,700 displaced employees from Conrail. SEPTA insisted on utilizing transit operators from the Broad Street Subway to operate Fox Chase-Newtown diesel trains, while Conrail requested that railroad motormen run the service. When a federal court ruled that SEPTA had to use Conrail employees in order to offer job assurance, SEPTA cancelled Fox Chase-Newtown trains. Service in the diesel-only territory north of Fox Chase was cancelled at that time, and Holland Station still appears in publicly posted tariffs.

HMS Holland 4

Holland-class submarine No 4 was launched on the 23 May 1902. She was built by Vickers, at Barrow in Furness, Cumbria, United Kingdom, and was laid down in 1902. She was commissioned into the Royal Navy on 2 August 1903. In 1905 the submarine was fitted with a conning tower. She was the only member of the Holland-class to be given this modification. She foundered on 3 September 1912. She was salvaged and used as a gunnery target on 17 October 1914.

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