Array Коллектив авторов - 20 лучших повестей на английском / 20 Best Short Novels

Sioux City – a city in northwestern Iowa, on the Missouri River, founded in 1886

portico – entrance of a building with a roof supported by columns

Nemesis – 1. in Greek and Roman religion, the goddess of vengeance, that signified the disapproval of the gods at human deeds; 2. deserved and just punishment.

Divinity – a divine person or other being

By golly! – an exclamation of surprise

rhinestones – rock-crystal; gems imitating diamonds

to cut me off with a hot coal – idiom to disinherit, to leave little or no money

a Pomeranian – a popular dog breed

the Alderney cows – a breed of milky cows from Alderney, an island in the English Channel

‘Orfeo’ – an opera ‘Orfeo ed Euridice’ by Christoph Williband Gluck (1714–1787), written in 1762

Covent Garden – the Royal Opera House in London

Meyerbeer – Giacomo (Jakob) Meyerbeer (1791–1864), a German Romantic opera composer

the Golden Age – in Britain, the 18th century with its classical art

the Ravogli – Julia and Sophia Ravogli, popular Italian singers

Orpheus – the main character of ‘Orfeo ed Euridice’; an ancient Greek legendary figure with outstanding gift for music

Brighton – a town on the English Channel, in Sussex, a seaside resort 82 km south of London

Chelsea – an area of London known for its fashionable shops and expensive houses; it is also known as an artists’ quarter

Magdalenes – Mary Magdalene (1st century AD), a fallen woman cleansed by Jesus of seven demons; He freed her of her sins, and she became His devoted disciple. ‘Magdalene’ is a euphemism for a reformed prostitute.

French window – a large window that serves as a door to the balcony or to the garden

the Grand Stand at Epsom – a famous racecourse near Epsom, where the Derby is run annually

landau – a four-wheeled carriage with a folding roof

Venus – in Roman mythology and religion, the goddess of love

Steinberg Cabinet, Johannisberg – the best brands of the white Rhine wine

Raphael(1483–1520) – a famous Italian painter and architect of the Renaissance period, known for his Madonnas

Wagner – Richard Wagner (1813–1883), a German dramatic composer

Beethoven – Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827), an outstanding German composer of the Romantic and the Classical eras

Mozart – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791), one of the greatest composers in the history of Western music

Handel – George Frideric Handel (1715–1769), an English composer of German origin of the late Baroque period

Gluck – Christoph Gluck (1714–1787), a German composer, best known for his opera ‘Orfeo ed Euridice’

Schumann – Robert Schumann (1810–1856), a German Romantic composer

Botticelli – Sandro Botticelli (1445–1510), an outstanding Italian painter of the Florentine Renaissance

Milton – John Milton (1608–1674), an English poet and historian, the author of the famous ‘Paradise Lost’

Tennyson – Alfred Tennyson (1809–1892), an English poet of the Victorian period

Titian(1488–1576) – the greatest Italian painter of the Venetian school of the Renaissance period

Delilah – 1. a biblical figure from the Old Testament, her name is a synonym of a treacherous woman; she betrayed Samson by revealing the secret of his strength. 2. the main character of ‘Samson and Delilah’, an opera by Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns

‘Che farò’ – ‘What shall I do?’, an aria from ‘Orfeo ed Euridice’ by Gluck

Putney – a district in Wandsworth, an inner borough of London, on the south bank of the River Thames

Hyde Park – the largest park in London in the borough of Westminster

Kensington Gardens – a large park in central London

the High Street – a shopping street in Kensington, a fashionable district in central London

Hammersmith – a borough in Western London on the left bank of the River Thames, to the west of Chelsea

Burgundy – wine (usually dry and red) from the region of Burgundy in east-central France

Richmond Park – a park near the River Thames

the siege of Strasbourg – a 50-days siege of Strasbourg, a city in western France, by the Germans during the Franco-Prussian war of 1870–1871

Mais enfin – qu’est – ce que tu fais là– danser, le dimanche! Viens, donc! – What’s the matter? What are you doing? Dancing on Sunday! Stop it! ( French )

Cleopatra(70–30 BC) – the queen of Egypt; after the Roman army defeated the Egyptian forces, Cleopatra committed suicide

Socrates(470–329 BC) – one of the greatest Greek philosophers whose ideas and principles exerted profound influence on the development of philosophy

codicil – an appendix to a will, usually changing or modifying some part of it

sal volatile – a solution of smelling salts used when a person feels faint or is unconscious

Make hay while the sun shines – idiom to make the best of an opportunity

Marguerite – one of the main characters in Goethe’s drama and Charles Gounod’s opera ‘Faust’