Charles Lamb (2) (1914–1981)
Author of To War in a Stringbag
For other authors named Charles Lamb, see the disambiguation page.
About the Author
Charles Lamb was born in London, England in 1775. He was educated at the well-known Christ's Hospital school, which he attended from age eight to 15. It was there that he met Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who became a lifelong friend; the friendship was to have a significant influence on the literary show more careers of both men. Lamb did not continue his education at the university, probably because of a nervous condition that resulted in a severe stammer. Instead, he went to work as a clerk, eventually becoming an accounting clerk with the East India Company, where he worked for most of his adult life. However, he continued to pursue his literary interests as well and became well-known as a writer. His best work is considered to be his essays, originally published under the pen name Elia, but Lamb also wrote poetry, plays, and stories for children under his own name. In 1796, Lamb's sister, Mary Ann, went mad and attacked her parents with a knife, killing her mother and wounding her father. She was placed in an institution for a time, but was eventually released into her brother's guardianship. This incident, and later periods when she was institutionalized again, had a great effect on Lamb, who had always been very close to his sister. Charles and Mary Ann Lamb collaborated on several books, including Poetry for Children, Mrs. Leicester's School, and Beauty and the Beast. Probably their best-known collaboration, however, was Tales from Shakespeare, a series of summaries of the plots from 20 Shakespearean plays, which was published in 1807. Charles Lamb died in 1834. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Works by Charles Lamb
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Lamb, Charles Bentall
- Birthdate
- 1914-04-11
- Date of death
- 1981-05-28
- Gender
- male
- Birthplace
- Bolton, Lancashire, England
- Place of death
- Salisbury, Wiltshire, England
Members
Reviews
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 1
- Members
- 150
- Popularity
- #138,700
- Rating
- 4.0
- Reviews
- 3
- ISBNs
- 636
- Languages
- 22
A tremendously maneuverable aircraft that was difficult to stall, the Swordfish was the only British aircraft that was flying at the outbreak of the war and still flying against the enemy in 1945. It had a stalling speed of 55 knots and could out maneuver but not outrun virtually every airplane in the sky and for good reason; it was a biplane. In many ways the Stringbag as it was also called was an obsolescent aircraft. It was very slow and poorly armed; equipped only with World War I era forward firing Vickers gun and a rear cockpit mounted Lewis gun fired by the air gunner or the observer. It had to rely on deft maneuvers, nighttime operation, and secrecy to survive against much more modern aircraft. It had an open cockpit (brutal when operating for instance in the North Sea), didn't have radar, and lacked a sensitive altimeter (at least in the beginning of the war), a crucial bit of equipment as the rather temperamental torpedoes had to be dropped from a height of 60 feet, no more and no less. Aircraft to ship communications were difficult - when they weren't blacked out due to the security concerns - so the possibility of not finding the carrier upon completion of a mission was a real possibility (and one that occurred several times).… (more)