Random Cutting - Basil Rathbone dies (1967)

Reblogged from my newspaper collection blog (mhill46-holdthefrontpage.blogspot.co.uk)

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Benedict Cumberbatch was not the first to portrayed Sherlock Holmes as a contemporary sleuth. The Basil Rathbone series of Holmes movies (Dressed to Kill, Terror by Night,  Pursuit to Algiers, The Woman in Green etc) were set in the 1940's when they were made. 

Born in South Africa but brought up in England, Philip St. John Basil Rathbone died on 21st July 1967 at the age of 75 and is remembered not only for Holmes but as a character actor in several horror films and the dastardly villain in Errol Flynn's version of Robin Hood.

Random Cutting - Top books (2000)

Reblogged from my newspaper collection blog (mhill46-holdthefrontpage.blogspot.co.uk)

International Express dated August 8th-14th 2000 

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There are fewer celebrity biographies and cookbooks in this list than these days, although the dreaded Jamie Oliver does appear (twice!). 

Nice to see Kathy Reichs, James Lee Burke and Thomas Harris representing the Crime writers and Bill Bryson the travel writers, even if ‘Down Under’ was, in my humble opinion, his least interesting travel book.

Random Cutting - Two famous writers missing (1940)

Reblogged from my newspaper collection blog (mhill46-holdthefrontpage.blogspot.co.uk)

Sunday Express dated Sunday June 23^rd 1940

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Somerset Maugham had lived on the French Riviera since 1926 but when the Nazi’s invaded France he sought refuge on a coal barge. It took him 20 harrowing days to get to England. After a short recovery he moved to the USA for the rest of the War.

Mary Borden was an American author and a quick look at Amazon shows only one book currently in print - The Forbidden Zone: A Nurse's Impressions of the First World War. In both World Wars she ran volunteer Ambulance services in combat zones. She died in 1968.