When Dickens was a boy, his father was placed in debtors’ prison. As a result, he was withdrawn from school and forced to work in a factory—an experience that deeply influenced his future writings. Now regarded as one of the world’s most popular, prolific, and skilled novelists, Dickens began his literary career as a reporter, developing an encyclopedic knowledge of London and the ability to vividly describe people and everyday life. Under what pen name did Dickens initially publish his work? Discuss
Source: The Free Dictionary
Braun, a saleswoman in the shop of Adolf Hitler’s photographer, became Hitler’s mistress in the 1930s. Although she lived in homes provided by Hitler throughout their courtship—first in a house in Munich and later in his Berchtesgaden chalet—he never allowed her to be seen in public with him. In 1945, with the Allies drawing ever closer, she joined him in Berlin against his orders. In recognition of her loyalty, he married her in a civil ceremony in their bunker. What happened the next day? 
Mechanically gifted, Maxim learned several trades as a young man. He obtained his first patent, for a hair-curling iron, in 1866. By 1884, working in London, he had produced a devastatingly effective automatic machine gun capable of firing 660 rounds per minute. Every major power adopted the Maxim gun. The company he established to manufacture his invention, with several mergers, eventually became the British defense firm, Vickers Ltd. What were some of Maxim’s “flying machines”? 
Yahya Khan was the president of Pakistan from 1969 to 1971. As president, he inherited a two-decade old constitutional problem of interethnic rivalry, complicated by economic grievances and the problem of transforming a virtual autocracy into a democracy. He declared martial law, but it failed to curb domestic unrest, and civil war between East and West Pakistan broke out. Pakistan’s army was defeated, and Yahya Khan resigned after the establishment of what independent republic in 1971? 
Stein was an American avant-garde writer and notable patron of the arts. While she was living in Paris, her home became a salon for leading artists and writers, including Picasso and Hemingway. An early supporter of Cubism, she tried to parallel its theories in her work, employing a unique prose style characterized by the use of repetition, fragmentation, and the continuous present. Her only book to reach a wide audience, The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas was actually about whom? 
Joyce was an Irish novelist—perhaps the most influential and significant novelist of the 20th century. After publishing his story collection, The Dubliners, and the autobiographical novel Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, he spent seven years writing Ulysses, which is now widely regarded by many as the greatest English-language novel of the 20th century. It embodies a highly experimental use of language and exploration of new literary methods such as what? 
Hughes was an American poet and a central figure of the Harlem Renaissance. His writing is largely concerned with depicting African-American life, particularly the experience of the urban African American, and often uses dialect and jazz rhythms. Along with several collections of poetry, Hughes published numerous other works, including several plays, books for children, and novels. While working as a busboy, Hughes launched his literary career by presenting his poems to what poet as he dined? 
One of the most gifted musicians of the 19th century, Schubert was an Austrian composer who wrote his first of nine symphonies in 1813 at the age of 16. He wrote more than 600 songs, many to the lyrics of German poets, and also composed music for the stage, overtures, choral music, masses, and piano music. He died at 31, having produced more masterpieces by that age than almost any other composer in history. Schubert was buried beside what other famous composer? _cropped.jpg)
Redgrave is a British actress noted for her versatility and elegant presence. The daughter of actor Michael Redgrave, she made her London stage debut in 1958 and won praise as Rosalind in As You Like It. She went on to become a powerful film actress, earning critical acclaim for her performances in films such as Blow-Up and Julia, for which she won an Oscar. She has also earned Emmy, Tony, Cannes, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild awards but declined what honor in 1999? 
Chekhov was a Russian short-story writer, dramatist, and physician who earned enduring international acclaim for his stories and plays. His early works were broad humorous sketches and tales published under a pseudonym, written to support himself and his family while he studied for his medical degree in Moscow. His first full-length play, Ivanov, was produced while he was practicing as a doctor. Why was a statue of Chekhov in the town of Tomsk modeled on the perspective of a drunkard?