[Daily article] September 26: Georges Feydeau

Georges Feydeau (1862–1921) was a French playwright of the era known as the Belle Époque, remembered for his farces. His first full-length comedy, Tailleur pour dames ('Ladies' tailor'), was well-received. After studying earlier masters of French comedy, particularly Eugène Labiche, Alfred Hennequin and Henri Meilhac, he wrote or collaborated on seventeen full-length plays between 1892 and 1914, many of which have become staples of the theatrical repertoire in France and abroad. They include L'Hôtel du libre échange ('The Free Exchange Hotel', 1894), La Dame de chez Maxim ('The lady from Maxim's', 1899), La Puce à l'oreille ('A flea in her ear', 1907) and Occupe-toi d'Amélie! ('Look after Amélie', 1908). His plays are marked by recognisable characters and fast-moving comic plots of mistaken identity, attempted adultery, split- second timing and a precariously happy ending. In the 1940s and 1950s, productions by Jean-Louis Barrault and the Comédie-Française revived interest in his works. Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Feydeau> _______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries: 1580: English explorer Francis Drake's galleon the Golden Hind (replica pictured) sailed into Plymouth, completing his circumnavigation of the globe. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Hind> 1928: The Nationalist government of China adopted Gwoyeu Romatzyh as the official system for the romanization of Mandarin Chinese. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwoyeu_Romatzyh> 1983: Cold War: Soviet lieutenant colonel Stanislav Petrov averted a potential nuclear war by identifying as a false alarm signals that appeared to indicate an impending U.S. missile attack. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1983_Soviet_nuclear_false_alarm_incident> 2010: Scottish aid worker Linda Norgrove and three Afghan colleagues were kidnapped by members of the Taliban in Kunar Province, Afghanistan. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Linda_Norgrove> _____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day: unstinting: Generous and tireless with one's contributions of money, time, etc. <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/unstinting> ___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:   What there is to conquer By strength and submission, has already been discovered Once or twice, or several times, by men whom one cannot hope To emulate — but there is no competition — There is only the fight to recover what has been lost And found and lost again and again: and now, under conditions That seem unpropitious. But perhaps neither gain nor loss. For us, there is only the trying. The rest is not our business.   --The Four Quartets <https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Four_Quartets>