Captain Gault is a fictional sea captain created by English writer William Hope Hodgson. Many of the Captain Gault stories were collected in the book Captain Gault, Being the Exceedingly Private Log of a Sea-Captain, published in 1917.
Captain Gault seems to be a captain for hire, and operates a different ship in each of the stories. Some take place in England, some in the United States, some in Havanna, and some in Europe. Gault himself is a morally ambiguous character who follows the pattern of many famous fictional criminals: although a law-breaker (he seems primarily interested in making money), he proves also to have a strict moral code. As the series progresses, we learn tantalizing bits of information about Captain Gault: he seems to be highly placed in a secret society; he has occult knowledge about arcane religious artifacts; he seems to be very knowledgeable about gemstones; he is a skilled amateur painter. In general, he reveals himself to have surprising reservoirs of specialized knowledge. Where he got all this knowledge is generally not revealed; we get only these tantalizing hints at the character's past.
The Captain Gault stories tend to follow several patterns. Most of the stories are about smuggling, usually involving a great deal of cleverness; often the plot centers on information that is known to Captain Gault but not provided to the reader. There is usually some kind of misinformation or even play-acting performed for the misdirection of customs officials. Sometimes the deception is in sleight-of-hand; sometimes it is in the Captain's choice of hiding place (which may be in plain sight). In many of the stories the customs officials or other law-enforcement personnel involved are told about the plot. Sometimes Gault's own confidants are fed misinformation so that they can reveal it, as part of the deception. The stories usually end with a smug Captain Gault explaining the plot, sometimes over dinner, and sometimes by letter.
Captain Gault leads into a plot to smuggle a cargo of rifles directly under the watchful eye of customs.
Captain Gault smuggles diamonds past customs officials. The plot involves a cage of chickens who are fed phony diamonds to deceive a spy.
Captain Gault smuggles pearls using the customs officials themselves, a bribe, and a planted, duplicate bag in a double deception.
This is a longer Captain Gault story and takes place in San Francisco. The plot is quite complex and involves deception, danger, ancient artifacts, and cross-dressing. Captain Gault is revealed to be a member of a secret society.
Captain Gault's associates on board attempt to smuggle saccharine and ask his assistance.
Another bait-and-switch plot, this one centering on smuggling cigars directly from Cuba and some play-acting in front of customs officials.
Captain Gault's loyalties are tested in this war-time story.
Pearls are hidden in plain sight.
This story about the nerve-wracking smuggling of the famed Mona Lisa. It is revealed that Captain Gault has a talent for painting.
Another story that tests Captain Gault's ability to withstand feminine wiles.
Captain Gault agrees to help a wealthy, older female passenger avoid paying duties on a very valuable necklace.
Captain Gault tricks German submarines in a double deception as he sells them fuel for their submarines.
In another wartime story, Captain Gault plays German soldiers for fools in a standoff situation.
The Reverend Doctor Christopher Syn is the smuggler hero of a series of novels by Russell Thorndike. The first book, Doctor Syn: A Tale of the Romney Marsh was published in 1915. The story idea came from smuggling in the 18th-century Romney Marsh, where brandy and tobacco were brought in at night by boat from France to avoid the tax. Minor battles were fought, sometimes at night, between gangs of smugglers, such as the Hawkhurst Gang, and the Revenue, supported by the army and local militias in South Kent and Sussex.
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas is a classic science fiction adventure novel by French writer Jules Verne.
William Hope Hodgson was an English author. He produced a large body of work, consisting of essays, short fiction, and novels, spanning several overlapping genres including horror, fantastic fiction, and science fiction. Hodgson used his experiences at sea to lend authentic detail to his short horror stories, many of which are set on the ocean, including his series of linked tales forming the "Sargasso Sea Stories". His novels, such as The House on the Borderland (1908) and The Night Land (1912), feature more cosmic themes, but several of his novels also focus on horrors associated with the sea. Early in his writing career Hodgson dedicated effort to poetry, although few of his poems were published during his lifetime. He also attracted some notice as a photographer and achieved renown as a bodybuilder. He died in World War I at age 40.
Deception is an act or statement that misleads, hides the truth, or promotes a belief, concept, or idea that is not true. This occurs when a deceiver uses information against a person to make them believe an idea is true. Deception can be used with both verbal and nonverbal messages. The person creating the deception knows it to be false while the receiver of the message has a tendency to believe it. It is often done for personal gain or advantage. Deception can involve dissimulation, propaganda and sleight of hand as well as distraction, camouflage or concealment. There is also self-deception, as in bad faith. It can also be called, with varying subjective implications, beguilement, deceit, bluff, mystification, ruse, or subterfuge.
Captain Nemo is a character created by the French novelist Jules Verne (1828–1905). Nemo appears in two of Verne's science-fiction books, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas (1870) and The Mysterious Island (1875). He also makes a brief appearance in a play written by Verne with the collaboration of Adolphe d'Ennery, Journey Through the Impossible (1882).
Operation Anadyr was the code name used by the Soviet Union for its Cold War secret operation in 1962 of deploying ballistic missiles, medium-range bombers, and a division of mechanized infantry to Cuba to create an army group that would be able to prevent an invasion of the island by United States forces. The plan was to deploy approximately 60,000 personnel in support of the main missile force, which consisted of three R-12 missile regiments and two R-14 missile regiments. However, part of it was foiled when the United States discovered the plan, prompting the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Gord the Rogue is the protagonist in a series of fantasy novels and short stories written by Gary Gygax. Gygax originally wrote the novels and short stories to promote his World of Greyhawk campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. After he left TSR, Gygax continued to write Gord the Rogue novels for several years. In all of these works, the plot revolves around the adventures of a young man named Gord who rises from humble origins in the slums of a large city on the planet Oerth to become a powerful force trying to stave off the takeover of Oerth by demons.
Captain Pugwash is a fictional pirate who appears in a series of British children’s comic strips, books and television shows created by John Ryan.
Operation Petticoat is a 1959 American World War II submarine comedy film in Eastmancolor from Universal-International, produced by Robert Arthur, directed by Blake Edwards, and starring Cary Grant and Tony Curtis.
Various conspiracy theories allege that U.S. government officials had advance knowledge of Japan's December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor. Ever since the Japanese attack, there has been debate as to why and how the United States was caught off guard, and how much and when American officials knew of Japanese plans for an attack. In September 1944, John T. Flynn, a co-founder of the non-interventionist America First Committee, launched a Pearl Harbor counter-narrative when he published a 46-page booklet entitled The Truth about Pearl Harbor, arguing that Roosevelt and his inner circle had been plotting to provoke the Japanese into an attack on the U.S. and thus provide a reason to enter the war since January 1941. Flynn was a political opponent of Roosevelt, and had strongly criticised him for both his domestic and foreign policies. In 1944, a congressional investigation conducted by both major political parties provided little by way of vindication for his assertions, despite Flynn being chief investigator.
The Devil to Pay is one of a series of nautical novels by C. Northcote Parkinson. It is set in the late 18th Century, when Britain was at war with Revolutionary France. Parkinson's hero is a junior naval officer. Unlike many fictional officers, Parkinson's hero, Richard Delancey, does not have any powerful patrons to ease his way to promotion.
Secret passages, also commonly referred to as hidden passages or secret tunnels, are hidden routes used for stealthy travel, escape, or movement of people and goods. They are sometimes inside buildings leading to secret rooms.
The Luck of the Bodkins is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom on 11 October 1935 by Herbert Jenkins, and in the United States on 3 January 1936 by Little, Brown and Company. The two editions are significantly different, though the plot remains the same. The novel was serialised in The Passing Show magazine (UK) from 21 September to 23 November 1935, and this version was published as the UK edition. For its US magazine appearance, in the Red Book between August 1935 and January 1936, Wodehouse re-wrote the story, reducing its length, and this became the US book edition.
Feed is a 2005 Australian crime-horror film directed by Brett Leonard. The plot involves a police investigation of non-consensual feederism. The film explores themes of love, dominance and submission.
The Quiet Woman is a 1951 British crime film directed by John Gilling and based on a story by Ruth Adam, about a criminal's wife who attempts to build a new life after her husband goes to prison, only to be menaced by him when he escapes. It starred Derek Bond, Jane Hylton and Dora Bryan.
Emerald City Confidential is a 2009 computer adventure game conceived by Dave Gilbert, developed by Wadjet Eye Games, and published through PlayFirst.
Johnathan Tokeley-Parry is a self-proclaimed former cavalryman and self-appointed antique restorer. He is notable for smuggling more than 3,000 pieces of Egyptian antiquities out of Egypt by disguising them as reproductions. It has been reported that Tokeley-Parry changed his name to Jonathan Foreman.
Sea of Darkness is the 32nd installment in the Nancy Drew point-and-click adventure game series by Her Interactive. Players take on the first-person view of fictional amateur sleuth Nancy Drew and must solve the mystery through interrogation of suspects, solving puzzles, and discovering clues. There are two levels of gameplay, Amateur and Master sleuth modes, each offering a different difficulty level of puzzles and hints, however neither of these changes affect the plot of the game. It is the last game to feature Lani Minella as the voice of Nancy Drew, and is also the last game to use Her Interactive's proprietary game engine. The next game, Midnight in Salem, uses Unity.
The Deep is a CGI animated television series based on the comic book created by Tom Taylor and James Brouwer and published by Gestalt Comics. The series was developed by executive producer Robert Chandler, optioned by Technicolor, and produced by A Stark Production of Australia and the Canadian animation studio Nerd Corps Entertainment. Commissioned by ABC, it premiered on 7two on 1 December 2015 and began broadcasting in Canada the following month on Family Chrgd. On 8 February 2018, a third season of the series was announced. On 26 July 2021, a fourth season was announced with 13 new half-hour episodes.
The Hobby Lobby smuggling scandal started in 2009 when representatives of the Hobby Lobby chain of craft stores received a large number of clay bullae and tablets originating in the ancient Near East. The artifacts were intended for the Museum of the Bible, funded by the Evangelical Christian Green family, which owns the Oklahoma-based chain. Internal staff had warned superiors that the items had dubious provenance and were potentially looted from Iraq.