Limehouse Nights

Last updated

Limehouse Nights is a 1916 short story collection by the British writer Thomas Burke. The stories are set in and around the Chinatown that was then centred on Limehouse in the East End of London. It was a popular success and features several of Burke's best-known stories such as The Chink and the Child and Beryl and the Croucher .

Contents

Film adaptations

The Chink and the Child was turned into the 1919 film Broken Blossoms directed by D.W. Griffith and its 1936 remake. Beryl and the Croucher was filmed in 1949 as No Way Back set in the contemporary East End as part of the Spiv cycle of films made in the years following the Second World War.

Bibliography


Related Research Articles

<i>Broken Blossoms</i> 1919 film by D. W. Griffith

Broken Blossoms or The Yellow Man and the Girl, often referred to simply as Broken Blossoms, is a 1919 American silent drama film directed by D. W. Griffith. It was distributed by United Artists and premiered on May 13, 1919. It stars Lillian Gish, Richard Barthelmess, and Donald Crisp, and tells the story of young girl, Lucy Burrows, who is abused by her alcoholic prizefighting father, Battling Burrows, and meets Cheng Huan, a kind-hearted Chinese man who falls in love with her. It was the first film distributed by United Artists. It is based on Thomas Burke's short story "The Chink and the Child" from the 1916 collection Limehouse Nights. In 1996, Broken Blossoms was included in the annual selection of 25 motion pictures to be added to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress.

Limehouse Human settlement in England

Limehouse is a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London. It is 3.9 miles (6.3 km) east of Charing Cross, on the northern bank of the River Thames. Its proximity to the river has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains through its riverside public houses and steps, such as The Grapes and Limehouse Stairs. It is part of the traditional county of Middlesex. It became part of the ceremonial County of London following the passing of the Local Government Act 1888, and then part of Greater London in 1965. It is located between Stepney to the west and north, Mile End and Bow to the northwest, Poplar to the east, and Canary Wharf and Millwall to the south, and stretches from the end of Cable Street and Butcher Row in the west to Stainsby Road near Bartlett Park in the east, and from West India Dock and the River Thames in the south to Salmon Lane and Rhodeswell Road in the north.

Narrow Street

Narrow Street is a narrow road running parallel to the River Thames through the Limehouse area of east London, England. It used to be much narrower, and is the oldest part of Limehouse, with many buildings originating from the eighteenth century.

Thomas Burke was a British author. He was born in Clapham Junction, London.

Brian Croucher English actor and director

Brian Croucher is an English actor and director best known for his role as Ted Hills, which he played from 1995 to 1997, in the soap opera EastEnders. Croucher also had a regular role in the science fiction series Blake's 7.

Opium den

An opium den was an establishment in which opium was sold and smoked. Opium dens were prevalent in many parts of the world in the 19th century, most notably China, Southeast Asia, North America, and France. Throughout the West, opium dens were frequented by and associated with the Chinese because the establishments were usually run by Chinese, who supplied the opium and prepared it for visiting non-Chinese smokers. Most opium dens kept a supply of opium paraphernalia such as the specialized pipes and lamps that were necessary to smoke the drug. Patrons would recline to hold the long opium pipes over oil lamps that would heat the drug until it vaporized, allowing the smoker to inhale the vapors. Opium dens in China were frequented by all levels of society, and their opulence or simplicity reflected the financial means of the patrons. In urban areas of the United States, particularly on the West Coast, there were opium dens that mirrored the best to be found in China, with luxurious trappings and female attendants. For the working class, there were many low-end dens with sparse furnishings. The latter dens were more likely to admit non-Chinese smokers.

Limehouse Blues is a 1934 American crime film, directed by Alexander Hall. The film is set in the Limehouse district in the East End of London and its Chinatown. Among the stars of the film were George Raft and Anna May Wong. The film is named after the song "Limehouse Blues".

Beryl Mercer Actress

Beryl Mercer was an American actress of stage and screen who was based in the United States.

East End literature comprises novels, short stories, plays, poetry, films, and non-fictional writings set in the East End of London. Crime, poverty, vice, sexual transgression, drugs, class-conflict and multi-cultural encounters and fantasies involving Jews, Chinamen and Indian immigrants are major themes.

East End of London in popular culture

The East End of London in popular culture covers aspects of popular culture within the area of the East End of London. The area is roughly that covered by the modern London Borough of Tower Hamlets, and parts of the south of the London Borough of Hackney.

This page is a complete bibliography of the English author Thomas Burke.

<i>London</i> (1926 film) 1926 film

London (1926) is a British silent film, directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Dorothy Gish. The film was adapted by Wilcox from a short story by popular author Thomas Burke. The British Film Institute considers this to be a lost film.

Broken Blossoms is a 1936 British drama film directed by John Brahm and starring Emlyn Williams, Arthur Margetson, Basil Radford and Edith Sharpe. Director Bernard Vorhaus was technical supervisor.

No Way Back is a 1949 British crime film directed by Stefan Osiecki and starring Terence De Marney, Eleanor Summerfield and Jack Raine. The screenplay concerns an injured boxer who sinks into bad company when his fighting career comes to an end leading to a spiral of crime. It was made at Nettlefold Studios in Walton-on-Thames.

<i>Twinkletoes</i> 1926 film

Twinkletoes is a 1926 American silent romantic drama film directed by Charles Brabin and starring Colleen Moore. The film, as with most of Moore's vehicles at this time, was produced by her husband John McCormick with the couple distributing through Moore's resident studio First National. This film is one of Moore's surviving films from the late silent era and is available on DVD.

Dope is a 1919 novel by Sax Rohmer set in the Limehouse area of London. It is not a Fu Manchu novel, and concerns itself with cannabis rather than opium. It is based on the story of Billie Carleton, a young English actress whose scandalous lifestyle ended with her death from a drug overdose in 1918.

"Beryl and the Croucher" is a short story by the British writer Thomas Burke which was part of his 1916 collection Limehouse Nights. A washed-up boxer, known as "the Croucher" for his distinctive fighting style, having fought his last fight sinks into dissipation and crime in the East End of London. His only hope to recover his former sense of self-worth is a former lover named Beryl.

Limehouse Blues (song)

"Limehouse Blues" is a popular British song written by the London-based duo of Douglas Furber (lyrics) and Philip Braham (music).

Limehouse Causeway Street in east London that was the home to the original Chinatown of London

Limehouse Causeway is a street in east London that was the home to the original Chinatown of London. A combination of bomb damage during the Second World War and later redevelopment means that almost nothing is left of the original buildings of the street. The area is part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.

<i>The Limehouse Golem</i> 2016 British film directed by Juan Carlos Medina

The Limehouse Golem is a 2016 British horror-mystery film directed by Juan Carlos Medina from a screenplay by Jane Goldman. The film, an adaptation of Peter Ackroyd's 1994 murder mystery novel Dan Leno and the Limehouse Golem, stars Olivia Cooke, Bill Nighy, and Douglas Booth.