Olivia Manning (March 2, 1911 – July 23, 1980) was a British novelist. Her first novel, The Wind Changes, was published in 1937. March 2 is the 61st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (62nd in leap years). ... A database query syntax error has occurred. ... July 23 is the 204th day (205th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 161 days remaining. ... 1980 is a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... 1937 was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Olivia Manning is best known for Fortunes of War, a narrative consisting of two trilogies (The Balkan Trilogy and The Levant Trilogy) chronicling the wartime experiences of a group of English expatriates who find themselves moving between Romania, Greece, Egypt and Palestine as World War II progresses. Fortunes of War is the collective name given to six novels by Olivia Manning, consisting of The Balkan Trilogy and The Levant Trilogy. ... The term Palestine may refer to: Palestine: A geographical region in the Middle East, centered on Jerusalem. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ...

Anthony Burgess described Fortunes of War as ‘the finest fictional record of the war produced by a British writer’. Certainly, the first two volumes (The Great Fortune, published in 1960 and The Spoilt City, published in 1962) make compelling reading. Set against the background of Bucharest in early wartime, they have a superb period feel, chronicling the changes in Romanian society (and the lives of the British expatriate community) as the corrupt regime of King Carol II tries unsuccessfully to keep Romania out of the war. The leading characters, Harriet and Guy Pringle (the latter a British Council lecturer and a passionate communist), are based on Manning herself and her husband R. D. Smith. John Anthony Burgess Wilson (February 25, 1917 – November 25, 1993), better known by his pen name Anthony Burgess, was an English writer. ... 1960 was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1962 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Bucharest (population 2. ... King Carol II of Romania Carol II of Romania (15 October 1893 - 4 April 1953) reigned as King of Romania from June 8, 1930 until September 6, 1940. ... The British Council is a partly UK Government_funded cultural relations organisation and a registered charity in the UK. It aims to build mutually beneficial cultural and educational relationships between people in the UK and in other countries, and increase appreciation of the UKs creative ideas and achievements. ... Communism is a term that can refer to one of several things: a social and economic system, an ideology which supports that system, or a political movement that wishes to implement that system. ...