6 October: Jenny Lind, The Swedish Nightingale

Jenny Lind, singer known as "the Swedish Nightingale," an Opera Soprano, was born on 6 October 1820. Here are some things you might not know about her.

1. She was born Johanna Maria Lind in Stockholm. Her parents didn't marry until she was 14, Her mother, Anna Maria Radberg, a divorcee, refused to marry again for religious reasons for many years.
2. As a child, Jenny often sang to herself or to her pet cat. When she was nine, her singing was overheard by a Stockholm ballet dancer who was passing by her window. The dancer made enquiries as to who was singing, and took Jenny to see the director of Sweden's Royal Opera. By the time she was ten, she was singing on stage. By the age of 20, she was court singer to the King of Sweden and Norway.
3. She once auditioned for the Paris Opera, but was rejected. When she became an international star, she always refused any invitations to sing there.
4. Hans Christian Andersen was in love with her. His love was unrequited, though, as she saw him as just a friend. It's believed that she inspired several of his fairy tales - Beneath the Pillar, The Angel and The Nightingale; and also after she'd turned him down, she's said to have been the inspiration for the character of the Snow Queen, with a heart of ice.
5. Her name was also linked with that of Felix Mendelsson. There is evidence that he wrote letters to her asking her to have an affair with him, and threatening suicide if she refused. However, the letters no longer exist - they were destroyed after Jenny died. Whatever their relationship actually was, Jenny was devastated when Mendelsson died, and found herself unable to sing in the soprano part in the opera Elijah, because he'd written it for her. It was a year later that she finally performed it. This perfomance, in London, was in part a fundraiser for a scholarship in Mendelsson's memory. The first person to receive the scholarship was Arthur Sullivan, of Gilbert and Sullivan fame, when he was 14.
6. It was in 1849 that she was apporached by American showman PT Barnum with a view to arranging a grand tour of the United States. The main reason she agreed was because she would be able to use these performances to raise more money for charities she supported, such as free schools back home. Her reputation preceeded her - tickets for some of her concerts were in such high demand that Barnum sold them by auction. Eventually, she disagreed with Barnum's marketing methods and continued the tour without him.
7. She married her pianist and conductor, Otto Goldschmidt in February 1852. In May of the same year, they went back to Europe and set up home, first in Dresden, Germany and later in England.
8. In her later years, she went into teaching and was appointed Professor of Singing at the Royal College of Music. She strongly believed that singers should not only learn singing, but how to read music and play the Piano, and that they should also be taught deportment and at least one foreign language.
9. She died at the age of 67 in Herefordshire. She left a substantial sum to charity - in order to help poor protestant children in Sweden get an education.
10. She has had a number of things named after her - Jenny Lind Island in Canada, a locomotive, a clipper ship, a schooner in Australia (which later gave its name to the river in which it was wrecked), a children's hospital in Norwich and a pub in Hastings. Norweigan Airlines named one of their planes after her - this plane has a picture of her on its tail.

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Obsidian's Ark

Teenage years bring no end of problems. Daniel Moran's include getting hold of computer games his parents don't think he should have; a full blown crush on the beautiful Suki from Zorostan; maintaining his status as a prefect and getting his homework done. He must also keep from his parents and sister the fact that he is a superhero with a sword from another world.

Trish wonders how to get science whizz Tom to notice her; how to persuade him that the best way to stand up to the school bully is to fight back. She doesn't want her friends, especially not Tom, to know she is a genetic variant with superpowers. Little does she know that Tom has secrets of his own.

Suki struggles to make friends at school when she cannot understand everyday cultural references, and they all suspect her of being a terrorist. She, too, has a secret, but is it what her classmates assume?

When Daniel stumbles upon a plot by an alliance of supervillains to plunge the world into war, he tries to alert the established superheroes, but none of them believe him. When the Prime Minister's only daughter, Yasmin Miller, is abducted, Daniel knows the villains' plan is underway. It seems humanity's only hope may be Daniel and the ragtag bunch of teenage superheroes he recruits. Can he pull together, not only his own team, but the older heroes as well, in a bid to save the Earth from a devastating war?

Themes: 

Superheroes; Coming of age; Leadership; Kidnap and rescue; Aliens; Friendship and rivalry; Terrorism; Secrets.

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