Crossword and Sudoku brain-teasers.
ACROSS
1 French draper turned painter noted for his en plein air landscapes such as The Bridge at Narni, View of the Forest of Fontainebleau and Springtime of Life (5)
4 Once worn into battle by the Welsh and thus used as symbols of St David’s Day, vegetables used for dishes such as pies, soups, quiches and gratins (5)
7 Springtime blooms also known by their Latin name narcissi; the national flowers of Wales that inspired the poet described in 32 Across (9)
12 Named after a talaria-wearing swift-flying Roman messenger god, the first planet from the Sun or, the element with the symbol Hg (7) 13 Philologist and folklorist brothers who collected fairy tales including Hansel and Gretel, Rumpelstiltskin and Rapunzel (5)
14 Found in a study at Yale University to increase life expectancy, a cognitive process enjoyed by bookworms (7)
15 Word linking with Cerne, Compton, Melbury, Milton and Winterbourne for villages and civil parishes in Dorset (5)
16 The capital of the Cook Islands (9)
17 Whirling double-star distorted into an eggshape by gravity which is the brightest body in Virgo (5)
18 Using GPS or other system, an abbreviated name for a digital mapping device such as a TomTom or Garmin (6)
19 The _______ of the Glen; one of Compton Mackenzie’s novels set in and around the fictional Scottish castle Glenbogle (7)
21 Main part of a bike; a structure on which embroidery/tapestry is worked; or, a type of miniature greenhouse (5)
26 Small bunch of flowers; or, a sentiment or motto engraved on the inside of a signet ring or wedding band (4)
28 Sheets, pillowcases, valances and duvet covers collectively (3,5)
29 General word for an invertebrate studied in malacology such as a clam, cockle, mussel, periwinkle or scallop (7)
32 Lake Poet who lived with his family in Dove Cottage, Grasmere, where he wrote many of his major works (10)
33 Flag with a Union Jack in the top corner, flown by some naval ships and Royal Thames Yacht Club vessels (4,6)
36 _______ Enlightening the World; original name of the New York statue with framework built by Gustave Eiffel (7)
37 Lunar phase in its first quarter or last quarter; or, a yoga pose known by its Sanskrit name ardha chandrasana (4-4)
38 Musical instrument used by Orpheus to enchant living beings (4)
40 England’s first queen regnant (4,1)
42 With an egg-free, powdered variety invented by Alfred Bird, a crème anglaise-like sauce used for trifles or with crumbles or steamed sponge puddings (7)
43 Gems worn by Audrey Hepburn in the film Breakfast at Tiffany’s and often by designer Gabrielle Chanel (6)
49 Tract in a sandy desert such as the Sahara with a freshwater aquifer or spring and date palms or other vegetation (5)
51 French pomegranate cordial or syrup used to flavour a tequila sunrise (9)
53 Country with a film industry known as Bollywood or Bombay cinema (5)
54 Networks of rabbit burrows (7)
55 Bulb vegetable said to have been the staple food of Diogenes the Cynic, the Greek philosopher who lived in a wine barrel or tub according to legend (5)
56 Author of the Inspector Wexford mysteries and many stand-alone novels including Vanity Dies Hard and One Across, Two Down (7)
57 Species of thrush sometimes singing during the night or at dusk (9)
58 Type of courtyard within a cloister at the centre of a medieval monastery (5)
59 Dorset novelist who wrote about his fictional land Wessex in Far from the Madding Crowd, The Woodlanders, Tess of the d’Urbervilles and other books (5)
DOWN
1 Device used with a map in pursuits such as walking, rambling or orienteering (7)
2 Cheese and ale sauce on toast (7)
3 Known in Latin as Jovis dies and derived from the name of a thunder god, one of the 24-hour periods of a week (8)
4 General word for the strata or beds of rock forming Earth (6)
5 Mountain portrayed in a film with Clint Eastwood and in North Face (5)
6 French composer who wrote The Carnival of the Animals suite (5-5)
7 _________ Republic; Caribbean country forming part of Hispaniola with Haiti (9)
8 The Furnace constellation (6)
9 Formed when rain mixes with silica, the national gemstones of Australia (5)
10 Derived from the Latin word for rainbow, one of Earth’s rarest elements (7)
11 French pointillist who painted Breakfast, The Milliner and Sunday (6)
20 Young of a bird with five species in the UK, associated with wisdom (5)
22 One of Charlemagne’s paladins described in a chanson de geste (6)
23 Metaphor in which an object is used to describe something closely related to it (7)
24 The largest of the penguins (7)
25 Wall bracket with a candle holder (6)
26 Film director who formed The Archers with screenwriter Emeric Pressburger (6)
27 Woody plant smaller than a tree such as hydrangea, hibiscus, lilac or azalea (5)
30 2015 documentary film narrated by Michael Gambon, Ben Kingsley, Helen Mirren and 97 others (5) 31 With a “highwayman’s mask” and wingspan of up to 1.8 metres, a bird of prey feeding primarily on fish (6)
34 Debussy’s set of three symphonic sketches depicting the sea (2,3)
35 Equine sport at the Epsom Oaks or Ascot Gold Cup for example (4,6)
37 _________ Cavalry; Life Guards and the Blues and Royals combined as a regiment (9) 39 A calyx and corolla collectively (8)
41 Birth country of Niki Lauda (7)
44 Largest land mammal in the UK (3,4)
45 Capital of the Falkland Islands (7)
46 Fairy servant to Titania with Peaseblossom, Moth and Mustardseed in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (6)
47 Former world no. 1 tennis player married to Steffi Graf (6)
48 Word______; type of puzzle (6)
50 Word linking with “leet” for a jargon originally developed by hackers (5)
52 _____ tubes; components in pneumatic tyres requiring specific levels of psi (5)