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The discovery of King Arthur
Par Geoffrey Ashe. 2020
"The legend of King Arthur and his castle Camelot has gripped people's imagination for centuries. It has inspired numerous poems…
- from Thomas Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur in the 5th Century to Tennyson's Idylls of the King in 1859 - novels, books and paintings. On into the modern age, it has been filmed and refilmed, with the iconic imagery of the sword, the magician Merlin, Queen Guinevere and the Knights of the Round Table. But who was Arthur? Did he ever exist and if so, where was Camelot? In this classic study, drawing upon myriad sources both literary and historical, the world's leading Arthurian scholar Geoffrey Ashe digs deep into the important 12th century chronicles of Geoffrey of Monmouth to trace the origins of the myth. Through brilliant historical detective work, he shows that much of Monmouth's history, which sets out to describe 5th-century Britain, was based on fact. After challenging previous assumptions about where Arthur's court and other remnants can be found Ashe identifies the "real" King Arthur and provides powerful evidence to support his theory. Ashe is a leading proponent of the theory that Camelot was actually located in Somerset, rather than Cornwall, citing an archaeological dig which found remains beneath Cadbury Castle. "I would say there must have been a tradition about the hill and its powerful overlord, handed down from the Dark Ages". Throughout The Discovery of King Arthur, the sweep and grandeur of a tumultuous era in British history is vividly recounted as Ashe investigates how the character of Arthur evolved, and how the ideals of chivalry and heroism he personifies came to occupy such a dominant place in British history." -- AmazonThis book explores how three Anglo-Irish writers, J.C. Mangan, J.S. Le Fanu and Bram Stoker, use settings in their short…
fictions to recreate, depict and confront Ireland’s colonial situation in the nineteenth century. This study provides an innovative approach by targeting a genre (the short story) which has not been explored in its entirety— certainly not within nineteenth century Ireland - much less using a postcolonial approach to the short story. Added to this is the fact that it analyses how these writers used settings as an anticolonial tool. To do so, the book is divided into two major sections, an analysis of Irish settings and non-Irish ones. It works on the premise that all three writers used the idea of displacement to target colonialism and its effects on Irish society. In short, this book addresses a gap in scholarship, as the Irish Gothic short story as a decolonizing tool has not been sufficiently and globally studied.Gothic Nostalgia: The Uses of Toxic Memory in 21st Century Popular Culture (Palgrave Gothic)
Par Simon Bacon, Katarzyna Bronk-Bacon. 2024
This book is an original and innovative study of how Gothic nostalgia and toxic memory are used to underpin and…
promote the ongoing culture wars and populist politics in contemporary popular culture. The essays collected here cover topics from the spectral to the ecological, deep fakes to toxic ableism, Mary Poppins to John Wick to reveal how the use of an imaginary past to shape the present, creates truly Gothic times that we can never escape. These ‘hungry ghosts’ from the past find resonance with the Gothic which speaks equally of a past that often not only haunts the present but will not let it escape its grasp. This collection will look at the confluence between various kinds of toxic nostalgia and popular culture to suggest the ways in which contemporary populism has resurrected ideological monsters from the grave to gorge on the present and any possibility of change that the future might represent.Djeha, the North African Trickster
Par Christa C. Jones. 2023
Djeha—also known as Juha, Jeh’a, and Ch’ha, among many variations—is an iconic figure, the trickster hero of an oral folktale…
tradition that has existed for centuries. The famous Maghrebian prankster is a poor, cunning, and resourceful character that delights in immoral behavior. Orientalists Auguste Mouliéras (1855-1931) and René Basset (1855-1924) were among the first Frenchmen to collect and translate popular Berber folktales. Today, trickster folktales from Algeria’s mountainous Kabylia region are not well known in the Anglophone world, even though they continue to be highly popular in France and in North Africa. Djeha, the North African Trickster is an annotated, critical translation of Auguste Mouliéras’s folktale collection Les Fourberies de Si Djeh’a, first published in French in 1892.The volume contains sixty tales and an in-depth introduction in which Christa C. Jones discusses jocular literature in Islam, the widespread oral folktale tradition linked to Djeha and his Turkish twin brother Nasreddin Hoca, and the impact of colonialism on the gathering and dissemination of the tales. The trickster is at the center of six themed chapters: “Family and Kinship”; “Animal Tales"; “Faces, Places, or Daily Life in the Village"; “Foodways”; “The Intricacies of Hospitality: Beware of Friends and Foes!"; and “Religion, Death, and the Afterlife.” Each chapter contains ten folktales preceded by a short introduction that contextualizes the pieces using historical, folkloristic, literary, and ethnographical sources. Ultimately, the book contributes to the preservation of an ancestral oral heritage, delivering this enduring character to new audiences.The thrilling and unputdownable new novel from bestselling author of The Clockwork Girl, Anna Mazzola!'Vividly alive with menace, magic, and…
mystery' ESSIE FOX'A vivid and atmospheric historical adventure' DAILY MAIL'A writer of great variety and inventiveness. A haunting, complex work' THE TIMES Rome, 1659.Months after the plague has ravaged Rome, men are still dying in unnatural numbers, and rumour has it that their corpses do not decay as they should. The Papal authorities commission prosecutor Stefano Bracchi to investigate, telling him he will need considerable mettle to reach the truth.To the west of the Tiber, Girolama and her female friends are at work, helping other women with childbirths and foretelling their futures. Elsewhere in the city, a young wife, Anna, must find a way to escape her abusive husband. But in a city made by men for men, there are no easy paths out. Stefano's investigation at the Tor di Nona prison will introduce him to horror, magic and an astonishing cast of characters. He will be left wondering if certain deeds should remain forever unpunished...The Book of Secrets is inspired by real events that took place in 17th century Italy.Praise for The Book of Secrets:'Exceptional. Anna Mazzola's finest work yet' ELODIE HARPER'Dark, viscerally-atmospheric and richly-imagined' TAMMY COHEN'Utterly compelling, brilliant and rage-inducing' CAROLINE LEA'Deeply unsettling in all the best ways. Absolutely loved it!' JAMES OSWALD'Compelling and brilliantly atmospheric' ANDREW TAYLOR'Rich and satisfying... another superb historical thriller from Anna Mazzola' CAROLINE GREEN'A hugely entertaining read but also an important one in an era when women's rights are being called into question. Magnificent' LIZ NUGENT'A fascinating, evocative, darkly beautiful story. A compelling tale of female strength & ancient knowledge'HELEN FIELDS'A powerful, perceptive page turner. Feminist historical fiction that is chillingly timely. Bravo!'D V BISHOP'I couldn't put it down. A spectacular insight into life for women in 17th century Rome. I adored it' JULIE OWEN-MOYLAN'A tense and pacy historical thriller that fans of Robert Harris will love. I inhaled this book' TARIQ ASHKANANI'Elegant and compelling writing from an author at the peak of her powers' AJ WEST'A compulsive deep-thinking read, with a message for modern times' CATE QUINN'Passages so lyrical I read them twice. Compelling and poignant. Stunning' RACHEL WOLF'Captivating, haunting and so beautifully wrought' FREYA BERRY'Meticulously researched, beautifully constructed and jam-packed with tension!' REBECCA NETLEYThe thrilling and unputdownable new novel from bestselling author of The Clockwork Girl, Anna Mazzola!'Vividly alive with menace, magic, and…
mystery' ESSIE FOX'A vivid and atmospheric historical adventure' DAILY MAIL'A writer of great variety and inventiveness. A haunting, complex work' THE TIMES Rome, 1659.Months after the plague has ravaged Rome, men are still dying in unnatural numbers, and rumour has it that their corpses do not decay as they should. The Papal authorities commission prosecutor Stefano Bracchi to investigate, telling him he will need considerable mettle to reach the truth.To the west of the Tiber, Girolama and her female friends are at work, helping other women with childbirths and foretelling their futures. Elsewhere in the city, a young wife, Anna, must find a way to escape her abusive husband. But in a city made by men for men, there are no easy paths out. Stefano's investigation at the Tor di Nona prison will introduce him to horror, magic and an astonishing cast of characters. He will be left wondering if certain deeds should remain forever unpunished...The Book of Secrets is inspired by real events that took place in 17th century Italy.Praise for The Book of Secrets:'Exceptional. Anna Mazzola's finest work yet' ELODIE HARPER'Dark, viscerally-atmospheric and richly-imagined' TAMMY COHEN'Utterly compelling, brilliant and rage-inducing' CAROLINE LEA'Deeply unsettling in all the best ways. Absolutely loved it!' JAMES OSWALD'Compelling and brilliantly atmospheric' ANDREW TAYLOR'Rich and satisfying... another superb historical thriller from Anna Mazzola' CAROLINE GREEN'A hugely entertaining read but also an important one in an era when women's rights are being called into question. Magnificent' LIZ NUGENT'A fascinating, evocative, darkly beautiful story. A compelling tale of female strength & ancient knowledge'HELEN FIELDS'A powerful, perceptive page turner. Feminist historical fiction that is chillingly timely. Bravo!'D V BISHOP'I couldn't put it down. A spectacular insight into life for women in 17th century Rome. I adored it' JULIE OWEN-MOYLAN'A tense and pacy historical thriller that fans of Robert Harris will love. I inhaled this book' TARIQ ASHKANANI'Elegant and compelling writing from an author at the peak of her powers' AJ WEST'A compulsive deep-thinking read, with a message for modern times' CATE QUINN'Passages so lyrical I read them twice. Compelling and poignant. Stunning' RACHEL WOLF'Captivating, haunting and so beautifully wrought' FREYA BERRY'Meticulously researched, beautifully constructed and jam-packed with tension!' REBECCA NETLEYThe Anthology of Scottish Folk Tales
Par History Press Uk. 2019
This enchanting collection of stories gathers together legends from across Scotland in one special volume. Drawn from The History Press’…
popular Folk Tales series, herein lies a treasure trove of tales from a wealth of talented storytellers. From the Spaeman’s peculiar advice and a laird who is transformed into a frog, to a fugitive hiding in a dark cave and the stoor worm battling with Assipattle, this book celebrates the distinct character of Scotland's different customs, beliefs and dialects, and is a treat for all who enjoy a well-told story.