In The Golden Thread, there are 14 unique tales: from Raven the Lightbringer to Odin, and The Lindworm Prince to The Sun Maiden. Each chapter braids the visible with the invisible, a diverse tapestry of folklore, symbolism, alchemy, psychology and shamanism. The Golden Thread traverses the landscape of imagination and the borderlands of our own lives; those threshold moments of love and loss. It aims to show us in a time of great upheaval, how cosmic, seasonal, and ancestral patterns can help root and connect us. While myth, a vital and steadfast guide, weaves its way throughout.
The Silver Bough is a journey into a forgotten Otherworld of hollow hills, glass mountains and fabled islands. With over twenty myths and folktales arising from the rich traditions of the world, from ancient Egypt and Iceland, to New Zealand, Siberia and the Celtic lands, among the stories are Gwyn and the Lady of the Lake, The Shipwrecked Sailor, Galahad's Quest for the Grail and Apples of Immortality. Each of the five accompanying sections is woven from the threads of each tale. Rich in symbolism, shamanic traditions and esoteric wisdom, The Silver Bough traverses ancient cosmologies, from the kingdom of the dead and the starlit realm, to the domain of the flood and the land of the hidden folk.
Co-winner of the Perkins Prize from the Society for the Study of Narrative Literature Has twentieth-century political violence destroyed faith in historical knowledge? What happens to historical fiction when history is seen as either a form of Western imperialism or a form of postmodern simulation? In Sublime Desire, Amy Elias examines our changing relationship to history and how fiction since 1960 reflects that change. She contends that postmodernism is a post-traumatic imagination that is pulled between two desires: the political desire to acknowledge the physical violence of twentieth-century history, and the yearning for an escape from that history into a ravishing realm of historical certainty. Torn between these desires, both historical fiction and historiography after 1960 redefine history as the "sublime," a territory beyond lived experience that is both unknowable and seductive. In the face of a failure of Enlightenment ideals about knowledge and the West's own history of violence, post-World War II history becomes a desire for the "secular sacred" sublime—for awe, certainty, and belief. Sublime Desire is an eloquent melding of theory and practice. Mixing the canonical with the unexpected, Elias analyzes developments in the historical romance genre from Walter Scott's novels to novels written today. She correlates developments in the historical romance to similar changes in historiography and philosophy. Sublime Desire draws engagingly on more than thirty relevant texts, from Tolstoy's War and Peace to Jeanette Winterson's Sexing the Cherry, Charles Johnson's Dreamer, and Charles Frazier's Cold Mountain. But the book also examines theories of postmodern space and time and defines the difference between postmodern and postcolonial historical perspectives. The final chapter draws from trauma theory in Holocaust studies to define how fiction can pose an ethical alternative to aestheticized history while remaining open to pluralism and democratic values. In its range and sophistication, Sublime Desire is a valuable addition to postmodernist studies as well as to studies of the historical romance novel.
In this sweeping history, bestselling author Amy Chua explains how globally dominant empires—or hyperpowers—rise and why they fall. In a series of brilliant chapter-length studies, she examines the most powerful cultures in history—from the ancient empires of Persia and China to the recent global empires of England and the United States—and reveals the reasons behind their success, as well as the roots of their ultimate demise. Chua's analysis uncovers a fascinating historical pattern: while policies of tolerance and assimilation toward conquered peoples are essential for an empire to succeed, the multicultural society that results introduces new tensions and instabilities, threatening to pull the empire apart from within. What this means for the United States' uncertain future is the subject of Chua's provocative and surprising conclusion.
This book examines the impact sisters and brothers had on eighteenth-century English families and society. Using evidence from letters, diaries, probate disputes, court transcripts, prescriptive literature and portraiture, it argues that although parents’ wills often recommended their children 'share and share alike', siblings had to constantly negotiate between prescribed equality and practiced inequalities. Siblinghood and social relations in Georgian England, which will be the first monograph-length analysis of early modern siblings in England, is primed to be at the forefront of sibling studies. The book is intended for a broad audience of scholars – particularly those interested in families, women, children and eighteenth-century social and cultural history.
After saving her kingdom from the Darkness Hex, Amy Lee is left with loads of questions. Why can't she remember her past? Who are her parents? How does magic work? And who is the funny man who keeps appearing outside? It turns out, the Land of Love is under threat once again. And this time, Amy and her friends are simply not powerful enough to defend their home. They're going to need help ... from the last person they'd ever want to ask! A heart-pounding continuation of Amy Lee's epic adventure, this book will thrill fans with a deeper understanding of their beloved Land of Love.
Film Studies: A Global Introduction reroutes film studies from its Euro-American focus and canon in order to introduce students to a medium that has always been global but has become differently and insistently so in the digital age. Glyn Davis, Kay Dickinson, Lisa Patti and Amy Villarejo’s approach encourages readers to think about film holistically by looking beyond the textual analysis of key films. In contrast, it engages with other vital areas, such as financing, labour, marketing, distribution, exhibition, preservation, and politics, reflecting contemporary aspects of cinema production and consumption worldwide. Key features of the book include: clear definitions of the key terms at the foundation of film studies coverage of the work of key thinkers, explained in their social and historical context a broad range of relevant case studies that reflect the book’s approach to global cinema, from Italian "white telephone" films to Mexican wrestling films innovative and flexible exercises to help readers enhance their understanding of the histories, theories, and examples introduced in each chapter an extensive Interlude introducing readers to formal analysis through the careful explication and application of key terms a detailed discussion of strategies for writing about cinema Films Studies: A Global Introduction will appeal to students studying film today and aspiring to work in the industry, as well as those eager to understand the world of images and screens in which we all live.
Richard Matheson's 1954 novel I Am Legend has spawned a series of iconic horror and science fiction films, including The Last Man on Earth (1964), The Omega Man (1971) and I Am Legend (2007). The compelling narrative of the last man on earth, struggling to survive a pandemic that has transformed the rest of humanity into monsters, has become an American myth. While the core story remains intact, filmmakers have transformed the details over time, reflecting changing attitudes about race and masculinity. This reexamination of Matheson's novel situates the tale of one man's conflicted attitude about killing racialized "others" within its original post-World War II context, engaging the question of post-traumatic stress disorder. The author analyzes the several film adaptations, with a focus on the casting and interpretations of protagonist Robert Neville.
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