Forthright memoirs of a singular personality - former MP and Strictly Come Dancing star, Ann Widdecombe. In this life story of one of our most outspoken and celebrated politicians, Ann Widdecombe offers a unique insight into her time as a minister in three government departments and the Shadow Cabinet in the 1990s, as well as taking us back to her wandering childhood and explaining the roots of her deeply held views. A rare anti-hunting Tory, who campaigned for prison education and once donned a miner's overalls to go down a coal mine, Ann Widdecombe has never shied away from controversy. Her memoirs reveal a singular personality who lives life to the full. From feisty appearances on Have I Got News for You to her unforgettable and star-turning performances on Strictly Come Dancing, Ann has earned her place in the public's affections and has been heralded as a 'national living treasure' by the Guardian.
A gripping read' Sunday Express From bestselling author Ann Widdecombe, a moving tale of families broken apart by war, and one boy's quest to come to terms with his history. Klaus-Pierre is the love-child of a young Frenchwoman and a senior, married German officer. Klaus-Pierre never knew his father, who was killed before he was born, and his mother was rejected by her family of patriots and resistance workers. Cared for by his German family, Klaus-Pierre is loved and happy - but as he grows up in a Europe where old enemies are learning to cooperate, he tries to make his own 'Act of Peace' with his French relatives. The result is a horrifying confrontation between the two families when they meet accidentally in Provence. Meanwhile, Klaus-Pierre is struggling with another quest to come to terms with his roots, as he tries to find out just what kind of man his father really was... The sequel to AN ACT OF TREACHERY 'Impressive . . . Widdecombe skilfully and often movingly uses the boy's struggle with his own painful history to throw light on the troubled years between 1945 and the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989' SUNDAY TIMES
A tale of illicit love, hate and loss in occupied France . . . confirming [Ann Widdecombe] as an eloquent storyteller' GLASGOW HERALD Catherine Dessin, a young French girl living in Paris during the occupation, falls for an older, married German officer. The novel examines the tensions this causes within her family of patriots and resistance workers. Meanwhile Klaus, the German officer, who is Oxford educated and a professed Anglophile, faces his own moral dilemma as he comes to realise, through his love for Catherine and a tragedy in his own family, the true nature of the regime he is serving. 'A gripping read' SUNDAY EXPRESS 'Widdecombe is to be applauded for the range of her ambition within this book: the admirably large cast of characters is well-handled, their dilemmas are believable and the narrative makes for compulsive reading' THE TIMES
You want to go on reading, you want to know what happens; it isn't easy to put down' Ruth Rendell A powerful novel about a family, and how their lives are torn apart in a single, devastating moment. Mark and Claire seem an ideal couple. He is an accountant, she the daughter of a successful businessman. They live in a comfortable middle-class village in Surrey. Then, during a party for their daughter Pippa's baptism, their son Jeremy is knocked down on the road outside. It is their worst nightmare, something they thought could never happen, and the consequences will affect each one of them more than they could possibly imagine. What is Claire's guilty secret, and can her wealthy, self-made father help? Will Mark, desperate to escape, have the nerve to leave? And how will Pippa be affected by the turmoil that began on the day of her own christening? 'A compelling story about the way a family copes with a catastrophe' THE TIMES 'A delight, a very polished read' CATHOLIC HERALD 'An accomplished first novel' TATLER 'Humane, thoughtful' HARPERS AND QUEENS
Ann Widdecombe's controversial novel about the position of men in today's society. Jason Kirk is a 32-year-old teacher who believes he is happily married until he returns home one day to find that his wife has left him, taking their two young children with her. Suddenly Jason finds the role of father denied to him as he is separated from his children and reduced to the role of visitor. The law is weighted against him and his wife produces a series of excuses to withhold contact with Jake, eight, and Leah, three. Jason, who had wanted to bring his children up to maturity on a daily basis, not only has to face the pain of this loss but endures the misery of persecution by the Child Support Agency. He discovers he is not alone and that among his friends and colleagues, there are others enduring the same situation. FATHER FIGURE is an enthralling, thought-provoking novel of modern fatherhood.
These are the memoirs of a woman who joined the old Conservative Party in 1964, was politically formed by the 70s and saw Thatcherism in the 80s - then ministerial office and later the Shadow Cabinet. It is also a book for people who struggle with moral dilemmas even if they are not converts to Roman Catholicism like Ann.
In the first Bloomsbury Lent book, former Conservative MP and Strictly star Ann Widdecombe explores the place of penance in a 'me, me, me' world. What is our modern concept of penance? Is it giving up chocolates for Lent or is it a lasting state of the awareness of sin? Is it public or private? Is it punishment or greater closeness to God? Is it always a response to personal sin or can an individual do penance for others' sins, or for the world? Ann Widdecombe looks at voluntary penance and its relation to repentance, at prescribed but not enforced penance as part of the sacrament of Absolution and, as an ex-Prisons Minister, at the role of penance as enforced by the State. Penance in art, penance in literature, penance in history, penance in the Bible are all examined in an important and thoughtful meditation on the concept of penance in the 21st Century.
Forthright memoirs of a singular personality - former MP and Strictly Come Dancing star, Ann Widdecombe. In this life story of one of our most outspoken and celebrated politicians, Ann Widdecombe offers a unique insight into her time as a minister in three government departments and the Shadow Cabinet in the 1990s, as well as taking us back to her wandering childhood and explaining the roots of her deeply held views. A rare anti-hunting Tory, who campaigned for prison education and once donned a miner's overalls to go down a coal mine, Ann Widdecombe has never shied away from controversy. Her memoirs reveal a singular personality who lives life to the full. From feisty appearances on Have I Got News for You to her unforgettable and star-turning performances on Strictly Come Dancing, Ann has earned her place in the public's affections and has been heralded as a 'national living treasure' by the Guardian.
Ann Widdecombe's controversial novel about the position of men in today's society. Jason Kirk is a 32-year-old teacher who believes he is happily married until he returns home one day to find that his wife has left him, taking their two young children with her. Suddenly Jason finds the role of father denied to him as he is separated from his children and reduced to the role of visitor. The law is weighted against him and his wife produces a series of excuses to withhold contact with Jake, eight, and Leah, three. Jason, who had wanted to bring his children up to maturity on a daily basis, not only has to face the pain of this loss but endures the misery of persecution by the Child Support Agency. He discovers he is not alone and that among his friends and colleagues, there are others enduring the same situation. FATHER FIGURE is an enthralling, thought-provoking novel of modern fatherhood.
A gripping read' Sunday Express From bestselling author Ann Widdecombe, a moving tale of families broken apart by war, and one boy's quest to come to terms with his history. Klaus-Pierre is the love-child of a young Frenchwoman and a senior, married German officer. Klaus-Pierre never knew his father, who was killed before he was born, and his mother was rejected by her family of patriots and resistance workers. Cared for by his German family, Klaus-Pierre is loved and happy - but as he grows up in a Europe where old enemies are learning to cooperate, he tries to make his own 'Act of Peace' with his French relatives. The result is a horrifying confrontation between the two families when they meet accidentally in Provence. Meanwhile, Klaus-Pierre is struggling with another quest to come to terms with his roots, as he tries to find out just what kind of man his father really was... The sequel to AN ACT OF TREACHERY 'Impressive . . . Widdecombe skilfully and often movingly uses the boy's struggle with his own painful history to throw light on the troubled years between 1945 and the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989' SUNDAY TIMES
What is our modern concept of penance? Is it giving up chocolates for Lent or is it a lasting state of the awareness of sin? Is it public or private? Is it punishment or greater closeness to God? Is it always a response to personal sin or can an individual do penance for others' sins, or for the world? Ann Widdecombe looks at voluntary penance and its relation to repentance, at prescribed but not enforced penance as part of the sacrament of Absolution and, as an ex-Prisons Minister, at the role of penance as enforced by the State. Penance in art, penance in literature, penance in history, penance in the Bible are all examined in an important and thoughtful meditation on the concept of penance in the 21st Century.
You want to go on reading, you want to know what happens; it isn't easy to put down' Ruth Rendell A powerful novel about a family, and how their lives are torn apart in a single, devastating moment. Mark and Claire seem an ideal couple. He is an accountant, she the daughter of a successful businessman. They live in a comfortable middle-class village in Surrey. Then, during a party for their daughter Pippa's baptism, their son Jeremy is knocked down on the road outside. It is their worst nightmare, something they thought could never happen, and the consequences will affect each one of them more than they could possibly imagine. What is Claire's guilty secret, and can her wealthy, self-made father help? Will Mark, desperate to escape, have the nerve to leave? And how will Pippa be affected by the turmoil that began on the day of her own christening? 'A compelling story about the way a family copes with a catastrophe' THE TIMES 'A delight, a very polished read' CATHOLIC HERALD 'An accomplished first novel' TATLER 'Humane, thoughtful' HARPERS AND QUEENS
Off with her head!" decreed the Queen of Hearts, one of a multitude of murderous villains populating the pages of children's literature explored in this volume. Given the long-standing belief that children ought to be shielded from disturbing life events, it is surprising to see how many stories for kids involve killing. Bloody Murder is the first full-length critical study of this pervasive theme of murder in children’s literature. Through rereadings of well-known works, such as Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, and The Outsiders, Michelle Ann Abate explores how acts of homicide connect these works with an array of previously unforeseen literary, social, political, and cultural issues. Topics range from changes in the America criminal justice system, the rise of forensic science, and shifting attitudes about crime and punishment to changing cultural conceptions about the nature of evil and the different ways that murder has been popularly presented and socially interpreted. Bloody Murder adds to the body of inquiry into America's ongoing fascination with violent crime. Abate argues that when narratives for children are considered along with other representations of homicide in the United States, they not only provide a more accurate portrait of the range, depth, and variety of crime literature, they also alter existing ideas about the meaning of violence, the emotional appeal of fear, and the cultural construction of death and dying.
A BORN REBEL, ANN CLWYD HAS NEVER FEARED A FIGHT. The first woman to represent a Welsh Valleys constituency in Parliament, Ann Clwyd has spent thirty-three years in the corridors of power and witnessed the key political events of modern times, from the miners' strike, which ripped apart communities, to the EU referendum, which looks set to reshape a continent. She was shadow Secretary of State for Wales and shadow Secretary of State for International Development - only to be sacked over her refusals to toe the Labour Party line. Waging a tireless war against injustice from the back benches, Ann has campaigned for better-quality NHS care, a cause close to her heart and one that became tragically personal when her beloved husband, Owen, was failed by our hospitals. Publicly denounced by Saddam Hussein, she has been a fierce ally of the Iraqi people for decades, earning a place on the regime's 'most wanted' list and winning the lifelong affection of its citizens. Rebel with a Cause is Ann Clwyd's remarkable story of battling for her principles, regardless of wounds inflicted on her political career. This resolve was demonstrated when, undeterred by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn's three-line whip, she voted against Article 50. Despite having faced constant opposition over the course of her parliamentary career, Ann has always fought back fiercely and continues to do so to this day.
This book takes a radical approach to the study of traditional songs. Folk song scholarship was originally obsessed with notions of completeness and narrative coherence; even now long narratives hold a privileged place in most folk song canons. Yet field notebooks and recordings (and, increasingly, publications) overwhelmingly suggest that apparently 'broken' and drastically shortened versions are not perceived as incomplete by those who sing them. Dealing with a wide range of traditions and languages, this study turns the focus on these 'dog-ends' of oral tradition, and looks closely at how very short texts convey meaning in performance by working the audience's knowledge of a highly allusive idiom. What emerges is the tenacity of meaning in the connotative and metaphorical language of traditional song, and the extraordinary adaptability of songs in different cultural contexts. Such pieces have a strong metonymic force: they should not be seen as residual 'last leaves' of a once-complete tradition, but as dynamic elements in the process of oral transmission. Not all song fragments remain in their natural environment, and this book also explores relocations and dislocations as songs are adapted to new contexts: a ballad of love and death is used to count pins in lace-making, song-snippets trail subversive meanings in the novels of Charles Dickens. Because they are variable and elusive to dating, songs have had little attention from the literary establishment: the authors show both how certain critical approaches can be fruitfully applied to song texts, and how concepts from studies in oral traditions prefigure aspects of contemporary critical theory. Like the songs themselves, this book crosses and recrosses the perceived divide between the literary and the oral. Coverage includes English, Welsh, Breton, American, and Finnish songs.
For the times when you’re driving past a lumpy, bumpy field and you wonder what made the lumps and bumps; for when you’re walking between two lines of grand trees, wondering when and why they were planted; for when you see a brown heritage sign pointing to a ‘tumulus’ but you don’t know what to look for… Entertaining and factually rigorous, Hidden Histories will help you decipher the story of our landscape through the features you can see around you. This Spotter’s Guide arms the amateur explorer with the crucial information needed to ‘read’ the landscape and spot the human activities that have shaped our green and pleasant land. Photographs and diagrams point out specific details and typical examples to help the curious Spotter ‘get their eye in’ and understand what they’re looking at, or looking for. Specially commissioned illustrations bring to life the processes that shaped the landscape - from medieval ploughing to Roman road building - and stand-alone capsules explore interesting aspects of history such as the Highland Clearances or the coming of Christianity. This unique guide uncovers the hidden stories behind the country's landscape, making it the perfect companion for an exploration of our green and pleasant land.
This practical guide by two experienced translators and translation tutors explores aspects of time, context and culture in a range of translated literary texts, including novels, memoirs, poems and plays. Reflective analytical sections are complemented by a variety of practical tasks that reflect the book’s craft-based approach. Providing a dual focus on both analysis and creativity, this volume helps readers to develop two different skill sets required for translation: deconstruction and reconstruction. To learn how to analyse or deconstruct a source text (ST), the tasks include translating and editing, comparison and analysis of source language (SL) texts and translations, and critiquing or improving target language (TL) texts produced by translators from different times. A range of creative writing challenges reveal the secrets writers use to hook their readers. Whatever language readers translate into, these insights will help them to find their own writer’s voice, making them better equipped to recreate another author’s voice, whatever the time or cultural context. This is the essential guide to improving target texts for all translators and students of translation.
Thank you for visiting our website. Would you like to provide feedback on how we could improve your experience?
This site does not use any third party cookies with one exception — it uses cookies from Google to deliver its services and to analyze traffic.Learn More.