#1 Sunday Times Bestseller “Lush, evocative and utterly irresistible.”—Jennifer Saint, author of Ariadne Prepare to lift the lid on a lush reimagination of the mythological Pandora….Susan Stokes-Chapman’s atmospheric debut, PANDORA, immerses the reader in the dangerous, mysterious world of ancient antiquities with prose that is elegant and teeming with visceral sensory detail. A marvelous debut—imaginative, ambitious, and begging to be savored." — Sarah Penner, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Apothecary Steeped in mystery and rich in imagination, an exhilarating historical novel set in Georgian London where the discovery of a mysterious ancient Greek vase sets in motion conspiracies, revelations, and romance. London, 1799. Dora Blake, an aspiring jewelry artist, lives with her odious uncle atop her late parents’ once-famed shop of antiquities. After a mysterious Greek vase is delivered, her uncle begins to act suspiciously, keeping the vase locked in the store’s basement, away from prying eyes—including Dora’s. Intrigued by her uncle’s peculiar behavior, Dora turns to young, ambitious antiquarian scholar Edward Lawrence who eagerly agrees to help. Edward believes the ancient vase is the key that will unlock his academic future; Dora sees it as a chance to establish her own name. But what Edward discovers about the vase has Dora questioning everything she has believed about her life, her family, and the world as she knows it. As Dora uncovers the truth, she comes to understand that some doors are locked and some mysteries are buried for a reason, while others are closer to the surface than they appear. A story of myth and mystery, secrets and deception, fate and hope, Pandora is an enchanting work of historical fiction as captivating and evocative as The Song of Achilles, The Essex Serpent, and The Miniaturist.
On an isolated estate in late-eighteenth-century rural Wales, a young English doctor uncovers dangerous secrets that may threaten his own life in this spellbinding Gothic tale from the bestselling author of Pandora. Dismissed from his post at a prestigious London hospital, Dr. Henry Talbot has little choice but to accept a mysterious offer of employment as a private physician from an inscrutable lord in rural Wales, Lord Julian. Arriving at Plas Helyg, the isolated estate, Henry can’t speak the language and finds himself treated with hostile suspicion by superstitious villagers, whose beliefs in myths and magic he’s inclined to dismiss. But when he discovers that his predecessor died under peculiar, inexplicable circumstances, his determination to uncover the truth leads him down a path fraught with danger—made all the more perilous by his headstrong, reluctant ally Linette, Lord Julian’s cousin. Linette has lived a lonely life as Plas Helyg’s unconventional mistress: Julian treats her with disdain, her father is long dead, and her mother, long plagued by strange spells and believed by everyone around her to be deeply unwell, spends most of her time locked away in her rooms. Fiercely self-reliant, Linette refuses to wear women’s clothes, has no interest in marriage, and takes an interest in the welfare of the men working in Lord Julian’s mines, against his wishes. Linette has always suspected something is not quite right in the village, but it is only through Henry's dogged investigations that the dark truth about those closest to her will come to light—a truth that will bind hers and Henry's destinies together forever in ways neither thought possible.
The year is 1919 and the seven members of the Watkins family are finally enjoying a summer of peace, but everything is about to change. Plunged in to poverty by two unexpected events the family are forced to leave their village in Lancashire and head to London in search of work. On arrival in London with little funds and nowhere to go, they meet by chance the famous and charismatic society photographer, Patrick Lawrence. He offers them accommodation and employment, but is he everything they think him to be. Before long unimaginable secrets are exposed, putting the family at odds with one another and causing almost irreparable damage.
In this vivid ethnography set in contemporary Peru, Susan Stokes provides a compelling analysis of the making and unmaking of class consciousness among the urban poor. Her research strategy is multifaceted; through interviews, participant observation, and survey research she digs deeply into the popular culture of the social activists and shantytown residents she studies. The result is a penetrating look at how social movements evolve, how poor people construct independent political cultures, and how the ideological domination of oppressed classes can shatter. This work is a new and vital chapter in the growing literature on the formation of social movements. It chronicles the transformation of Peru's poor from a culture of deference and clientelism in the late 1960s to a population mobilized for radical political action today. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1996. In this vivid ethnography set in contemporary Peru, Susan Stokes provides a compelling analysis of the making and unmaking of class consciousness among the urban poor. Her research strategy is multifaceted; through interviews, participant observation, and
Some theorists claim that democracy cannot work without trust. According to this argument, democracy fails unless citizens trust that their governing institutions are serving their best interests. Similarly, some assert that democracy works best when people trust one another and have confidence that politicians will look after citizen interests. Questioning such claims, Democracy and the Culture of Skepticism, by Matthew Cleary and Susan Stokes, suggests that skepticism, not trust, is the hallmark of political culture in well-functioning democracies. Drawing on extensive research in two developing democracies, Argentina and Mexico, Democracy and the Culture of Skepticism shows that in regions of each country with healthy democracies, people do not trust one another more than those living in regions where democracy functions less well, nor do they display more personal trust in governments or politicians. Instead, the defining features of the healthiest democracies are skepticism of government and a belief that politicians act in their constituents' best interest only when it is personally advantageous for them to do so. In contrast to scholars who lament what they see as a breakdown in civic life, Cleary and Stokes find that people residing in healthy democracies do not participate more in civic organizations than others, but in fact, tend to retreat from civic life in favor of private pursuits. The authors conclude that governments are most efficient and responsive when they know that institutions such as the press or an independent judiciary will hold them accountable for their actions. The question of how much citizens should trust politicians and governments has consumed political theorists since America's founding. In Democracy and the Culture of Skepticism, Matthew Cleary and Susan Stokes test the relationship between trust and the quality of governance, showing that it is not trust, but vigilance and skepticism that provide the foundation for well-functioning democracies. A Volume in the Russell Sage Foundation Series on Trust
Ethnography by a political scientist focuses on how urban poor have changed their perceptions of the State, citizenship, class and gender relations, and democracy and have movilized radical social movements. Analysis includes historical and ethnographic
Set in 1851, this book is a tale of love, adventure, endurance and triumph. A young Scottish couple, forbidden to marry, elope to New South Wales. Their heart-wrenching departure, arduous sea voyage and eventual good fortune lead them to the management of a sheep station beside the Murray River. As the extended family experience trials, prosperity, heartbreak and joy in this new colony, including droughts and bushfires, they contribute to the establishment of a new nation, Australia. A breathtaking ride by their grandson in the Melbourne Cup completes the story.
Accused of a crime she didn't commit, Kelly Carmichael skips bail and heads to Indigo Springs. It's a shot in the dark, but with her freedom at stake she has no choice if she wants answers. When forest ranger Chase Bradford starts asking questions, Kelly tells him she's a stranger passing through. That's the first lie. Now she has to keep lying. She's walking a dangerous tightrope...especially when she starts falling for the single father. How will Chase react when he finds out who she really is? Will the honorable guy feel duty-bound to bring her in? Or will he stand by her? If only she had the courage to trust him with the truth....
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