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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." -- AmazonThe Long Song: Shortlisted for the Booker Prize (Nhb Modern Plays Ser.)
Par Andrea Levy. 2010
Now a major BBC TV drama, starring Tamara Lawrance, Lenny Henry and Hayley Atwell.A Sunday Times bestseller (2011), shortlisted for…
the Man Booker Prize, The Long Song by Andrea Levy is a hauntingly beautiful, heartbreaking and unputdownable novel of the last days of slavery in Jamaica, for those who loved Homegoing, The Underground Railroad, or the film 12 Years a Slave.'A marvel of luminous storytelling' Financial TimesYou do not know me yet. My son Thomas, who is publishing this book, tells me, it is customary at this place in a novel to give the reader a little taste of the story that is held within these pages. As your storyteller, I am to convey that this tale is set in Jamaica during the last turbulent years of slavery and the early years of freedom that followed.July is a slave girl who lives upon a sugar plantation named Amity and it is her life that is the subject of this tale. She was there when the Baptist War raged in 1831, and she was present when slavery was declared no more. My son says I must convey how the story tells also of July's mama Kitty, of the negroes that worked the plantation land, of Caroline Mortimer the white woman who owned the plantation and many more persons besides - far too many for me to list here. But what befalls them all is carefully chronicled upon these pages for you to peruse.Perhaps, my son suggests, I might write that it is a thrilling journey through that time in the company of people who lived it. All this he wishes me to pen so the reader can decide if this is a novel they might care to consider. Cha, I tell my son, what fuss-fuss. Come, let them just read it for themselves.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 Chocolate Maker's Wife: A Novel
Par Karen Brooks. 2019
Australian bestselling novelist Karen Brooks rewrites women back into history with this breathtaking novel set in 17th century London—a lush,…
fascinating story of the beautiful woman who is drawn into a world of riches, power, intrigue…and chocolate.Damnation has never been so sweet...Rosamund Tomkins, the illegitimate daughter of a nobleman, spends most of her young life in drudgery at a country inn. To her, the Restoration under Charles II, is but a distant threat as she works under the watchful eye of her brutal, abusive stepfather . . . until the day she is nearly run over by the coach of Sir Everard Blithman.Sir Everard, a canny merchant, offers Rosamund an “opportunity like no other,” allowing her to escape into a very different life, becoming the linchpin that will drive the success of his fledgling business: a luxurious London chocolate house where wealthy and well-connected men come to see and be seen, to gossip and plot, while indulging in the sweet and heady drink.Rosamund adapts and thrives in her new surroundings, quickly becoming the most talked-about woman in society, desired and respected in equal measure.But Sir Everard’s plans for Rosamund and the chocolate house involve family secrets that span the Atlantic Ocean, and which have already brought death and dishonor to the Blithman name. Rosamund knows nothing of the mortal peril that comes with her new title, nor of the forces spinning a web of conspiracy buried in the past, until she meets a man whose return tightens their grip upon her, threatening to destroy everything she loves and damn her to a dire fate.As she fights for her life and those she loves through the ravages of the Plague and London’s Great Fire, Rosamund’s breathtaking tale is one marked by cruelty and revenge; passion and redemption—and the sinfully sweet temptation of chocolate.The 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.