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        Literature & Literary Studies
        February 2024

        Sir Philip Sidney: The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia

        The New Arcadia, Second Revised Edition

        by Victor Skretkowicz, Elisabeth Chaghafi, J. B. Lethbridge

        Shipwrecks, gory battle scenes, cross-dressing, toxic relationships, abduction, torture (psychological and physical), comical country bumpkins, and, of course, love and poetry -Sir Philip Sidney's witty pastoral romance The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia is the classic that has it all in terms of entertainment factors. Modern readers mostly know Arcadia in its complete 'old' version, but it is the New Arcadia (published in 1590) that was the most influential and most widely imitated literary text of the sixteenth century. While preserving the basic plot - a ruler attempts to escape an alarming oracle by moving his family to the countryside and engaging in shepherd-cosplay until the arrival of two foreign princes triggers a chain of events leading to the fulfilment of the oracle - this version adds further narrative strands and introduces ambitious revisions that showcase Sidney's stylistic brilliance as a prose writer.

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        Humanities & Social Sciences
        March 2019

        Writing the Welsh borderlands in Anglo-Saxon England

        by Lindy Brady, T. J. H. McCarthy, Stephen Mossman, Carrie Beneš, Jochen Schenk

        This is the first study of the Anglo-Welsh border region in the period before the Norman arrival in England, from the fifth to the twelfth centuries. Its conclusions significantly alter our current picture of Anglo/Welsh relations before the Norman Conquest by overturning the longstanding critical belief that relations between these two peoples during this period were predominately contentious. Writing the Welsh borderlands in Anglo-Saxon England demonstrates that the region which would later become the March of Wales was not a military frontier in Anglo-Saxon England, but a distinctively mixed Anglo-Welsh cultural zone which was depicted as a singular place in contemporary Welsh and Anglo-Saxon texts. This study reveals that the region of the Welsh borderlands was much more culturally coherent, and the impact of the Norman Conquest on it much greater, than has been previously realised.

      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        February 2017

        Welsh missionaries and British imperialism

        The Empire of Clouds in north-east India

        by Andrew May

        In 1841, the Welsh sent their first missionary, Thomas Jones, to evangelise the tribal peoples of the Khasi Hills of north-east India. This book follows Jones from rural Wales to Cherrapunji, the wettest place on earth and now one of the most Christianised parts of India. As colonised colonisers, the Welsh were to have a profound impact on the culture and beliefs of the Khasis. The book also foregrounds broader political, scientific, racial and military ideologies that mobilised the Khasi Hills into an interconnected network of imperial control. Its themes are universal: crises of authority, the loneliness of geographical isolation, sexual scandal, greed and exploitation, personal and institutional dogma, individual and group morality. Written by a direct descendant of Thomas Jones, it makes a significant contribution in orienting the scholarship of imperialism to a much-neglected corner of India, and will appeal to students of the British imperial experience more broadly.

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        Humanities & Social Sciences
        February 2017

        Wales and the British overseas empire

        Interactions and influences, 1650–1830

        by H.V. Bowen

        This unique collection of essays is the first book to explore the many relationships that developed between Wales and the British overseas empire between 1650 and 1830. Written by leading specialists in the field, the essays explore economic, social, cultural, political, and religious interactions between Wales and the empire. The geographical coverage is very broad, with examinations of the contributions made by Wales to expansion in the Atlantic world, Caribbean, and South Asia. The book explores Welsh influences on the emergence of 'British' imperialism, as well as the impact that the empire had upon the development of Wales itself. The book will be of interest to academic historians, postgraduate students, and undergraduates. It will be indispensable to those interested in the history of Wales, Britain, and the empire, as well as those who wish to compare Welsh imperial experiences with those of the English, Irish, and Scots.

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        Humanities & Social Sciences
        April 2024

        Downward spiral

        Collapsing public standards and how to restore them

        by John Bowers

        The Johnson era will be remembered for a series of scandals that severely eroded trust in the British government. From questionable PPE tenders and public appointments to the 'partygate' fiasco, every aspect of public life seemed tainted. How did this downward spiral begin, and what can be done to reverse it? In this eye-opening book, veteran KC John Bowers presents a fearless examination of the decline in ethical standards before, during and after the Johnson government. He focuses on the institutions responsible for holding the government accountable, exposing how they have been bypassed by prime ministers determined to impose their agenda. Through interviews with political insiders, Bowers provides analysis of scandals such as partygate, Greensill and the revolving door with the private sector. He shines a light on a culture of favouritism, where standards are upheld based on little more than the assumption those in power can be trusted to behave. Rishi Sunak entered Number 10 on the promise of restoring integrity, but it is clear major problems remain. Confronting the failings of the current system, Downward spiral presents concrete proposals for creating an alternative that is more transparent and accountable.

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        Literature & Literary Studies
        July 2005

        Irvine Welsh

        by Aaron Kelly, Daniel Lea

        Irvine Welsh's fiction has defined an era, and this first full-length study provides a sustained textual and contextual analysis of all his work, from 'Trainspotting' and 'The Acid House' to 'Glue' and 'Porno'. A detailed chronological survey also considers the appropriateness of cultural, postmodern and postcolonial theories to Welsh's incendiary fiction. Kelly gives a fascinating insight into the writer's formal and political ambitions, placing him in the context of the 'brat pack' which exploded onto the Scottish literary scene in the 1990s. He explores the social, class and political conditioning of Welsh's early life, and its impact on his motivations for writing. Clearly written and accessible, this will be a key resource for students and academics alike. Choose 'Irvine Welsh'! ;

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        The Arts
        June 2017

        Popular television drama

        Critical perspectives

        by Jonathan Bignell, Stephen Lacey

        Popular television drama: critical perspectives' is a collection of essays examining landmark programmes of the last forty years, from 'Doctor Who' to 'The Office', and from 'The Demon Headmaster' to 'Queer As Folk'. Contributions from prominent academics focus on the full range of popular genres, from sitcoms to science fiction, gothic horror and children's drama, and challenge received wisdom by reconsidering how British television drama can be analysed. Each section is preceded by an introduction in which the editors discuss how the essays address existing problems in the field and also suggest new directions for study. The book is split into three sections, addressing the enduring appeal of popular genres, the notion of 'quality' in television drama, and analysing a range of programmes past and present. Popular television drama: critical perspectives will be of interest to students and researchers in many academic disciplines that study television drama. Its breadth and focus on popular programmes will also appeal to those interested in the shows themselves.

      • Trusted Partner
        September 2020

        It was always love

        by Hotel, Nikola

        She’s had enough of men, but he can’t get enough of her...   Away. Just get out of here. That's all Aubree thinks about when she gets kicked out of college after a party. She buys an incredibly old car, throws the few things she owns into the trunk and flees to her best friend Ivy in New Hampshire.    There, all she wants is to pull the blanket over her head and think of nothing else. Not about that night. Not about the party. And most of all, not that picture that's been circulating on the Internet ever since. But it doesn't work. Because instead of her friend, she meets Noah, Ivy's stepbrother. With his impulsive but surprisingly sensitive nature, Noah evokes feelings in her that she doesn't need right now. And which, nevertheless, sweep her away like a storm...     Second volume of a romantic and exciting dilogy with 20 lavishly illustrated hand-lettered pages by Carolin Magunia. Including a playlist that can be found on Spotify and contains songs which match perfectly with the story! It was always you (Vol. 1) entered the Spiegel bestseller list immediately after its publication. Both titles can be read separately. For all fans of Mona Kasten, Laura Kneidl and Kelly Moran! 30.000 copies of vol. 1 + 2 were sold since June 2020!

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        Humanities & Social Sciences
        November 2012

        Welsh missionaries and British imperialism

        by Andrew J. May

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        Literature & Literary Studies
        March 2023

        Sleep and its spaces in Middle English literature

        Emotions, ethics, dreams

        by Megan Leitch

        Middle English literature is intimately concerned with sleep and the spaces in which it takes place. In the medieval English imagination, sleep is an embodied and culturally determined act. It is both performed and interpreted by characters and contemporaries, subject to a particular habitus and understood through particular hermeneutic lenses. While illuminating the intersecting medical and moral discourses by which it is shaped, sleep also sheds light on subjects in favour of which it has hitherto been overlooked: what sleep can enable (dreams and dream poetry) or what it can stand in for or supersede (desire and sex). This book argues that sleep mediates thematic concerns and questions in ways that have ethical, affective and oneiric implications. At the same time, it offers important contributions to understanding different Middle English genres: romance, dream vision, drama and fabliau.

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        Literature & Literary Studies
        August 2023

        Poison on the early modern English stage

        Plants, paints and potions

        by Lisa Hopkins, Bill Angus

        Many early modern plays use poison, most famously Hamlet, where the murder of Old Hamlet showcases the range of issues poison mobilises. Its orchard setting is one of a number of sinister uses of plants which comment on both the loss of horticultural knowledge resulting from the Dissolution of the Monasteries and also the many new arrivals in English gardens through travel, trade, and attempts at colonisation. The fact that Old Hamlet was asleep reflects unease about soporifics troubling the distinction between sleep and death; pouring poison into the ear smuggles in the contemporary fear of informers; and it is difficult to prove. This book explores poisoning in early modern plays, the legal and epistemological issues it raises, and the cultural work it performs, which includes questions related to race, religion, nationality, gender, and humans' relationship to the environment.

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