Originally published in London, 1910. A collection of eleven important early Chinese Folk Lore Tales. The book is rich in the myth and legend of early China. Contents include: The Widow Ho, Kwang-Jui and the God of the River, The Beautiful daughter of Liu-Kung, The Fairy Bonze, The Mysterious Buddhist Robe, The Vengeance of the Goddess, The Wonderful Man, The God of the City, The Tragedy of the Yin Family, Sam-Chung and the Water Demon, The Reward of a benevolent life. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Home Farm Books are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

From the bestselling author of THE GIRL OF INK & STARS comes an unforgettable read for young and old alike: an exciting adventure to the frozen north, perfect for fans of Philip Pullman. WINNER OF THE BLACKWELL'S CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE YEAR 'This gorgeous story of bravery, sisterhood, goodbyes and beginnings is a must for everyone.' JESSIE BURTON 'The Way Past Winter is a masterclass in exquisite storytelling.' CATHERINE DOYLE 'Gorgeous, heartfelt and incredibly exciting. Her best yet, and that's saying something.' ROBIN STEVENS Mila and her sisters live with their brother Oskar in a small forest cabin in the snow. One night, a fur-clad stranger arrives seeking shelter for himself and his men. But by the next morning, they've gone - taking Oskar with them. Fearful for his safety, Mila and her sisters set out to bring Oskar back - even it means going north, crossing frozen wild-lands to find a way past an eternal winter. The third children's novel by Times number one bestselling author Kiran Millwood Hargrave, winner of the Waterstones Children's Book Prize and the British Book Awards Children's Book of the Year From the author of The Girl of Ink & Stars, The Island at the End of Everything, Julia and the Shark and The Mercies - chosen for the Richard & Judy Book Club The Way Past Winter combines high adventure with beautiful writing and a wintry folk-tale feel - a gorgeous literary novel for all year round

Of all the countless legendary beasts that have been conjured forth from the seemingly limitless capacity of the human imagination, none can remotely compare with the dragon for its sheer diversity of form, its symbolic significance, and its cross-cultural presence. Dragons are everywhere-still glimpsed in the living, breathing beasts around us that inspired and engendered their birth in our far-distant ancestors' dreams, and nightmares; perennially encountered in the myriad of traditional myths and folklore woven into the fabric of every creed and culture around the world; and ever-visible within the innumerable outpourings of artistic creation that have graced and enhanced our species' existence across all temporal, political, social, and geographical boundaries. So from where, and from what, has such widespread-indeed, worldwide-belief in these creatures stemmed? There can be no doubt that a major factor influencing the origin of the dragon is early humanity's observations and interactions with various distinctive and potentially inimical creatures of reality sharing our world. Equally thought-provoking is how and why the dragon has become so intimately associated with our own species. This multi-faceted monster of mythology is more than amply represented visually, for example, by artwork of every conceivable style, age, and category. And the dragon's status in religion, dreams, alchemy, psychology, astrology, literature, movies, and music is as compelling as it is complex. These many diverse but equally captivating themes are all fully explored in this spellbinding book's uniquely comprehensive coverage, and provide ample confirmation that there is no sign whatsoever of waning interest for what must surely be the most vibrant, tenacious, and fascinating creature that has never existed-the dragon.

Europe is a continent weighed down by the shadows of its past, its wars, the traditional enmities, the suspicions of neighbours fuelled by historical memories. This has immediate consequences for the understanding and representation of the past: journalists, politicians, historians often apply simplistic, pre-conceived patterns, i.e., myths, to current events, resulting in distorted and misleading analyses. This volume exposes the way some historical myths, such as Balance of Power, Rapallo, the Special Relationship, the Franco-German Couple, the Peril of Islam, are used to blur, not to clarify our understanding of international affairs, even to manipulate contemporary politics. Cyrill Buffet is Research Fellow at the Centre Marc Bloch, Berlin and Beatrice Heuser is Lecturer in War Studies at King's College, London.

Narrative as Social Practice sets out to explore the complex and fascinating interrelatedness of narrative and culture. It does so by contrasting the oral storytelling traditions of two widely divergent cultures - Anglo-Western culture and the Central Australian culture of the Pitjantjatjara/Yankunytjatjara Aborigines. Combining discourse-analytical and pragmalinguistic methodologies with the perspectives of ethnopoetics and the ethnography of communication, this book presents a highly original and engaging study of storytelling as a vital communicative activity at the heart of socio-cultural life. The book is concerned with both theoretical and empirical issues. It engages critically with the theoretical framework of social constructivism and the notion of social practice, and it offers critical discussions of the most influential theories of narrative put forward in Western thinking. Arguing for the adoption of a communication-oriented and cross-cultural perspective as a prerequisite for improving our understanding of the cultural variability of narrative practice, Klapproth presents detailed textual analyses of Anglo-Western and Australian Aboriginal oral narratives, and contextualizes them with respect to the different storytelling practices, values and worldviews in both cultures. Narrative as Social Practice offers new insights to students and specialists in the fields of narratology, discourse analysis, cross-cultural pragmatics, anthropology, folklore study, the ethnography of communication, and Australian Aboriginal studies.

Laurence Coupe offers students a comprehensive overview of the development of myth, showing how mythic themes, structures and symbols persist in literature and entertainment today. This introductory volume:

• illustrates the relation between myth, culture and literature with discussions of poetry, fiction, film and popular song
• explores uses made of the term myth within the fields of literary criticism, anthropology, cultural studies, feminism, Marxism and psychoanalysis
• discusses the association between modernism, postmodernism, myth and history
• familiarizes the reader with themes such as the dying god, the quest for the Grail, the relation between chaos and cosmos, and the vision of the end of time
• demonstrates the growing importance of the green dimension of myth.

Fully updated and revised in this new edition, Myth is both a concise introduction and a useful tool to students first approaching the topic, while also a valuable contribution to the study of myth.

Embrace the power of the divine in this beginner's guide to some of mythology's fiercest females and most legendary ladies Across thousands of years and countless civilizations, goddesses have been a powerful presence. Whether as leaders, mothers, warriors or lovers, these indomitable divinities have always been able to fascinate and seduce us. This pocket guide offers readers an engaging and accessible introduction to a selection of the most powerful and influential goddesses throughout ancient and modern history, retelling their stories and celebrating their awesome abilities. Each profile includes a concise history of the goddess and her origins, a summary of her main powers, a look at the goddess in myth and popular culture and an exploration of her best attributes. Learn about the Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom and war; Bastet, the Egyptian goddess of pleasure and protection; the beautiful Freyja, the Norse goddess of love, and many others. Let yourself be inspired and empowered by tales of feminine power, strength and wisdom in this pocketbook of dazzling deities.

Step into a magical world of fanciful characters, animals, and landscapes that will delight adult coloring fans of fairy tales, landscapes, and whimsical drawings. Inspired by fairy tales and magical realism, artist Renata Krawczyk has created illustrations that will delight fans of coloring intricate scenes of fantasy and wonder. The beautiful drawings include such charming scenes as cottages adorned with fairy lights, delicate flowers, paper sailboats, tiny teacups, toadstools, hot-air balloons, unicorns, and more.

Focusing on representations of Celtic motifs and traditions in post-1980s adult fantasy literature, this book illuminates how the historical, the mythological and the folkloric have served as inspiration for the fantastic in modern and popular culture of the western world. Bringing together both highly-acclaimed works with those that have received less critical attention, including French and Gaelic fantasy literature, Imagining the Celtic Past in Modern Fantasy explores such texts as Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Alan Garner's Weirdstone trilogy, the Irish fantasies of Jodi McIsaac, David Gemmell's Rigante novels, Patricia Kennealy-Morrison Keltiad books, as well as An Sgoil Dhubh by Iain F. MacLeoid and the Vertigen and Frontier series by Lea Silhol. Lively and covering new ground, the collection examines topics such as fairy magic, Celtic-inspired worldbuilding, heroic patterns, classical ethnography and genre tropes alongside analyses of the Celtic Tarot in speculative fiction and Celtic appropriation in fan culture. Introducing a nuanced understanding of the Celtic past, as it has been informed by recent debates in Celtic studies, this wide-ranging and provocative book shows how modern fantasy is indebted to medieval Celtic-language texts, folkloric traditions, as well as classical sources.

The tales contained in this unique collection were translated and taken down soon after the Second World War by C. G. Campbell, a major in the British army. Major Campbell was not just a soldier but also an Arabist who took a great interest in the life and culture of the Arabs. At the time of this collection's publication, the well known writer and Middle East expert of the time, H. St. John Philby, described the tales as "A work which can fairly be called a masterpiece."