In order to learn the fascinating story of plants and the development of human civilisation. No other book covers so much - from sacred mushrooms to GM crops, from the religions of the seasons and harvest to the hobby of gardening - and is able to convey both the mysterious and the practical with equal ease and in an accessible, intelligent style. The future of the planet depends upon such knowledge and empathy.

CAPTIVATING LOVE STORIES CELEBRATED AND RETOLD THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER AND GLOBAL HIT As seen on BBC2 Between the Covers 'Perfection in short story form. So rarely is love expressed this richly, this vividly, or this artfully.' CANDICE CARTY-WILLIAMS 'Beautifully written and full of joy. Bolu Babalola is a star.' MEG CABOT 'Here is love as freedom, love as deep joy. Romance will never be dead, as long as Bolu is writing it.' JESSIE BURTON __________ Bolu Babalola takes the most beautiful love stories from history and mythology and rewrites them with incredible new detail and vivacity in her debut collection. Focusing on the magical folktales of West Africa, Babalola also reimagines iconic Greek myths, ancient legends from the Middle East, and stories from countries that no longer exist in our world. A high-born Nigerian goddess feels beaten down and unappreciated by her gregarious lover and longs to be truly seen. A young businesswoman attempts to make a great leap in her company, and an even greater one in her love life. A powerful Ghanaian spokeswoman is forced to decide whether to uphold her family's politics, or to be true to her heart. Whether captured in the passion of love at first sight, or realising that self-love takes precedent over the latter, the characters in these vibrant stories try to navigate this most complex human emotion and understand why it holds them hostage. Moving exhilaratingly across perspectives, continents and genres, from the historic to the vividly current, Love in Colour is a celebration of romance in all of its forms. __________ PRAISE FOR LOVE IN COLOUR: 'Captivating.' Vice 'Smart and joyful, witty and heartbreaking.' Stylist 'Epic.' Bustle 'Vibrant.' Refinery29 'Brilliant and beautiful.' Net-a-Porter

This book examines magic's generally maleficent effect on humans from ancient Egypt through the Middle Ages, including tales from classical mythology, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim cultures. It shows that certain magical motifs lived on from age to age, but that it took until the Italian Renaissance for magic tales to become fairy tales.

DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE KIDS WHO FOUND A FERRARI BURIED IN THEIR GARDEN? WHAT ABOUT THE MAN WHO SUED SATAN? DO YOU KNOW THE LEGEND OF THE BUNNY MAN? Strange happenings, unsolved mysteries and seemingly supernatural events have gripped and shocked us for centuries, passed from person to person in whispers in classrooms, tales around the campfire and idle gossip among friends. Whether they're based on a grain of truth or a complete flight of fancy, the myths, legends and weird tales contained within this book will take you on a fascinating journey to the outer limits of plausibility, and dare you to believe the unbelievable.

"The Early Amazons offers a new understanding of the ancient Amazon myth, situating mythical representations in the realm of cultural history.
The first section examines how the Amazons have presented a challenge to views on history, myth and gender in classical mythology from the late eighteenth century up to the impact of structuralism. Topics included are nineteenth-century historiography and the interest in linguistics.
The second section sheds new light on the culture of archaic Greece, offering a coherent assessment of literary and visual representations. Taking mythical narrative as a form of oral storytelling, it shows the emergence of the Amazon motif and its meaning in the world of epic. Iconographical analysis reveals how the visual arts have made a contribution of their own to the imaginary presence of the Amazons.

This volume offers 59 of the world's great myths--including selections from "The Iliad and the Odyssey," "Beowulf," "King Arthur" and "Quetzalcoatl." Each myth is accompanied by an introduction that offers historical background and suggests avenues for literary analysis.

Originally published in 1870. Author: George W. Cox, M.A. Language: English Keywords: Religion / Mythology / Folklore Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Obscure Press are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

The first and only comprehensive biographical dictionary devoted to mythological women. Divinities, humans, female monsters and animals, hermaphrodites, and transsexuals are all here. Women of Classical Mythology offers unprecedented access to information on women largely neglected in reference works on Greek and Roman myth and gives a fresh look at the better-known figures. Each of the 2,600 entries places its subject both in the overall context of classical myth, and in the frame of reference of her better-known counterparts. For each figure there is a description of her particular contribution to folklore, and a list of the various poems, tragedies, epics, and other types of stories in which she plays a central role. In addition, the handy special index, "The Men in Their Lives," allows readers to locate a particular woman known primarily through her relations. The female characters in classical mythology often provide clues to genealogical, chronological, and historical puzzles. This book will be welcomed by classical scholars for the insights and relationships it reveals. Over 2,500 A-Z entries detail the woman's contribution and places her in context with male associates Includes a special index titled "The Men in Their Lives" which makes it simple to locate a figure through her relations such as Theseus' mother or Achilles' wife Cross references and end-of-entry citations allow readers to go from most entries directly to the classical sources

A collection of legends representing the rich tapestry of beliefs of Aboriginal people throughout Australia. Tales range from creation stories to legends of animals, birds, rivers, lakes and shores, as well as hero stories. A dictionary of Aboriginal words is included.

America's oldest city, St. Augustine, has its fair share of things that go bump in the night. With such a long and varied history, it's no surprise that a few restless souls have stayed on long after their lives ended.

This book presents folktales in the Herati dialect of the Afghan Persian language, along with useful transcriptions and translations. This dialect is spoken by the sedentary population of Herat city and the adjacent area situated in the northwest of Afghanistan. Historically, the area in question was part of the Persian province of Khorasan that was known for its significant role in the development of Persian culture in general and literature and philosophy in particular. Suffice it to say that the classical Persian language (Farsi) is considered to have originated in that region. For centuries, Herat has been one of the main cultural centers of the Khorasan province, and according to a reliable historic source, it was in Herat that the first poetical piece in Farsi was composed. The area was the birthplace of many most prominent Persian-speaking poets such as Ferdowsi, F. 'Attar, Khayyam, to mention a few. Others such as Jami and Ansari were originally from the Herat area and their shrines are located in the city. Given the fact that many early Persian-speaking poets came from this region (Khorasan) and from Herat in particular, their native Khorasani dialects--including Herati-- considerably influenced the language of Persian classical literature. The Herati dialect linguistic importance from the synchronic perspective is based on the fact that it serves as a bridge between the Persian dialects of western Iran and the Tajiki of Central Asia. In addition, given the geographic position of Herat (situated on the border between modern Afghanistan and Iran), its dialect also shares many common characteristics with the Persian dialects of Iran and those of Afghanistan. Despite its cultural and linguistic importance for studies in Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia, this region has never been open to field research (especially by westerners) because of its long political instability and constant wars. There is no similar published work in English on this particular Persian dialect and its oral literature. Based on academically informed fieldwork and presented in a scientific fashion, this study provides information previously unavailable and is thus valuable to the academic discourse in Iranian linguistics. The materials were collected by the author during field research in Afghanistan in the 1980s from illiterate dialect speakers (a category which has preserved the dialect the most in terms of purity and entirety). The book helpfully provides a grammatical introduction to the Herati dialect, a glossary of dialectal and common words, as well as approximately 500 explanatory notes. This book will be of interest to linguists and language learners, especially those studying Afghan Persian. It will also be useful as a language learning aid for intermediate and advanced students of spoken Afghan Persian in general and of Persian (in the broader sense) dialectology in particular, foreign NGO workers or interpreters/translators who find themselves in the field in western Afghanistan or far eastern Iran. Though the present book is by no means a study in folklore literature or anthropology, these texts containing ethnographic data will also be of value to folklorists or ethnographers.