Annie Abram was born in London in 1869 and died in Sussex in 1930. As an historian, she contributed significantly to the twentieth-century historiography of late medieval England, researching the social, cultural and religious mores of the English laity and clergy. This title, first published in 1919, comprehensively explores the fabrics of late medieval society using evidence drawn from historical and literary works, official documents and illustrated manuscripts. Largely concentrating on the years between the start of the Black Death in 1348 and the end of the fifteenth century, a period in which we see important developments in the character and organisation of medieval England, chapters discuss the make-up of social order, life in a medieval town, the position of women in society, and the Church's relationship with the laity. A complementary title to Social Life in England in the Fifteenth Century (Routledge Revivals, 2013), this fascinating work will be of great value to history students requiring a detailed overview of the framework of late medieval English society and culture.

In recent decades, there has been a growing recognition of the significance of the supernatural in a Victorian context. Studies of nineteenth-century spiritualism, occultism, magic, and folklore have highlighted that Victorian England was ridden with spectres and learned magicians. Despite this growing body of scholarship, little historiographical work has addressed the Devil. This book demonstrates the significance of the Devil in a Victorian context, emphasising his pervasiveness and diversity. Drawing on a rich array of primary material, including theological and folkloric works, fiction, newspapers and periodicals, and broadsides and other ephemera, it uses the diabolic to explore the Victorians' complex and ambivalent relationship with the supernatural. Both the Devil and hell were theologically contested during the nineteenth century, with an increasing number of both clergymen and laypeople being discomfited by the thought of eternal hellfire. Nevertheless, the Devil continued to play a role in the majority of English denominations, as well as in folklore, spiritualism, occultism, popular culture, literature, and theatre. The Devil and the Victorians will appeal to readers interested in nineteenth-century English cultural and religious history, as well as the darker side of the supernatural.

The creation of large new tracts of forest, together with the development of a modern wood processing sector, was the single biggest transformation to occur in the Scottish countryside during the twentieth century. While the environmental and landscape impacts of this change have been much commented upon, its impact on Scottish culture and society has attracted comparatively little attention. This book tells the fascinating story of the human side of forestry, drawing heavily on the thoughts, experiences and reflections of a wide range of individuals from all levels and all sectors of the industry as it has developed in Scotland over the last 100 years. The book also analyses the evolution of forestry policy and the changing roles of both the state-run Forestry Commission and the private sector. However, at its core are the stories of the men, women and children who have lived and worked in the many communities where old and new forests have loomed large - communities where, especially in the middle decades of the twentieth century, forestry was often the largest source of employment and income, and without which many of these places would have struggled to survive.

A completely new look at plants - not only in food, drink and commerce, and how they have created civilisation, trade and empires, but also in love, in war, in crime, in horror and delight, in music, poetry and prose, and on the screen. Not just another gardening or plant book, this is a complete picture of how plants affect people, for better or worse, now, in the past and in the future with illuminating and startling facts about their ubiquitous presence in human affairs - through life, death, illness, happiness, murder, despair, desperation, love, hate, loss, and far more. From Presidents to pop stars, from scientists to slavers, royals to religious leaders, chefs to charlatans, pioneers to politicians, artists to actors, Plants & Us is a unique overview of plants, wild and cultivated, their vital importance and the threats they face. Above all, how they affect all our lives in stories that will often surprise the reader.

A beautifully illustrated history of the Renaissance told through the lives of its most important and influential patrons. 'Exceptionally sumptuous... This vivid history brings to life the vices and virtues of the feuding ruling families of Italy.' Michael Prodger, The Times 'Full of treasures to be uncovered... A chance to visit a glittering, at times rather gory, world that is different and yet dreamily familiar to our own.' BBC History Revealed From the late Middle Ages, the independent Italian city-states were taken over by powerful families who installed themselves as dynastic rulers. Inspired by the humanists, the princes of fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Italy immersed themselves in the culture of antiquity, commissioning palaces, villas and churches inspired by the architecture of ancient Rome, and offering patronage to artists and writers. Many of these princes were related by blood or marriage, creating a web of alliances that held society together but whose tensions sometimes threatened to tear it apart; thus were their lives dominated as much by the waging of war as the nurture of artistic talent. In a narrative that is as rigorous and closely researched as it is accessible and informative, Mary Hollingsworth sets the princes' aesthetic achievements in the context of the volatile, ever-shifting politics of a tumultuous period of history.

The most thorough reinterpretation of the shape and meaning of immigration in United States history--gives students the story from all the borders, reorienting them from their elementary/high school learning. An excellent resource for scholars of U.S. History as well as college students in courses on American immigration and race relations, since the notes and references are so complete, and the conclusions so transformative. Spickard's writing style is a favorite of students. He doesn't talk down to them, and uses little jargon in conveying the argument, which is unconventional enough to energize students and get them talking about the issues. By cutting the notes from the written text and loading them onto the companion website, we've cut the length of the text by a third without sacrificing any of the text iteself. Students who want the extensive notes can download the PDF from the website. Newly updated and completely interactive, the companion website now includes primary sources, extra images, links to archives and other web resources, and discussion questions.

Now in its fifth edition, The Italian City Republics illustrates how, from the eleventh century onwards, many Italian towns achieved independence as political entities, unhindered by any centralising power. Until the fourteenth century, when the regimes of individual 'tyrants' took over in most towns, these communes were the scene of a precocious, and very well-documented, experiment in republican self-government. In this new edition, Trevor Dean has expanded the book's treatment of women and gender, the early history of the communes and the lives of non-elites. Focusing on the typical medium-sized towns rather than the better-known cities, the authors draw on a rich variety of contemporary material, both documentary and literary, to portray the world of the communes, illustrating the patriotism and public spirit as well as the equally characteristic factional strife which was to tear them apart. Discussion of the artistic and social lives of the inhabitants shows how these towns were the seedbed of the cultural achievements of the early Renaissance. The Bibliography has been updated to a list of Further Reading with the latest scholarship for students to continue their studies. Both students and the general reader interested in Italian history, literature and art will find this accessible book a rewarding and fascinating read.

This book explores how families of the early modern age in Italy, France and England adopted a system of selective infanticide to manage food and economic resources avoiding the creation of problematic situations for the survival of the family. Providing students and researcher of early modern history with a new take on the history of the family to inform their studies. The book is based on careful transcription of a wide array of documents, including hundreds of criminal cases, thousands of instances of civil litigation and claims of property damage, baptism records, a complete set of village assembly records and attendant tax assessments. Enabling students and researchers to see how these legal and economic records can expand their knowledge of social history and the period more broadly. Death Control in the West provides students and researchers interested in the demographic mechanisms of the age and for the study of social and family relationships in early modern Europe with the tools to undertake their own research and form their own conclusions about the prolificity of infanticide in early modern Europe.

The intricate designs and complex patterns of Cherokee pottery have been developed over centuries. Both timeless and time-honored, these singular works of pottery are still crafted by the proud hands of Cherokee women in Western North Carolina. Cherokee Pottery recounts the history of a tradition passed from elder to child through countless generations. Anna Fariello, associate professor at Western Carolina University, explores the method and meaning molded into each piece, along with the stories of the potters themselves.

Here lies entombed the renowned King Arthur in the island of Avalon. - Inscription found at Glastonbury in the late 12th century King Arthur most probably never existed and - even if he did - we know precious little about him, and yet he is one of the most famous Britons, while Excalibur and Camelot are perhaps the world's best known sword and castle. So, what's the truth behind King Arthur? How did the legends take hold? And why have they endured for so long? Long before the Marvel Universe there was the universe of Arthurian romance, and King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table examines the fact and the fiction behind Arthur, Lancelot, Merlin, Guinevere, Galahad, among others, as well as the quest for the Holy Grail. Beginning in the 12th century, the book explores what factual basis there is for the tales and how the characters, stories and motifs developed through histories, epic poems and prose tellings. The book also charts the revived interest in Arthurian romance in the 19th century and considers how the tales still hold the popular imagination today. Illustrated with more than 180 colour and black-and-white artworks and photographs and maps, King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table is an expertly written account of where literature, mythology and history meet.

The Angolan story is only another in the fantastic web of indulgence, misery, absurdity and suffering beyond expression that is bred in peace no less than war in 'situations' the world over. The story told in this title involves an understanding of what is particular to Angola, but it goes far beyond that. It is a story of the extremes of the human condition and, as such, its relevance is timeless. Combining reportage and analysis, Justin Pearce shows the human face of Angola at a critical juncture in its history. Jonas Savimbi, leader of the rebel movement UNITA, was killed in February 2002. Crippled by the large imbalance between its resources and those of the MPLA government and the death of its messianic leader, a cult figure who has been described as of Mao-Tse-Tung proportions, UNITA collapsed, giving Angola its first extended period of peace since the nationalist uprising against Portuguese rule in the 1960s. Working as the BBC correspondent based in Luanda, Justin Pearce was the only English-speaking journalist based in Angola in 2001 and 2002. He travelled extensively in Angola, hearing the testimonies of those whose lives were shaped by political divisions and war. He was also able to observe how Angola was governed in a manner which had little in common with the ideals professed by the government since independence. As is clear in the title, the words 'situation' and 'confusion' have a particular resonance in Angola. Both are part of the fatalistic discourse adopted by Angolans when talking about the war, or about the state of their society. Hunger, corruption and all manner of human misery may be blamed on the ‘situation', something which is implicitly unchanging. 'Confusion', for its part, can signify anything from the usual English sense of the word – a muddle, a misunderstanding – to a full-scale war, blurring the moral distinction between the two. This title speaks to the non-specialist reader with an interest in African affairs; or people who have a particular interest in Angola, be it through business, humanitarian or policy development work, and who are looking for a perspective on the country's recent social history.

The course of economic events from the start of the Second World War satisfied no-one. The housewife was exasperated by the rise in food prices, thousands of workers faced unemployment, and businessmen were bewildered by the flood of regulations and decrees. In this book, first published in 1940, R. W. B. Clarke explores the economic challenges that the UK faced in coping with the war, and possible ways in which these challenges could be resolved or improved. The book is vital reading for students of modern history and economics.

From Dr Annie Gray, presenter of BBC2's Victorian Bakers

What does it mean to eat like a queen? Elizabeth gorged on sugar, Mary on chocolate and Anne was known as 'Brandy Nan'. Victoria ate all of this and more. The Greedy Queen celebrates Victoria's appetite, both for food and, indeed, for life.

Born in May 1819, Victoria came 'as plump as a partridge'. In her early years she lived on milk and bread under the Kensington system; in her old age she suffered constant indigestion yet continued to over-eat. From intimate breakfasts with the King of France, to romping at tea-parties with her children, and from state balls to her last sip of milk, her life is examined through what she ate, when and with whom. In the royal household, Victoria was surrounded by ladies-in-waiting, secretaries, dressers and coachmen, but below stairs there was another category of servant: her cooks. More fundamental and yet completely hidden, they are now uncovered in their working environment for the first time.

Voracious and adventurous in her tastes, Queen Victoria was head of state during a revolution in how we ate - from the highest tables to the most humble. Bursting with original research, The Greedy Queen considers Britain's most iconic monarch from a new perspective, telling the story of British food along the way.

This wide-ranging yet detailed study describes and assesses the many-faceted cultural achievement of an area remote from Athens, the Dorian islands. Elizabeth Craik's scholarship sets this lively outlying region of the ancient Greek world - which included Rhodes, Kos, Karpathos, Melos, and Thera - in the perspective of Greek civilization as a whole, demonstrating that excessive emphasis on the Athenian advancements of the fifth century BC tends to obscure the contribution of other regions. Beginning with a discussion of the geographical setting, natural resources and historical development of the area, The Dorian Aegean goes on to survey linguistic usage and local scripts, and to examine the regional contribution to literature, medicine and science. In the final three chapters, the religious traditions and practices of the islands are discussed, in terms of myths, cults and administration. This work will appeal to students of the classical world, archaeology, and cultural history.

First published in 1987, this collection of essays, from one of the leading historians in the field, is concerned with the central debates about German history from Bismarck to Hitler. David Blackbourn questions many previously held assumptions, whether about the natural conservatism of the German peasantry of the 'feudalization' of the middle classes, and offers a new angle of approach to such subjects as liberalism, anti-semitism and the continuing importance of religion in German history. Bringing together social, economic, cultural and political history, each essay is concerned with the social and political flux that characterized the period, and with the problems and opportunities it presented. This reissue will be of great value to any students and academics with an interest in the history of modern Germany.

This book is the product of many years’ research by Lodge, whose Black Politics in South Africa since 1945 (1983) established him as a leading commentator on South African politics, past and present.

2021 will mark the centenary of the foundation of the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA) and today’s South African Communist Party (SACP, founded in 1953 after the proscription of the CPSA) will be extremely fortunate to have the milestone marked by a scholarly work of this calibre. Since 1994, many memoirs have been written by communists, and private archives have been donated to university and other collections. Significant official archives have been opened to scrutiny, particularly those of South Africa and the former Soviet Union. It is as if a notoriously secretive body has suddenly become confiding and confessional! While every chapter draws upon original material of this sort, such evidence is supported, amplified, illuminated and challenged by the scholarship of others: the breadth of secondary sources used by the author reflects what may well be an unrivalled familiarity with the scholarly literature on political organisations and resistance in twentieth century South Africa.

Lodge provides a richly detailed history of the Party’s vicissitudes and victories; individuals – their ideas, attitudes and activities – are sensitively located within their context; the text provides a fascinating sociology of the South African left over time. Lodge is adept at making explicit what the key questions and issues are for different periods; and he answers these with analyses and conclusions that are judicious, clearly stated, and meticulously argued.

Without doubt, this book will become a central text for students of communism in South Africa, of the Party’s links with Russia and the socialist bloc, and of the Communist Party’s changing relations with African nationalism – before, during and after three decades of exile.

Why is it easy to hate and difficult to love? When societies fracture into warring tribes, we demonise those who oppose us. We tear down our statues, forgetting that what begins with the destruction of statues, often leads to the killing of people. Blending history, philosophy and psychology, A History of Love and Hate in 21 Statues is a compelling exploration of identity and power. This remarkable book spans every continent, religion and era, through the creation and destruction of 21 statues from Hatshepsut and the Buddhas of Bamiyan to Mendelssohn, Edward Colston and Frederick Douglass. The 21 statues are Hatshepsut (Ancient Egypt), Nero (Suffolk, UK), Athena (Syria), Buddhas of Bamiyan (Afghanistan), Hecate (Constantinople), Our Lady of Caversham (near Reading, UK), Huitzilopochtli (Mexico), Confucius (China), Louis XV (France), Mendelssohn (Germany), The Confederate Monument (US), Sir John A. Macdonald (Canada), Christopher Columbus (Venezuela), Edward Colston (Bristol, UK), Cecil Rhodes (South Africa), George Washington (US), Stalin (Hungary), Yagan (Australia), Saddam Hussein (Iraq), B. R. Ambedkar (India) and Frederick Douglass (US).

A different take on a popular topic, this book uncovers the exciting history of the jewels and jewellery worn and used by the later medieval and Tudor Queens of England from Margaret of Anjou to Katherine Parr. Enabling general readers to see how jewellery was used by Queens to assert their power and influence in their husband's courts. Dr Tallis is an experienced writer of non-fiction to a public audience; this book is accessibly written for an educated popular audience and undergraduate students. Explores the lives of ten queen consorts across 100 years, providing students and general readers alike with a long duree view into Queenship, women's history and material culture.

This broad-based collection of essays is an introduction both to the concerns of contemporary folklore scholarship and to the variety of forms that folk performance has taken throughout English history. Combining case studies of specific folk practices with discussion of the various different lenses through which they have been viewed since becoming the subject of concerted study in Victorian times, this book builds on the latest work in an ever-growing body of contemporary folklore scholarship. Many of the contributing scholars are also practicing performers and bring experience and understanding of performance to their analyses and critiques. Chapters range across the spectrum of folk song, music, drama and dance, but maintain a focus on the key defining characteristics of folk performance - custom and tradition - in a full range of performances, from carol singing and sword dancing to playground rhymes and mummers' plays. As well as being an essential reference for folklorists and scholars of traditional performance and local history, this is a valuable resource for readers in all disciplines of dance, drama, song and music whose work coincides with English folk traditions.

In and out of the Maasai Steppe looks at the Maasai women in the Maasai Steppe of Tanzania. The book explores their current plight - threatened by climate change - in the light of colonial history and post-independence history of land seizures. The book documents the struggles of a group of women to develop new livelihood income through their traditional beadwork. Voices of the women are shared as they talk about how it feels to share their husband with many co-wives, and the book examines gender, their beliefs, social hierarchy, social changes and in particular the interface between the Maasai and colonials.

The 'Chalet des Anglais' on Mont Blanc, home to the longest-running university reading party, is a unique survivor from Victorian and Edwardian Oxford, established in 1891 and continuing today. The story of this remarkable institution has never previously been reported. Oxford University on Mont Blanc: The Life of the Chalet des Anglais records the life of the reading parties and of the notable personalities involved in them, including Harold Macmillan and Lord Hailsham. The writers Evelyn Waugh, Rupert Brooke and John Betjeman also feature in the history of the Chalet. The book explores the effects within the background of a collegiate university that this unique institution has had on the lives of those involved. The chalet is a unique lens through which to understand what is meant by a collegiate university and also to illustrate the implications of close student-tutor relationships over the last century.

- Analyses contemporary British identity through the various and changing ways in which people who live in the UK position themselves and are positioned by their culture today, thereby offering the perfect introductory text for students of contemporary British society. - This edition has been fully updated to reflect the seismic shifts in Britain over the last few years, thereby offering the reader the most up-to-date text on British identity and recent events in Britain. - Highly illustrated with photographs, diagrams and tables and supported with selections of cultural examples such as films, books and TV programmes making the subject matter very accessible for students.

When we look at the landscape, what do we see? Do we experience the view over a valley or dappled sunlight on a path in the same way as those who were there before us? We have altered the countryside in innumerable ways over the last thousand years, and never more so than in the last hundred. How are these changes reflected in - and affected by - art and literature? Spirit of Place offers a panoramic view of the British landscape as seen through the eyes of writers and artists from Bede and the Gawain-poet to Gainsborough, Austen, W. G. Sebald and Barbara Hepworth. Shaped by these distinctive voices and evocative imagery, Susan Owens describes how the British landscape has been framed, reimagined and reshaped by each generation. Each account or work of art, whether illuminated in a manuscript, jotted down in a journal or constructed from sticks and stones, holds up a mirror to its maker and their world. With 80 illustrations

In 1999, as the end of an old century loomed, five musicians entered a recording studio in Paris without a deadline. Their band was widely recognized as the best and most forward-thinking in rock, a rarefied status granting them the time, money, and space to make a masterpiece. But Radiohead didn't want to make another rock record. Instead, they set out to create the future. For more than a year, they battled writer's block, inter-band disagreements, and crippling self-doubt. In the end, however, they produced an album that was not only a complete departure from their prior guitar-based rock sound, it was the sound of a new era, and embodied widespread changes catalyzed by emerging technologies just beginning to take hold of the culture. What they created was Kid A. At the time, Radiohead's fourth album divided critics. Some called it an instant classic; others, including the U.K. music magazine Melody Maker, deemed it "tubby, ostentatious, self-congratulatory... whiny old rubbish." But two decades later, Kid A sounds like nothing less than an overture for the chaos and confusion of the 21st century. Acclaimed rock critic Steven Hyden digs deep into the songs, history, legacy, and mystique of Kid A, outlining the album's pervasive influence and impact on culture, in time for its 20th anniversary in 2020. Deploying a mix of criticism, journalism, and personal memoir, Hyden skillfully revisits this enigmatic, alluring LP and investigates the many ways in which Kid A shaped and foreshadowed our world.