A longstanding misconception surrounding the term French noir suggests that the post-war French thriller and film noir were a development of, or response to, a pre-existing American tradition. This book challenges this misconception, examining the complexity of this trans-Atlantic exchange and refocusing debate to include a Franco-French lineage.

Airship Shape & Bristol Fashion brings together tales from the light and dark sides of steampunk. Living ghosts, walking ferns and ingenious androids populate visions of the city of Bristol at once familiar and peculiar. Above them soar magnificent men, and women, in their flying machines. Whether they are seeking release, revenge or adventure, the characters in these stories will draw you down the side-streets of Bristol to the brass and steam-filled worlds you never dreamed were there. "As rich and varied as the true history of this great British city" - Gareth L. Powell

French film noir has long been seen as a phenomenon distinct from its Hollywood counterpart. This book - an innovative departure from conventional noir scholarship - now adopts a biocultural approach to exploring the French genre through the years 1941-1959. Chapters reveal noir as a product of the social and cultural factors at play in occupied, liberated and post-war France: marked by malaise at military defeat, Nazi collaboration and the impact of industrialisation. Furthermore, the book uncovers the evolutionary mechanisms of sexuality and reproduction beneath the national context that drive gendered behaviour on screen. During this period, for example, the emerging urgent demand for population growth, coupled with the severe shortage of eligible males, rendered the mating game particularly perilous for traditional women beginning to enter the workplace. This explains the cynical yet seductive behaviour of the femme fatale. Deborah Walker-Morrison focuses on the dangerous, often deadly, desires of an array of male and female character-types: moving past the celebrated, fatal `femme' to tragic heroines, psychopathic narcissists, fatal `hommes' and gangster anti-heroes. The book re-examines productions by directors such as Henri-Georges Clouzot, Jacques Becker and Jules Dassin and pulls together strands of sociological, biological, psychological and evolutionary science to create an illuminating study of the cut-throat world of noir.

French film noir has long been seen as a phenomenon distinct from its Hollywood counterpart. This book - an innovative departure from conventional noir scholarship - now adopts a biocultural approach to exploring the French genre through the years 1941-1959. Chapters reveal noir as a product of the social and cultural factors at play in occupied, liberated and post-war France: marked by malaise at military defeat, Nazi collaboration and the impact of industrialisation. Furthermore, the book uncovers the evolutionary mechanisms of sexuality and reproduction beneath the national context that drive gendered behaviour on screen. During this period, for example, the emerging urgent demand for population growth, coupled with the severe shortage of eligible males, rendered the mating game particularly perilous for traditional women beginning to enter the workplace. This explains the cynical yet seductive behaviour of the femme fatale. Deborah Walker-Morrison focuses on the dangerous, often deadly, desires of an array of male and female character-types: moving past the celebrated, fatal `femme' to tragic heroines, psychopathic narcissists, fatal `hommes' and gangster anti-heroes. The book re-examines productions by directors such as Henri-Georges Clouzot, Jacques Becker and Jules Dassin and pulls together strands of sociological, biological, psychological and evolutionary science to create an illuminating study of the intense human passions underlying the cut-throat world of noir.

Airship Shape & Bristol Fashion brings together tales from the light and dark sides of steampunk. Living ghosts, walking ferns and ingenious androids populate visions of the city of Bristol at once familiar and peculiar. Above them soar magnificent men, and women, in their flying machines. Whether they are seeking release, revenge or adventure, the characters in these stories will draw you down the side-streets of Bristol to the brass and steam-filled worlds you never dreamed were there. "As rich and varied as the true history of this great British city" - Gareth L. Powell

This is the extraordinary true story of one family's faith in the face of crisis; a true testament of courage, determination, forgiveness, and love. Surviving a horrific motor vehicle accident, they can witness that God is found in the deepest valley. In the face of suffering and separation, they could choose to be overwhelmed by their problems or by faith, rise up above them. Three Times Dead but Still Alive is an inspirational story that will challenge you to think differently about your trials and strengthen your walk with God. All things are possible. Only believe.