This volume focuses on the literary and artistic exploration of female friendship in various geographical contexts, spanning the centuries from the medieval period until the present. The essays address the intense female bonding in world literature as a universal human need for intimacy, sense of belonging, and purpose. The main focus is on the reevaluation of friendships between women, which have been traditionally less epitomized than those between men. The authors of this volume demonstrate how the emotional unions of women offer compelling insights to various historical and contemporary societies, helping us understand gender relations, traditions, family life, and community values.

This book is suitable for ages 7-14. The Middle Ages was a period of great scientific and technological advancement. Trade increased as towns began to grow, and medieval people found more efficient ways of doing work by inventing new machines. The inventions of the heavy plow, horseshoes, and harnesses resulted in more food to eat, and more crops for trading. Easy-to-understand text and brilliant full-colour illustrations will help children follow the advancements in medicine, military weapons, and astrology up until 1500. The topics include: the power provided by watermills and windmills for laundering clothes, casting iron, and pressing olive oil; how the development of textiles such as silks, wool, and leather affected trade with China and the Middle East in the 1200s; how African craftworkers worked with metal, and the bronze and gold sculptures and jewellery that they made; medieval peoples belief in the four humours, and the surgical procedures and herbal remedies used; and astrological inventions such as China's water clock.