At 24, Hera is a violently unsatisfied disaster. To her, the future is nothing but an exhausting thought exercise, one depressing hypothetical after another. She's a mean little thing, adrift in her own smug malaise, until her new job as an "online community moderator" of a news outlet's online comment section-a job even more mind-numbing than it sounds-introduces her to Arthur, a middle-aged journalist. Though she's preferred women to men for years now, she relishes becoming a cliché as their mutual infatuation quickly festers into affair. She is coming apart with want and loving every second of it! Well, except for the tiny hiccup of Arthur's wife - and that said wife has no idea Hera exists. With her daringly specific and intimate voice, Gray has created an irresistible and messy love story about the terrible allure of wanting something that promises nothing; about the joys and indignities of coming into adulthood against the pitfalls of the 21st century; and the winding, torturous, and often very funny journey we take in deciding who we are and who we want to be.

At 24, Hera is a violently unsatisfied disaster. To her, the future is nothing but an exhausting thought exercise, one depressing hypothetical after another. She's a mean little thing, adrift in her own smug malaise, until her new job as an "online community moderator" of a news outlet's online comment section-a job even more mind-numbing than it sounds-introduces her to Arthur, a middle-aged journalist. Though she's preferred women to men for years now, she relishes becoming a cliché as their mutual infatuation quickly festers into affair. She is coming apart with want and loving every second of it! Well, except for the tiny hiccup of Arthur's wife - and that said wife has no idea Hera exists. With her daringly specific and intimate voice, Gray has created an irresistible and messy love story about the terrible allure of wanting something that promises nothing; about the joys and indignities of coming into adulthood against the pitfalls of the 21st century; and the winding, torturous, and often very funny journey we take in deciding who we are and who we want to be.

This is the third volume of the authoritative history of the county of Gwent, geared towards an understanding of the county's past for the twenty-first century reader. Volume III is a highly illustrated collection dealing with the early modern period of Welsh history, from the creation of Monmouthshire by the Act of Union in 1536 to the beginnings of industrialization in the later eighteenth century.

The Protestant Reformation has been the subject of much recent debate among theologians and church historians. Controversy still rages over the state of the late medieval church, the extent to which the Reformation was driven by theological or political concerns, and the impact which it had on the lives and beliefs of ordinary people. This Student Introduction provides an overview of some of the main themes of religious thinking in this period while giving weight to the multifaceted nature of belief. Particular attention is paid to developments in the practice of worship, and to the impact of the Reformation on ideas of the relationship between the church and secular society. Recent research on the social anthropology of the Reformation is discussed in the context of the extent to which the beliefs and practices of ordinary people were affected by the changing perspectives of theologians and rulers. The present text is written with the modern undergraduate in mind, and is the direct result of teaching experience. This is a market which is not always addressed by existing books, many of which assume a background in Christian thought which few undergraduates now possess. While not for the complete novice, this book assumes very little previous knowledge. Important concepts are explained in simple terms at the outset and glossaries and biographical guides are provided for further reference. Topics include: sin and salvation; sacrament and ritual; authority and interpretation; the theory and organization of the True Church in the Protestant tradition; the Protestant churches and secular authority; literacy, education and the popular response to the Reformation; liturgy and the articulation of belief; popular belief and folk culture.

Ranging from Ireland to India and from the first to the third millennium, this collection brings together essays written from the perspective of gender, politics and national and cultural identities as well as the sociology of religion. Saints are more than distant figures from legends and wall paintings. Their lives and cults have been rewritten over and over again to suit changing cultural preconceptions and social and political agendas. The obscure Cambro-Breton saint Armel became a badge of loyalty to the Tudor dynasty; Eastern European countries have competed to lay claim to Cyril and Methodius, founding fathers of eastern Christianity; the Indian mystic and poet Kabir came from a Muslim background but was appropriated by both Hindus and Sikhs. And perhaps most bizarrely, right-wing groups in England march under the badge of the Middle Eastern saint George. While these ideas are familiar to historians of"popular" religion (that slippery term) in western Europe, they have a clear relevance to the study of religion in other continents and other faith traditions. Ranging from Ireland to India and from the first to the third millennium, this collection brings together essays written from the perspective of gender, politics and national and cultural identities as well as the sociology of religion. The main thrust is medieval and Christian but it also considers more recent developments in Sikh, Hindu and Muslim cults and in the heritagisation of religion. A substantial introduction offers an overview of the literature, sets out theoretical frameworks and suggests further avenues for exploration. Madeleine Gray is Professor of Ecclesiastical History at the University of South Wales. Contributors: Diane Auslander, Slavia Barlieva, Karen Casebier, Adam Coward, James M. Hegarty, Kate Helsen, Andrew Hughes, John R. Black, Madeleine Gray, Svitlana Kobets, Samantha Riches, Anne Schuchman, Jayita Sinha,

Christianity, in its Catholic, Protestant and Nonconformist forms, has played an enormous role in the history of Wales and in the defining and shaping of Welsh identity over the past two thousand years. Biblical place names, an urban and rural landscape littered with churches, chapels, crosses and sacred sites, a bardic and literary tradition deeply imbued with Christian themes in both the Welsh and English languages, and the songs sung by tens of thousands of rugby supporters at the national stadium in Cardiff, all hint at a Christian presence that was once universal. Yet for many in contemporary Wales, the story of the development of Christianity in their country remains little known. While the history of Christianity in Wales has been a subject of perennial interest for Welsh historians, much of their work has been highly specialised and not always accessible to a general audience. Standing on the shoulders of some of Wales's finest historians, this is the first single-volume history of Welsh Christianity from its origins in Roman Britain to the present day. Drawing on the expertise of four leading historians of the Welsh Christian tradition, this volume is specifically designed for the general reader, and those beginning their exploration of Wales's Christian past.

An interesting and unusual work on a little-explored field of study. By means of the iconographic evidence, the author aims to provide a counterbalance to the traditional studies of medieval welsh piety with their heavy emphasis on poetic material. There are interesting and suggestive divergences between the ideas communicated by literary evidence and those suggested by the surviving visual culture. In considering the importance of visual imagery as evidence for religious beliefs, the part played by imagery in the formation and reinforcement of a distinctive spirituality is not ignored. The work concentrates on surviving images from the 'golden century', but patterns of destruction and preservation are identified, including rare works lost through poverty and neglect.