M.R. James's celebrated ghost stories resonate still, their chilling narratives drawing us unsuspecting into the deadly shadows. His tales are haunted, bleak disturbances of the soul, carefully crafted from the stuff of human fears. A towering presence in literature, TV and the movies, his work is much admired today. A deluxe edition, this sinister new collection offers many of his most famous tales, with some of the less well known, including: 'Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad', 'Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book', 'The Mezzotint', 'The Fenstanton Witch', 'The Experiment' and 'Wailing Well'. The Flame Tree Gothic Fantasy, Classic Stories and Epic Tales collections bring together the entire range of myth, folklore and modern short fiction. Highlighting the roots of suspense, supernatural, science fiction and mystery stories, the books in Flame Tree Collections series are beautifully presented, perfect as a gift and offer a lifetime of reading pleasure.

Originally published in 1913, as part of the Cambridge Nature Study Series, this book was written by the renowned Irish botanist and author Robert Lloyd Praeger (1865-1953). Intended for the younger reader, it provides an introduction to the ways in which weeds grow and spread, also showing how 'the function of different parts of plants, and indeed all the lessons of elementary botany, can be studied to full advantage among our common weeds'. Numerous illustrative figures are included. This is a highly accessible volume that will be of value to anyone with an interest in the writings of Praeger, the history of botany and books for children.

Although from different backgrounds, David Lloyd George and Winston Churchill forged a close friendship, delighting in each other's wit, oratory and unconventionality. Both were outsiders. Neither attended university. Above all, both loved political sparring -- often together, in the epic parliamentary battles of the start of the century. Theirs was a personal friendship that involved frequent holidays together and support of each other's families. But their real shared passion was politics. For ten years between 1904 and 1914 they met together every day for an hour's private discussion. Lloyd George profoundly influenced Churchill's political philosophy and played a formative role in his career. Drawing on unseen family archive material, Robert Lloyd George provides an intimate biography of the friendship between his great-grandfather and Churchill, from their public politics to their private passions. He throws fresh light on the two greatest statesmen of twentieth century Britain in peace and in war, and on one of the most enduring friendships in modern politics.

What social factors contribute to the tragic state of health care in Africa? Focusing on East African societies, this book is the first to investigate what role religion plays in health care in African cultures. Taking into account the geopolitical and economic environments of the region, the authors examine the roles played by individual and group beliefs, government policies, and pressure from the Millennium Development Goals in affecting health outcomes. Informed by existing related studies, and on-the-ground interviews with individuals and organizations in Uganda, Mozambique and Ethiopia, this interdisciplinary book will form an invaluable resource for scholars seeking to better understand the links between society, multi-level state instruments, and health care in East Africa.

The first dedicated exploration of the short fiction of Shirley Jackson for three decades, this volume takes an in-depth look at the themes and legacies of her 200-plus short stories. Recognized as the mother of contemporary horror, scholars from across the globe, and from a range of different disciplinary backgrounds, dig into the lasting impact of her work in light of its increasing relevance to contemporary critical preoccupations and the re-release of Jackson's work in 2016. Offering new methodologies to study her work, this volume calls upon ideas of intertextuality, ecocriticism and psychoanalysis to examine a broad range of themes from national identity, race, gender and class to domesticity, the occult, selfhood and mental illness. With consideration of her blockbuster works alongside later works that received much less critical attention, Shirley Jackson's Dark Tales promises a rich and dynamic expansion on previous scholarship of Jackson's oeuvre, both bringing her writing into the contemporary conversation, and ensuring her place in the canon of Horror fiction.