New interpretations of the ways in which early modern French literature was influenced by, and responded to, the works of Virgil. Virgil's works, principally the Bucolics, the Georgics, and above all the Aeneid, were frequently read, translated and rewritten by authors of the French Renaissance. The contributors to this volume show how readers and writers entered into a dialogue with the texts, using them to grapple with such difficult questions as authorial, political and communitarian identities. Rather than simply imitating them, the writers are shown as vibrantly engaging with them, in a "conversation" central to the definition of literature at the time. In addition to discussing how Virgil influenced questions of identity for such authors as Jean Lemaire de Belges, Joachim du Bellay, Clement Marot, Pierre de Ronsard and Jacques Yver, the volume also offers perspectives on Virgil's French translators, on how French writers made quite different appropriations of Homer and Virgil, and on Virgil's receptionin the arts. It provides a fresh understanding and assessment of how, in sixteenth-century France, Virgil and his texts moved beyond earlier allegorical interpretations to enter into the ideas espoused by a new and national literature. Phillip John Usher is Assistant Professor of French and Comparative Literature, Barnard College, Columbia University; Isabelle Fernbach is Assistant Professor of French at Montana State University, Bozeman. Contributors: Timothy Hampton, Bernd Renner, Margaret Harp, Michael Randall, Stephanie Lecompte, Isabelle Fernbach, Valerie Worth-Stylianou, Philip Ford, Phillip John Usher, Corinne Noirot-Maguire, Todd W. Reeser, Katherine Maynard

Crone's Book of Magical Words (previously published as The Crone's Book of Words) by Valerie Worth is the book you've been waiting for In its pages are over 125 spells, incantations, and charms. If you can think of a purpose for a spell, it's probably in this book. Need a spell to summon a ghost? Or perhaps you want the opposite: a spell to free a house from being haunted. They're both in this book. Do you need something to help you lose weight or have longevity? You'll find them here. Or perhaps you want to pass through a locked door. It's all in this book.

Even if you don't know a thing about magic, you can use this book. The spells are easy, poetic, and evocative. For example, to cure a wart the instructions are: "Stamp within a silver cup mullein and houseleek together. Stir them with a sparrow's feather. Let it draw the juices up; Twenty times upon one day, brush them over the excrescence; Under sunlight dry the essence--Soon the wart must shrink away."

The range in this book is phenomenal. You'll find a simple fertility charm and a way to conjure with smoke. You'll read about how to bring rain and how to stop rain from falling. You'll learn how to tell fortunes with sand or with tea leaves. This is more than just a book about magic, it is a folklorist's bonanza.

If you're ready to win another's love or to sweeten someone's disposition, if you want to turn hair long and golden or discover tree spirits, this is the book you must have. Whether you have been doing magic for a long time or are a beginner, this book is a must.

This charming little magic book holds the carefully guarded secrets that a wise woman of bygone days could have penned in her grimoire by candlelight. Herbal elixirs, powerful charms, amulets, balms for all folk who come to her seeking their heart's desire: enhanced health and healing, protection, love, marriage, fertility, wealth, youthfulness, beauty.

Quaint and mystic, this treasury of lore also describes twelve rituals to guide you through the mysteries of a full year of seasons. Begin with an ice-sparkling ceremony for the first day of the year and celebrate the winter solstice in a glorious burst of red and gold fire. Each ceremony grows out of the unchanging truths of the cycle of seasons and of the universe itself.