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Fire and Water
By Barbara Lyons, Betty Rice. 1973
Fire and Water is the first written collection of stories based on Hawaiian legends told on Maui. It is a…
classic Hawaiian children's book.The setting for this delightful collection of stories is the volcanoes and mountains, the blue seas, white sands, and clear skies of Maui Island in Hawaii-a place as rich in legends and myths as any in the world.Fire and Water is the first written collection of stories based on legends told on Maui. They have been retold in a style that will appeal to young and old readers alike. Though writing primarily for children, Barbara Lyons has conveyed the conflicts, emotions, and personalities of the characters whose stories have been told and retold by generations of Hawaiians.Readers will meet princesses and shark-men, dragons and owl-gods, as well as ordinary boys and girls in the midst of amazing adventures. In some of the stories, they will learn how Maui traditions began and how any Hawaiian places got their names.The striking illustrations by Maui artist Betty Rice add a new dimension to each story . A pronunciation guide and glossary of Hawaiian words enables the reader to take one step further inside this enchanted world.A Dybbuk
By Joachim Neugrochel, Tony Kushner. 1997
Kushner's imaginative retelling of the classic mystical legend, The Dybbuk, by S. Ansky, the noted Russian and Yiddish-language folklorist, novelist…
and dramatist. Ansky formed an expedition which roamed throughout the Ukraine to preserve and collect Hasidic folktales. The Dybbuk was a product of that journey. Written before the outbreak of World War I, it wasn't produced until 1920, shortly after Ansky's death. It has been much-produced worldwide ever since.Women Pirates and the Politics of the Jolly Roger
By Nicholas Levis, Ulrike Klausman, Gabriel Kuhn, Marion Meinzerin. 1997
There have always been women among pirates and sea robbers. Metaphors of mysterious and destructive femininity may have perennially been…
assigned to the sea and its dangers, but the real women who sailed on ships steered them, sank with them, commanded them, even commandeered them have been ignored by a history written by and for patriarchal men.Ample evidence of women pirates and even feminine piracy nonetheless abounds: beginning with ancient legends of Amazon sailors in several cultural traditions, and continuing uninterrupted through a wealth of confirmed historical figures, down to the present.Women Pirates and the Politics of the Jolly Roger is an account of piracy through three millennia, in histories of women and men sailing on four seas: the Chinese Straits, the Mediterranean, the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean. Writing with passion and humour, but without romanticizing, or ignoring the unsavoury side of some of their heroines, the authors turn history on its head. Nor do they forget the practical details, even including genuine recipes for shark and other delights.The volume is introduced by Gabriel Kuhn's essay on anarchism and piracy, "Under the Death's Head." Considering the history of Caribbean piracy and drawing on Stirner and Foucault among others, Kuhn describes a breaking out of structured obedience, an escape from perpetual supervision, a plunge into unpredictability, danger, "everything that makes strong, free action.""The stories are lively and exciting. You'll definately be able to taste the sensation of piracy, as the authors have included a number of actual recipes prepared on the high seas. This book is a hearty read which I would recommend to the saltiest of seadogs as well as your average landlubber."--Feminist Bookstore News"Carefully researched and vividly told."--In These Times"For those who like thier history marinated in oral tradition and spiced with socialist-feminist analysis the language is blunt, sly, poetic, and innocent of academic jargon. Also includes regional recipes; readers will want to try the Piquant Shark Schnitzel from the Caribbean."--Rain Taxi"A fascinating book...the offbeat subjRoll Away Saloon: Cowboy Tales Of The Arizona Strip (Western Experience Series)
By Deirdre Paulsen. 1985
The King's Fool
By Mahi Binebine. 2017
Sidi is dying.In the last days of this all-powerful tyrant, his faithful court fool takes stock of the decades he…
has spent in the king's service. For the many years have left certain indelible wounds.During his service, the fool has been the king's closest counsel, his most trusted companion and adviser, privy to the king's deepest secrets and most intimate thoughts. It is an honoured position for which many other courtiers would pay a hefty price. Something the fool understands only too well, for this closeness has indeed come at a terrible cost.What price the confidence of a great king? Is it stories, jokes, witty repartee? Or does the debt fall closer to home? Perhaps it must be paid far from the magnificent palaces, feasting and festivities of the royal court. Perhaps it must be paid in the death jails of a formidable prison fortress far out in the desert; a place so feared that few dare to speak its name . . .The King's Fool
By Mahi Binebine. 2017
Sidi is dying.In the last days of this all-powerful tyrant, his faithful court fool takes stock of the decades he…
has spent in the king's service. For the many years have left certain indelible wounds.During his service, the fool has been the king's closest counsel, his most trusted companion and adviser, privy to the king's deepest secrets and most intimate thoughts. It is an honoured position for which many other courtiers would pay a hefty price. Something the fool understands only too well, for this closeness has indeed come at a terrible cost.What price the confidence of a great king? Is it stories, jokes, witty repartee? Or does the debt fall closer to home? Perhaps it must be paid far from the magnificent palaces, feasting and festivities of the royal court. Perhaps it must be paid in the death jails of a formidable prison fortress far out in the desert; a place so feared that few dare to speak its name . . .The King's Fool
By Mahi Binebine. 2017
Sidi is dying.In the last days of this all-powerful tyrant, his faithful court fool takes stock of the decades he…
has spent in the king's service. For the many years have left certain indelible wounds.During his service, the fool has been the king's closest counsel, his most trusted companion and adviser, privy to the king's deepest secrets and most intimate thoughts. It is an honoured position for which many other courtiers would pay a hefty price. Something the fool understands only too well, for this closeness has indeed come at a terrible cost.What price the confidence of a great king? Is it stories, jokes, witty repartee? Or does the debt fall closer to home? Perhaps it must be paid far from the magnificent palaces, feasting and festivities of the royal court. Perhaps it must be paid in the death jails of a formidable prison fortress far out in the desert; a place so feared that few dare to speak its name . . .Florence Grace: "Possibly the most wonderful book I've ever read"
By Tracy Rees. 2016
'Possibly the most wonderful book I've ever read. A complete joy' Amazon reviewer. Florrie Buckley is an orphan, living on…
the wind-blasted moors of Cornwall. It's a hard existence but Florrie is content. But when she is fourteen, she inherits a never-imagined secret: she is related to a wealthy and notorious London family, the Graces. Overnight, Florrie's life changes and she moves from country to city, from poverty to wealth. Cut off from everyone she has ever known, Florrie struggles to learn the rules of this strange new world. And then she must try to fathom her destructive pull towards the enigmatic and troubled Turlington Grace, a man with many dark secrets of his own. What readers are saying about Tracy Rees: "Tracy Rees writes from the heart" Kathryn Hughes, bestselling author of The Letter "Tracy Rees is the most outstanding new voice in historical fiction" Lucinda Riley "A beautifully crafted story with added romance" Isabelle Broom "Tracy's writing is so fresh, original and authentic" Rosanna LeyAsterix and the Griffin: Album 39 (Asterix #39)
By Jean-Yves Ferri. 2021
Be the first to read the next action-packed adventure from the indomitable Gauls by pre-ordering now!Follow Asterix and Obelix as…
they set out on their 39th adventure on a long journey in search of a strange and terrifying creature. Half-eagle, half-lion, and idolised and feared by ancient peoples, this creature is the griffin.How will Asterix, Obelix, Dogamatix, along with the Druid Getafix, get drawn into the epic, perilous quest to find this fantastical animal? Find out in the next instalment of this multi-million bestselling series.Persian Myths (The World's Greatest Myths and Legends)
By Flame Tree Studio. 2022
A joyful mythical ride through the intimate and powerful stories of the Persian legendary landscape.From such texts as the Shah…
Nameh (the Persian Book of Kings), Masnavi-e Ma&’navi, the Anvar-i Suhayli fables and works by the great poet Nizāmī, come ancient tales of a civilization that once stretched across the known world. Find here the wonderful stories of the magical bird the Simurgh, the Seven Labours of Rustem, the evil demon onager-giant Akwán Díw and the tragic romance of Laili and Majnun. Persian literature is amongst the most beautiful and inventive of all cultures, offering a joyful read of creation, love and conquest.FLAME TREE 451. From myth to mystery, the supernatural to horror, fantasy and science fiction, Flame Tree 451 offers a healthy diet of werewolves and mechanical men, blood-lusty vampires, dastardly villains, mad scientists, secret worlds, lost civilizations and escapist fantasies. Discover a storehouse of tales gathered specifically for the reader of the fantastic.East African Folktales (The World's Greatest Myths and Legends)
By Flame Tree Studio. 2022
From the rift valley come stories of gods, tricksters, cattle and ogres from the many peoples of East Africa.Traditional stories…
bring a deeper understanding of the movement of peoples across East Africa. Common roots and differences between ancient peoples create a lively portrait with their fragile, powerful gods. The modern nations of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda inherit the folk and mythic tales of the rift valley region. Here you'll find stories of ogres and tricksters, riddles and poems, figures such as the first man (Gikuyu) and woman (Mumbi), and great heroes of history such as Liongo. This new collection is created for the modern reader. FLAME TREE 451: From myth to mystery, the supernatural to horror, fantasy and science fiction, Flame Tree 451 offers a healthy diet of werewolves and mechanical men, blood-lusty vampires, dastardly villains, mad scientists, secret worlds, lost civilizations and escapist fantasies. Discover a storehouse of tales gathered specifically for the reader of the fantastic.Civilisations perdues: Dix sociétés disparues sans laisser de traces
By Michael Rank, Marie Chartier. 2016
Michael Rank, auteur d’un certain nombre de livre d’histoire nous propose son ouvrage sur les grandes sociétés de l’histoire qui…
ont disparus sans laisser de traces, et les raisons pour lesquelles ces disparitions continues de nous hanter encore aujourd’hui. Qu’on parle de la cité perdue de l’Atlantide décrite par Platon, un utopie technologique qui aurait coulé au fond de l’océan en « un seul jour et une seule nuit de malheur »; la colonie de Roanoke, dont les colons américains semblent avoir été avalés par les terres sauvages d’un continent encore inexploré; ou encore les anciens explorateurs de l’Amérique qui seraient parvenus jusqu’à l’hémisphère ouest près de 2000 ans avant Christophe Colomb :la disparition de ces sociétés semble aussi cryptique qu’incroyable. Ce livre jette un regard sur les cultures de 10 grandes civilisations perdues de l’histoire. Certaines avaient des millénaires d’avance sur leurs voisins, comme la Civilisation de la Vallée de l’Indus, qui avait une meilleure planification urbaine en 3000 av. J.-C. que n’importe quelle capitale européenne du XVIIIème siècle. D’autres ont laissé derrière des mystères intrigants, comme l’ancien peuple Pueblo (autrefois connu sous le nom d’Anasazi), dont les demeures montées sur les falaises des vallées de l’ouest américain étaient si inaccessibles, qu’il aurait fallu que chaque membre de leur société ait été un maître d’escalade. Le livre regarde aussi les raisons qui expliquent comment de larges sociétés qui ont duré pendant des siècles ont pu disparaitre sans laisser de traces. Est-ce que les bâtisseurs de pyramides dont les méthodes pour transporter les pierres sont encore inexpliquées ont simplement disparues, ou faisaient-ils partie d’une civilisation d’extra-terrestre, comme certains adeptes des théories conspiratrices affirment? Le Royaume d’Aksoum cachait-il réellement l’Arche d’Alliance, et est-ceFairies! A True Story (Step into Reading)
By Shirley Raye Redmond, Red Hansen. 2012
From the forest fairies of West Africa to the magical brownies of Scotland, people have told stories about fairies for…
a long, long time. In England, two little girls shocked the world when they claimed that they had proof that fairies existed; they had photographs! But are fairies myth? Or are they magic? Fairy fans and beginning readers will delight in this easy-to-read look at fairy folklore and sightings through the ages.Tales in Context: Sefer ha-ma'asim in Medieval Northern France (Raphael Patai Series in Jewish Folklore and Anthropology)
By Elisheva Baumgarten, Rella Kushelevsky. 2017
In the thirteenth century, an anonymous scribe compiled sixty-nine tales that became Sefer ha-ma’asim, the earliest compilation of Hebrew tales…
known to us in Western Europe. The author writes that the stories encompass “descriptions of herbs that cure leprosy, a fairy princess with golden tresses using magic charms to heal her lover’s wounds and restore him to life; a fire-breathing dragon . . . a two-headed creature and a giant’s daughter for whom the rind of a watermelon containing twelve spies is no more than a speck of dust.” In Tales in Context: Sefer ha-ma’asim in Medieval Northern France, Rella Kushelevsky enlightens the stories’ meanings and reflects the circumstances and environment for Jewish lives in medieval France. Although a selection of tales was previously published, this is the first publication of a Hebrew-English annotated edition in its entirety, revealing fresh insight. The first part of Kushelevsky’s work, “Cultural, Literary and Comparative Perspectives,” presents the thesis that Sefer ha-ma’asim is a product of its time and place, and should therefore be studied within its literary and cultural surroundings, Jewish and vernacular, in northern France. An investigation of the scribe's techniques in reworking his Jewish and non-Jewish sources into a medieval discourse supports this claim. The second part of the manuscript consists of the tales themselves, in Hebrew and English translation, including brief comparative comments or citations. The third part, “An Analytical and Comparative Overview,” offers an analysis of each tale as an individual unit, contextualized within its medieval framework and against the background of its parallels. Elisheva Baumgarten's epilogue adds social and historical background to Sefer ha-ma’asim and discusses new ways in which it and other story compilations may be used by historians for an inquiry into the everyday life of medieval Jews. The tales in Sefer ha-ma’asim will be of special value to scholars of folklore and medieval European history and literature, as well as those looking to enrich their studies and shelves.Irish Gothic Fairy Stories: From the 32 Counties of Ireland
By Steve Lally, Paula Flynn Lally, James Patrick Ryan. 2018
In the four provinces of Ireland there are thirty-two counties. Each county and its people have their own traditions, beliefs…
and folklore – and each one is also inhabited by the Sidhe: an ancient and magical race. Some believe they are descended from fallen angels, whilst others say they are the progeny of Celtic deities. They go by many names: the good folk, the wee folk, the gentle people and the fey, but are most commonly known as ‘the fairies’.These are not the whimsical fairies of Victorian and Edwardian picture books. They are feared and revered in equal measure, and even in the twenty-first century are spoken of in hushed tones.The fairies are always listening.Storyteller Steve Lally and his wife singer-songwriter Paula Flynn Lally have compiled this magnificent collection of magical fairy stories from every county in Ireland. Filled with unique illustrations that bring these tales to life, Irish Gothic Fairy Stories will both enthral and terrify readers for generations to come.Djeha, the North African Trickster
By Christa C. Jones. 2023
Djeha—also known as Juha, Jeh’a, and Ch’ha, among many variations—is an iconic figure, the trickster hero of an oral folktale…
tradition that has existed for centuries. The famous Maghrebian prankster is a poor, cunning, and resourceful character that delights in immoral behavior. Orientalists Auguste Mouliéras (1855-1931) and René Basset (1855-1924) were among the first Frenchmen to collect and translate popular Berber folktales. Today, trickster folktales from Algeria’s mountainous Kabylia region are not well known in the Anglophone world, even though they continue to be highly popular in France and in North Africa. Djeha, the North African Trickster is an annotated, critical translation of Auguste Mouliéras’s folktale collection Les Fourberies de Si Djeh’a, first published in French in 1892.The volume contains sixty tales and an in-depth introduction in which Christa C. Jones discusses jocular literature in Islam, the widespread oral folktale tradition linked to Djeha and his Turkish twin brother Nasreddin Hoca, and the impact of colonialism on the gathering and dissemination of the tales. The trickster is at the center of six themed chapters: “Family and Kinship”; “Animal Tales"; “Faces, Places, or Daily Life in the Village"; “Foodways”; “The Intricacies of Hospitality: Beware of Friends and Foes!"; and “Religion, Death, and the Afterlife.” Each chapter contains ten folktales preceded by a short introduction that contextualizes the pieces using historical, folkloristic, literary, and ethnographical sources. Ultimately, the book contributes to the preservation of an ancestral oral heritage, delivering this enduring character to new audiences.