A quarter-century after writing the acclaimed The Celtic Way, Ian Bradley, one of the foremost experts on the spiritual beliefs and practices of the indigenous Christian communities in the British Isles in the early Middle Ages, revisits the original sources and makes a substantial reappraisal of Celtic spirituality. Following the Celtic Way challenges many of the myths and romanticised portrayals of Celtic Christianity and shows evidence of the harder edge and demanding austerity of the l...

Ian Bradley

Water has long been associated with the magical, the mysterious and the divine.From sacred springs to holy wells, and from hydropathic cures and temperance reform to the modern spa, Ian Bradley explores how water's creative, health-giving and restorative powers have been conceived, worshipped and marketed in an essentially spiritual way.In pre-Christian times, springs and rivers were seen as the dwelling places of deities with magical life-giving and curative powers, associ...

The perfect resource for beginners, Metalwork and Machining Hints and Tips for Home Machinists is an informative anthology that combines useful advice and instruction with explanations of tools and techniques. With expert insight on a wide range of workshop practices and minor jobs that beginners may not be familiar with yet, this helpful guide will introduce readers to arbors and mandrels, belt jointing and splicing, shaft collars, finishing metal surfaces, G-clamps, cut...

Embark on a fascinating journey along Scotland's forgotten 'coffin roads'.'Coffin roads' along which bodies were carried for burial are a marked feature of the landscape of the Scottish Highlands and islands – many are now popular walking and cycling routes. This book journeys along eight coffin roads to discover and explore the distinctive traditions, beliefs and practices around dying, death and mourning in the communities which created and used them.The result is a fas...

Delve into the history behind the glamorous baths and spas of Europe to reveal the hidden past of alternative treatments.Popular with people from Romans to royalty and hypochondriacs to holiday-makers, natural water spas have been a common feature in society since the first century. Even today, we periodically abandon the cities to 'take the waters'.In their heyday, Europe's spas were the main meeting places for aristocracy, politicians and cultural elites....

Water has long been associated with the magical, the mysterious and the divine.From sacred springs to holy wells, and from hydropathic cures and temperance reform to the modern spa, Ian Bradley explores how water's creative, health-giving and restorative powers have been conceived, worshipped and marketed in an essentially spiritual way.In pre-Christian times, springs and rivers were seen as the dwelling places of deities with magical life-giving and curative powers, associ...

This book offers readers a fascinating new look into the spiritual side of operetta and musical theatre, two closely related genres often dismissed as trivial, shallow, and essentially secular. Bradley challenges these judgements and seeks to show that there have been clear religious influences and spiritual resonances in some of the best known and most popular works in both genres. He points to the darker and more serious side of operetta and musical theatre to analyse the work of Offenba...

As Charles III is crowned King of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, and Defender of the Faith, this timely book explains the Christian symbolism of the coronation, and the unique significance of Christian monarchy in the history of the British Isles. God Save The King explores the theme of sacred kingship, its origins in primal religion, its central role in both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible and its representation in modern popular culture. The book also analyses the parti...

This book charts the life of Arthur Sullivan--the best loved and most widely performed British composer in history. While he is best known for his comic opera collaborations with W. S. Gilbert, it was his substantial corpus of sacred music which meant most to him and for which he wanted to be remembered. His upbringing and training in church music, and his own religious beliefs, substantially affected both his compositions for the theatre and his more serious work, which included oratorios...

Stargazing tourists in the Australian Outback witness the final moments of a communications spacecraft. They follow its trajectory and find a set of osmium-coated marbles among the wreckage. They share the spoils and go their various ways, pleased with their souvenirs, and unaware that other eyes, far away, have also noted the incident with interest.A thousand miles to the west, CIA agents working out of Alice Springs are already mounting a covert operation to recover the marbles. ...

In Oh Joy! Oh Rapture! expert and enthusiast Ian Bradley explores the world of Gilbert and Sullivan over the last four and a half decades, looking at the way this "phenomenon" is passed from generation to generation. Taking as his starting point the expiry of copyright on the opera libretti at the end of 1961 and using fascinating hitherto unpublished archive material, Bradley reveals the extraordinary story of the last years of the old D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, the guardian of ...