"A simply brilliant history that rescues from undeserved obscurity a roster of pioneering women in the very beginning of the age of aviation." — Midwest Book ReviewFrom have-a-go Georgians to emancipated Edwardians, the lady aeronauts were actresses, writers, heiresses, scientists, engineers, explorers, showgirls and suffragettes. These unsung trailblazers for female freedom enjoyed lives shot through with sheer courage and joie de vivre. Yet they were all...

The groundbreaking biography of Maria Branwell reveals a remarkable woman who has been lost in the shadows of her gifted children, Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë. The witty, clever and intrepid Cornish lady of letters, lover of Patrick and mother of genius has been missing for too long. The extraordinary Brontës were a family like no other and it all began when Maria met Patrick.

This biography of the mysterious Maria Branwell "portrays a woman of intelligence, social savvy, wit and strength as well as a love for books . . . engrossing" ( Historical Novel Society).They were from different lands, different classes, different worlds almost. The chances of Cornish gentlewoman Maria Branwell even meeting the poor Irish curate Patrick Brontë in Regency England, let alone falling passionately in love, were remote. Yet M...

When space is tight how can a city provide the best education experience for children? Is a multi-storey school really a poor option? Can high-quality play opportunities be provided without playgrounds? This book explores the design of schools in urban settings, the increased challenges in meeting the typical expectations of school design, and what the successful new typology of a school in a city might be. A practical guide as well as a theoretical exploration of ideas, this book outlines...

This fully updated and expanded edition of the bestselling Student’s Companion to Social Policy charts the latest developments, research, challenges, and controversies in the field in a concise, authoritative format.Provides students with the analytical base from which to investigate and evaluate key concepts, perspectives, policies, and outcomes at national and international levelsFeatures a new section on devolution and social policy in the UK; enhanced d...

Award-winning journalist Sharon Wright presents a fascinating account of the fabulous eighteenth and nineteenth-century female pioneers of balloon flight.More than a century before the first airplane took flight, women were heading for the heavens in crazy, inspired contraptions that brought both danger and glory. Women were in the vanguard of the "Balloonomania" craze that took hold in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, sweeping across Europe and then the wo...

Winner of SPA Richard Titmuss Prize 2024.Recent welfare reforms, based on austerity narratives and a gender-neutral rationale, have failed to recognise the ways in which women and men experience the different demands and rewards of paid employment and unpaid care.This book draws on a wealth of qualitative longitudinal evidence to cast light on women’s lived experiences of welfare and work. Giving voice to social security recipients, this book uncovers the hidden gendered bi...

Uniquely Future Schools not only provides design guidance on themes in schools architecture and a wealth of recent innovative projects drawn from the UK but also an understanding of the socio-political and economic context that any practice must work within when taking on a schools project. It balances beautiful visuals and innovative case studies with in-depth discussion of the thought processes and issues to consider in good school design. Reflecting on ambitious projects during...

How desperate are you?Revivals always begin with personal desperation. When we are desperate enough to cry out to God for our need, He releases a deluge of His Spirit to not only meet your need, but to also change your family, community, state, nation and the world.The greatest revivals have all been initiated by the deep-seated needs of man. God has responded to passionately meet each of those needs. Waves of God's mercy in response ...

At long last, the untold story of the mysterious Mrs Brontë. They were from different lands, different worlds almost. The chances of Cornish gentlewoman Maria Branwell even meeting the poor Irish curate Patrick Brontë in Regency England, let alone falling passionately in love, were remote. Yet Maria and Patrick did meet, making a life together in the heartland of the industrial revolution. An unlikely romance and novel wedding were soon followed by the birth of six children. They included ...

“Devilishly sharp… a masterful balance of psychological excavation and sumptuous description.”—Kirkus ReviewsAn only child, Deborah Burns grew up in prim 1950s America in the shadow of her beautiful, unconventional, rule-breaking mother, Dorothy—a red-haired beauty who looked like Rita Hayworth and skirted norms with a style and flair that made her the darling of men and women alike. Married to the son of a renowned Italian family with ties to the underworld, Doroth...

It's not personal, he says. But that's a lie in a place where everything is personal, and a matter of life and death too.This Human Season is award-winning Booker longlisted author Louise Dean's second novel set in Belfast, Ireland, during The Troubles of the late 1970s and early 1980s. It was widely praised by critics internationally and described as 'astonishing' by reviewers from The Daily Telegraph in the United Kingdom to BookForum in the United States.