In January 532, mobs ruled Constantinople, capital of the Roman Empire. Against a backdrop lit by raging fires, John, Chamberlain to Emperor Justinian, must find those who would use the Nika Riots to dethrone the emperor. But are the ringleaders still in the city—or even alive?Porphyrius, the famous charioteer, may know more than he tells about the disappearance of two men under imperial guard. What of the brothers with a distant claim on the throne? Or the headstrong young girl? W...

548 CE, Constantinople. Emperor Justinian, distraught from the death of his wife, Empress Theodora, has exiled his longtime aide, John, the Lord Chamberlain. At the Church of the Holy Apostles, an Egyptian magician tries to raise the empress from the dead. As the unholy ceremony explodes into chaos, supposed demons vanish into the darkness with one of the city's holiest relics. Felix, Captain of the Palace Guard, is selected as John's successor and charged with finding the missing relic.

Just over half a century ago, the rise in what became known as the "performance turn" in folklore studies led to the diffusion of performance as both a lens and a key concept across a wide range of humanistic disciplines. Now, it's time to take stock of the myriad ways in which performance and folklore studies have developed along both parallel and intersecting paths.Emerging Perspectives in the Study of Folklore and Performance reveals the captivating world where folklore...

John, former Lord Chamberlain to Emperor Justinian, has been exiled from Constantinople to a rustic estate John has long owned in Greece, not far from where he grew up. But exile proves no escape from mystery and mayhem. The residents of nearby Megara make it plain John and his family are unwelcome intruders. His overseer proves corrupt. What of the other staff—and his neighbors?Before long, John finds himself accused of blasphemy and murder. Now a powerless outsider, he's on his o...

As Lord Chamberlain, John spent his days counseling Emperor Justinian while passing the small hours of night in conversation with the solemn-eyed little girl depicted in a mosaic on his study wall. He never expected to meet her in a public square—or afterwards, to find her red-dyed corpse in a subterranean cistern. Had the mysterious woman truly been the model for the mosaic years before, as she claimed? Who was she? Who wanted her dead and why? The answers seem to lie among the denizens o...

In January 532, mobs rule Constantinople, capital of the Roman Empire. Against a murderous backdrop lit by raging fires, John, chamberlain to Emperor Justinian, must find those seeking to use the Nika Riots to dethrone the emperor.Porphyrius, the most famous charioteer of his time, may know more than he tells about the mysterious disappearance of two men under imperial guard. What role is being played by a pair of brothers with a distant claim on the throne? Does a headstrong young...

The year is 548, and Empress Theodora is dead of disease. Such is the belief of everyone in Constantinople, capital of the Roman Empire—everyone except Emperor Justinian, who orders John, his Lord Chamberlain, to find her murderer or suffer the consequences.There is no sign of foul play, but many of the aristocrats at the imperial court had good reason to want Theodora dead. Suspects include General Artabanes, forced to occupy a house with an unloved wife, and Justinian’s cousin Ge...

Indigenous Struggles for Autonomy: The Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua offers a broad and comprehensive analysis of Nicaragua’s Caribbean Coast and the process of autonomy that was initiated in 1987 as part of a wider conflict resolution process during the years of the Sandinista revolution and has continued through to the present day. Over its 30 year period of development, the autonomy process on Nicaragua’s Caribbean Coast can be seen as a crucible for the autonomous struggles of minority ...

Though many analyses of the 2012 presidential election have emerged, none can match this collection's depth, diversity, or ability to critically and soundly argue where American politics will go from this point forward. This volume includes some of the most recognized scholars in the field and innovative younger scholars who provide a fresh perspective on the election. It is a diverse and award winning group, including established and respected names in presidency studies, political psycho...

Gender and Social Hierarchies offers a fresh and coherent picture of applied research from within social psychology on the intricate relationship between gender and social status. It comprises a collection of innovative approaches which seek to understand the pervasiveness of status asymmetry between gender categories. Drawing upon recent theoretical advances in gender psychology, the book provides tools for developing practical and political recommendations to address and resolve...

Continuing a three-decade tradition, The State of the Parties 7th edition brings together leading experts to evaluate change and continuity in American electoral politics. Political parties in America have never been more contentious and divided than they are right now. Even splits within the parties themselves have the power to elevate relatively unknown candidates to power and topple established incumbents. With sections devoted to polarization and the electorate, polarization and politi...

Master the art of predictive modelingAbout This BookLoad, wrangle, and analyze your data using the world's most powerful statistical programming languageFamiliarize yourself with the most common data mining tools of R, such as k-means, hierarchical regression, linear regression, Naive Bayes, decision trees, text mining and so on.We emphasize important concepts, such as the bias-variance trade-off and over-fitting, which are perva...