Down the Chimney gathers more than a hundred Christmas narratives into an unusually capacious map of nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century holiday literature. Fairy tale, domestic sketch, moral fable, realist vignette, comic anecdote, supernatural tale, and children's fantasy converge around winter's rituals of generosity, memory, hospitality, and renewal. Illustrated and transnational in scope, the volume moves from hearth-centered sentiment to darker meditations on poverty, estrangemen...

Drawing on research into autobiographical video production by young learners to present a theory of curatorship and new media, this work explores facets of literacy and identity theory which provided the initial frames for examining the work and shows how 'curatorship' works as a metaphor for new cultural and literacy practices.

This book explores how we make sense of ourselves when work is precarious and intrinsically alienating. We know little about how this experience of work impacts the lives of men and women, and less about the way individuals understand themselves in the face of institutions and organizations from which they feel marginalized. Based on the narratives of men and women who underwent extraordinary work life changes, Crisis at Work examines how we negotiate greater meaning and fulfilment when ou...

Who will help the tailor of Gloucester to finish the Mayor’s elegant coat? For the tailor has fallen ill, and the Mayor is to be married in it tomorrow – on Christmas Day in the morning?Written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter in 1901, this story was written as a Christmas gift to ten-year-old Freda Moore, the daughter of her former governess. Potter based the story on a real-world incident involving John Prichard, a Gloucester tailor who had a commission to make a new suit for th...

Fascinating revelations of the parts played by David, Solomon, Judas Maccabee, Pompey, Cleopatra, Justinian, and others in the making of the city.Jerusalem is one of the oldest cities in the world, with evidence of an original settlement dating back more than 4,000 years. Vitally important was the supply of water provided by the Gihon Spring, in a land that normally experienced rainfall only from November to March. Since then this Middle Eastern city has been attack...

A Medical school graduate Aliya, a sporty and active girl, dies suddenly in a car crash… only to find herself reborn in a different body, in the middle of a dilapidated castle during Medieval times. While confused and dismayed, Aliya realizes she has been given another chance at life — so she rolls up her sleeves and gets to work on restoring her new castle and her new life.Aliya has an unusual goal: reborn as Countess Lilian; she must learn to adjust to an unfamiliar world while t...

The Wireless World sets out a new research agenda for the history of international broadcasting, and for radio history more generally. It examines global and transnational histories of long-distance wireless broadcasting, combining perspectives from international history, media and cultural history, the history of technology, and sound studies. It is a cowritten book, the result of more than five years of collaboration. Bringing together their knowledge of a wide range of differen...

The Gothic Chapbook, Bluebook, and Shilling Shocker, 1797-1835 breaks new ground surveying the origins of the gothic chapbook, its publishers and authors, in order to conclusively establish the impact these pamphlets had on the development of the gothic genre. Considered the illegitimate offspring of the gothic novel, the lowly chapbook flooded the marketplace in the late eighteenth century, creating a separate and distinct secondary market for tales of terror. The trade was driven by a ha...

The story revolves around the central character—the ostrich—who symbolizes certain human tendencies, particularly the habit of ignoring inconvenient truths or burying one’s head in the sand, much like the popular myth associated with ostriches. Through the ostrich’s adventures and interactions with other animals, Potter cleverly addresses topics such as hypocrisy, self-deception, and the absurdity of human nature.As the ostrich encounters various challenges and characters along its journey...

As the British Broadcasting Corporation celebrates its centenary, historian Simon J. Potter assesses its achievements and failures. He explores the programmes that audiences have often loved, and sometimes hated, and the turbulent relationship between broadcaster and government.Founded in 1922, over the last century the BBC has become Britain’s most influential broadcaster. Its programmes have been part of everyday life in the UK and around the world, from Its That Man Again to Lif...

Explores the reigns of eight monarchs, from King Charles II to Napoleon Bonaparte, tracing their roles in expanding French power and shaping European history. Explores In early October 1795, Napoleon Bonaparte led the governing Directory's army against the rioting royalists in Paris (who were rebelling to restore the monarchy), crushing their campaign and beginning his rise to supremacy and greatness. Napoleon is one of the eight sovereigns discussed in The Soldier Kings of France, who bro...

She suddenly wished that her medical school had offered a course on the art of intrigue… What seemed to be just an accident now carries an ugly and poisonous truth inside. Time to lift the veil.Aliya, now Countess Lillian Elizabeth Mariella Earton and wife to the Earl of Earton, is trying to uncover the truth behind Lillian’s miscarriage and the unhappy course of her marriage. How many enemies does Lilian have? And what do they want of her?King Edward’s interest in the estate...