Editorial Review

Robert Graves, the late British poet and novelist, was also known for his studies of the mythological and psychological sources of poetry. With Read more

Reviews (35)

Ogham at its Best
There is simply too much to say about this masterpiece. Robert Graves has this special - I'd say "cardinal" - virtue to link apparently disparate fields into one deep and yes, poetical view.
in the search of the buck
this is the best book i readed. i made it by the portuguese translation, but it's all there. for the studants of paganism, wicca, witchcraft and old religions, it is a must. the history and the links among centuries, folks and cultures, since the stone ages. in ours days, is an outrage to call someone a poet. the inspirations of the fillis, the ollaves, the bards and menestrels are hughest than we can imagine. the gwion riddling poesy are a surprising lifting up the veils! that book must be the first one, to who wants realize the pagan path.

Betwixt Heaven & Hell "The White Goddess" once ruled!
"The White Goddess," at first, filled me with AWE.In the second READ I walked a tightrope without a NET underneath.The third & fourth READ gave me a definite sense that Robert Graves had written IT in a 'fevered flaw' via an Energy-deep within-coverting HIM...a thing the ancient Bards & Ollaves were surely wary of!!It seemed as though SOMETHING emerged wanting to put Prison Bars around the 'White Goddess' and Graves being an accomplished Scholar, Writer & Poet, plus, "a ladies Man" became IT's channel.For him, SHE became a Sexual Siren, his obsession, his MUSE...a conduit for his own Illusions...like a Drug to sooth his 'Fevered Brow!!Strangely, it seemed like a Prescripted GAME where during THIS milieu, the Triplet Team Goddess: Daughter-Mother-Crone arrived BEING promptly relegated to Bed, Kitchen & Kindercare...while his Favored FANCY...the Ivory skinned, red haired, light-eyed Cerridwen remained his Pirated Possession!!
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Subjects:  1. Folklore & Mythology - Mythology    2. General    3. Graves, Robert, 1895-1985    4. History and criticism    5. Literary Criticism    6. Literature: Folklore/Mythology    7. Mythology    8. Poetry    9. Sociology    10. Welsh poetry   

Reviews (1)

One of the best anthologies I have ever read
Anthologies are notoriously inconsistent.Most contain several essays considerably below the level of the best pieces and many contain a few utterly miserable ones.On the downside, no essay in this collection truly stands out; on the upside, there really isn't a weak entry in the volume.I honestly cannot think of another collection of which I can make that statement.
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Subjects:  1. History and criticism    2. Literary Criticism    3. Literature - Classics / Criticism    4. Science Fiction & Fantasy    5. Science fiction    6. Science/Mathematics    7. Literary Criticism & Collections / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh    8. Literary studies: 16th to 18th centuries    9. Literary studies: 19th century    10. Literary studies: from c 1900 -    11. Literary theory    12. Novels, other prose & writers   

Reviews (4)

Highly Recommend for Younger Readers
I purchased these cliff notes for my son who was reading this book as a school assignment.The names, terms, society, everything in Dickens' book are just too different from modern American society for a young person to comprehend very well, let alone be 'tested' on.He read both the book and the cliff notes and needed both to really understand what was going on and the point of many of the passages.

A Tale of Two Cities
I indeed read the book, but the notes helped me understand it a lot better.

A really helpful book
This book helped me a lot i like to read and all but A Tale of Two Cities is a little to detailed and i kind of understood the book but this book helped me understand it completely i recommend this book to anyone that does not fully understand A Tale of Two Cities. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1812-1870    2. 1812-1870.    3. Book Notes    4. Cliff's/ Monarch / Barron's Book Notes    5. Dickens, Charles,    6. Examinations    7. France    8. General    9. History    10. Literary Criticism    11. Literature and the revolution    12. Literature: Classics    13. Reference    14. Revolution, 1789-1799    15. Study guides    16. Tale of two cities    17. Dickens, Charles    18. English    19. English literature: literary criticism    20. Literary Criticism & Collections / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh    21. Novels, other prose & writers: 19th century   

Reviews (25)

Series is Back on Track
I loved the first Abel Jones Civil War mystery (Faded Coat of Blue), but was sorely disappointed by the second (Shadows of Glory), so it with great relief that I can report that this third in the series displays much (if not quite all) the skill Parry brought to Faded Coat of Blue. The story kicks off with a serious bang, as the first thirty pages or so throw Major Abel Jones into the messy battle at Shiloh in early April 1862. From the very first sentence ("I remember the smell of men burning"), the reader is immersed in the chaos and confusion that is war, and it's hard to imagine any work of nonfiction\ able to compete with the "you are there" sensation these pages impart. In this in initial bloody action, the ever-stern Jones rounds up as many of those fleeing the battle as possible, and rallies them into a little unit, fighting through the day. Parry Just Keeps Getting Better
I'm always wary of historical novels, since they have a tendency to transfer 21st Century sensibilities to their subject matter. Owen Parry (whose real name is Ralph Peters, the great Russian expert and strategic thinker) avoids that, creating a hero and a story which live and breath the Civil War era. I was impressed, although not overly so, with the first book of the series, but I am increasingly moved by every addition to the series. I Can't Wait for the Next One
I've traveled in Wales, know Welsh history back to the early Middle Ages, and even studied the language some years ago. I recognize Owen Parry's Union officer, Abel Jones, as the counterpart of some of the sturdy people of that splendid land.I've now read all three of Parry's Civil War mysteries available in paperback, and each new one has been better than the last.Read more

Subjects:  1. Civil War, 1861-1865    2. Fiction    3. Fiction - Historical    4. General    5. Historical - General    6. History    7. Slavery    8. Suspense    9. United States    10. Welsh   

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Subjects:  1. English-speaking countries    2. Gothic & Romance    3. Gothic revival (Literature)    4. History and criticism    5. Horror tales, American    6. Horror tales, English    7. Literary Criticism    8. Literature - Classics / Criticism    9. AMERICAN LITERATURE_HISTORY AND CRITICISM    10. ENGLISH LITERATURE_HISTORY AND CRITICISM    11. English    12. HORROR TALES_HISTORY AND CRITICISM    13. Literary Criticism & Collections / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh    14. Literary studies: general    15. Novels, other prose & writers    16. Theory of art   

Subjects:  1. Business/Economics    2. Capitalism    3. History    4. Marxian economics    5. Public Policy - Regional Planning    6. Sociology    7. Sociology - Urban    8. Urban Economics    9. Urban Geography    10. Urbanization    11. Economics    12. Literary Criticism & Collections / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh    13. Urban communities   

Reviews (1)

Pretexts, Motives and The Valid Human Life
Pursell's acknowledged primary debt to Leo (The Machine in the Garden) Marx says a lot about his perspective in this nicely paced, often fascinating work of U.S. social history.Read more

Subjects:  1. General    2. History    3. History: American    4. Industrial revolution    5. Science    6. Social aspects    7. Technology    8. United States    9. United States - General    10. American history: from c 1900 -    11. Impact of computing & IT on society    12. Literary Criticism & Collections / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh    13. Social history    14. Technology: General Issues    15. USA   

Reviews (32)

Excellent!!
AS an avid reader, I found this book to be one of the best I've ever read. I find fantasy and romance, if well done, are the best of books. Throw in some sexual tension, and there you have it. I wish she would write more of Dain & Cedric. I'm about to try several of her other books; hope I'm not disappointed.

Superb Fantasy/Romance Trilogy
Frankly, the first time I tried reading The Chalice and the Blade, I was bored.I didn't hate it, but I wasn't the least enthralled either.However, desperate for something to read I picked it up again and gave it another chance--and thank goodness I did! The worlds McReynolds weaves in this book, and the sequels (Dreamstone and Prince of Time), are so rich and intriguing that I have since reread the trilogy several times, picking up new things I've missed in previous readings. The stories are also incredibly and breathtakingly romantic.My only disappointment is that McReynolds has since returned to writing modern romances--a shame since she displayed a true affinity for this genre.

Pure Magic
I loved this story.I bought this book and was never dissapointed.The book is pure magic.A must have!Read more

Subjects:  1. 1063-1284    2. Fiction    3. Fiction - Romance    4. History    5. Llewelyn ap Iorwerth,    6. Romance - Fantasy    7. Romance - Historical    8. Romance: Historical    9. Wales    10. Welsh Borders (England and Wales)    11. d. 1240    12. Fiction / Romance / Historical   

Reviews (8)

Liberty for all
It is surprising to me how many people assume that 'On Liberty' was written before or during the American Revolution - Mill was certainly influenced by the spirit of American liberty, which was variously romanticised and adapted in Britain and Europe during the nineteenth century. Published in 1859, 'On Liberty' is one of the primary political texts of the nineteenth century; perhaps only the writings of Marx had a similar impact, and of the two, in today's world, Mill's philosophy seems (please note that I only said 'seems') the one that is triumphant.
Triumph of the individual
This Oxford collection of four definitive essays by John Stuart Mill, arguably the most famous Victorian writer who could be called a philosopher, gives an excellent profile of a rigorous social reformer and political thinker.The subjects of these essays--liberty, utilitarianism, government, and women's rights--are interrelated to the extent that they reveal a man with a sharp sense of history and its impact on the methods and mores of contemporary society.Mill, after all, was of Charles Dickens's generation and therefore witnessed an era in which the British crown was inclined to manifest its power through tyranny in its efforts to maintain a costly worldwide empire.
On "On Liberty..."
Don't get me wrong. This book is quaint and it certainly has its merits. However, I was disappointed that the character on the cover isn't featured anywhere within. Who is the man with outsretched arms? Is he pleading for alms? Is he offering to pull someone out of a river? In fact, if you look closely he appears to be standing in a body of water which could support the latter theory. Who is he pulling from the river? Or is this a metaphor... do these essays figuratively pull one out of the river - the river of intellectual darkness? Perhaps not, which brings me back to my original point. Who is this man? Like all great philosophical questions... we may never know. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. History & Surveys - 19th Century    2. History & Theory - General    3. Liberty    4. Philosophy    5. Political Freedom & Security - Civil Rights    6. Political Science    7. Political Theory    8. Politics/International Relations    9. Representative government and    10. Representative government and representation    11. Short Stories (single author)    12. Utilitarianism    13. Women's rights    14. Ethics & moral philosophy    15. History of ideas, intellectual history    16. Human rights    17. Literary Collections / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh    18. Literary studies: 19th century    19. Modern Western philosophy, c 1600 to the present    20. Other prose: 19th century    21. Philosophy | Social   

Reviews (5)

Commerce and Culture in 18th Century England
In this unusual approach to cultural history, John Brewer seeks to explain how "practical and technical improvements and commercial practices of the modern world" led to "the rise of fine arts and of social refinement" in 19th century England.The successful result is a work that emphasizes processes of cultural dissemination, such as nascent exhibiting societies for the visual arts and the increasingly dynamic publishing and bookselling trades.Likewise, individual creators of culture are studied not as "isolated geniuses," but rather to determine their role in shaping cultural institutions. Lavish synopsis of the marriage between mercantilism and art
This book is indeed a masterpiece. The eighteenth century was unquestionably a period in which the arts thrived in Britain, but high culture was nothing new to Europe, particularly in the wake of the Renaissance and Rococo.What made this period and indeed this book special was the exodus of culture from the court to the street. This is Brewer's principal theme; the marriage of mercantilism and mass cultural appeal. The arts had always been the plaything of the monarch and the aristocracy and the artists reliant on them for patronage. Beyond church and court there were few examples to be found, excepting anomalies such as Elizabethan theatre. The reasons for it's explosion were manifold as Brewer elaborates. Literacy rates were on the up, a phenomenon that was intertwined with increasing urbanisation, more schools opened their doors, and cities were the ideal breeding ground for literacy in an age of increasing public works. Although Almanacks and religious pamphlets were stiil the staple fare, the 'Grub Street' publishing industry was flourishing, and although, as the name suggests, impecunious authors and unscrupulous publishers were very much in evidence, a wider readership was fuelling the flowering industry. Libraries were a phenomenon of the eighteenth century, for while print works were increasingly widespread books were expensive. The advent of the library with an annual fee less than the price of a single volume in one swoop fanned the the fire of literary appreciation.Brewer delves also into the painting world : the London of Hogarth that was so familiar to the common man and the foundation and patronage of the Royal Academy. Again the new commercialism is drawn as a major growth factor, for merchants and the wealthy bourgois became the new patrons, eager to commemorate their financial glory. Garrick and Drury Lane; the world of the stage is the other focus of Brewer's attentions who uses the three principal arts to chart the explosion not of high, but popular culture in the climate of an industrialising and mercantile Britain on the verge of Empire. His hands on approach to the period leaves the reader with a sense of a very real age and a very real London brought alive through Brewers' warm, empathic portrait and spectacular illustrations. His final section deviates from his depiction of the age through the principal art forms. Almost apologetically in a book that so lovingly brings that London alive, he provides a survey of provincial Britain and the permeation of culture into the shires. By comparing and contrasting tastes and events we are left with a more robust picture, that of Britain as a whole. excellent overview of 18th cen. England
This book is a fine introduction to 18th cen. English culture. Perhaps we can apply some of the ideas in this book to our world today. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 18th century    2. Anthropology - Cultural    3. Civilization    4. England    5. Europe - Great Britain - General    6. Great Britain - History - 18th Century    7. History    8. History - General History    9. History Of Civilization And Culture (General)    10. Intellectual life    11. Politics/International Relations    12. Social life and customs    13. Literary Criticism & Collections / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh   

Reviews (15)

Wonderful research and writing
I've always thought if the first chapter of a book didn't grab my attention, then it wasn't worth my time. This book was assigned for reading by the moderator of my library book review group. At first I was really disappointed because the last book had been a real bummer. I read the first chapter and thought I had another bummer. But I was determined to finish the whole book come [any obstacle]. So I made myself start reading again.Well, was I ever in for a surprise. Interesting concept...
I have never heard of the Madoc legend before reading this book and now am eager to find out more about the legend.(I read this book because I enjoyed Follow the River so much.) Outstanding
This is the BEST book I have ever read.Read more

Subjects:  1. America    2. Discoveries in geography    3. Explorers    4. Fiction    5. Thom, James Alexander - Prose & Criticism    6. Welsh    7. Fiction / Historical    8. Madog ab Owain Gwynedd   

Subjects:  1. 19th century    2. Characters and characteristics    3. Characters and characteristics in literature    4. European - General    5. European fiction    6. General    7. History and criticism    8. Literature - Classics / Criticism    9. Political Science    10. Politics/International Relations    11. Realism in literature    12. British Literature    13. Comparative Literature    14. Literary Criticism & Collections / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh    15. Literary studies: general    16. Novels, other prose & writers   

Reviews (3)

Merlin aka the son of a Roman counsel
Merlin is well known as a Camelot wizard involved with King Arthur, but here's a different take from Graham Phillips, who spent twenty years uncovering evidence that Merlin was actually based on the life of the son of a Roman counsel who was the last of them to rule Britain in the 5th century A.D. Rather than ending his life in the mystical Avalon, Phillips argues that Merlin actual journeyed to the New World via the Arctic Sea: MERLIN AND THE DISCOVERY OF AVALON IN THE NEW WORLD provides the researched evidence to prove this point, and will be a 'must' for any Arthur/Merlin researchers.

Fascinating blend of historical detection and Dark Age myth
I picked this up as a follow-on from the author's previous works involving Arthur in British myth and his identity as a real historical figure. As thought-provoking as these ideas were, I was initially very sceptical as to the possibility of a similarly convincing identification of Merlin. Happily my first thoughts proved unfounded. Despite reading more like a Dan Brown novel than an academic discourse, the threads of a variety of sources are skilfully blended together to form a coherent argument as to Merlin's historical identity. The picture of a Britain descending into a post-Roman, invasion-plagued land, held briefly in check by the two figures that have become known as Arthur and Merlin, is both vivid and revealing. The notion that Merlin also voyaged to the New World seems ridiculous. However, the author demonstrates that there is a sequence of locations in the rather fanciful and elaborate Dark Age saga, 'The Voyage of Mael Duin's Boat', that is linked to the Merlin legend (however incongruously) that appears to describe a route to the north-eastern United States via Iceland (the route later taken by the Vikings). Although the term proof can never be ascribed to this idea, it does have an air of plausibility. The final theme explored in the book is on safer ground. Assuming that the real historical identities of Arthur and Merlin discovered by the author are true (as seems likely given the mounting evidence compiled in both this and the earlier work - and the lack of evidence for any other theory), then family trees for the ruling House of Windsor in the UK clearly demonstrate a link between the heir to the Heir Apparent to the throne (that would be Prince William then via the late Diana Spencer) and both Arthur and Merlin. Certain to provoke many academics, this work could be easily dismissed as just another alternative history work. However, what cannot be easily dismissed are the arguments put forward by the author and the evidence he uses to back them up. Did I also mention that it's a real page-turner too?

magnificent discovery!
This book of 'Merlin and the Discovery of Avalon' was such a magnificent historical insight into a legend we are all so familiar with - the Magician Merlin from the Arthurian legends.Mr. Phillip's theory to whom the 'real' Merlin may have been is both enthralling and fascinating and the historical man is even more interesting than any fantasy writer has written.
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Subjects:  1. America    2. Avalon (Legendary place)    3. Discovery and exploration    4. Folklore & Mythology    5. History    6. History: American    7. Merlin (Legendary character)    8. Mythical Civilizations    9. Sociology    10. Spirituality - Celtic    11. U.S. - Discovery And Exploration    12. U.S. Local History - New England    13. Unexplained Phenomena    14. United States - General    15. United States - State & Local - General    16. Welsh    17. Body, Mind & Spirit / Mythical Civilizations    18. Folklore    19. USA   

Reviews (3)

Not for the novice
The title suggests that this book would talk about the Celtic Goddess, and answer the question as to whether she is a Great Queen or Demon Witch. The book doesn't answer that question, although it reviews Celtic Goddess as they are portrayed in the Mabinogion (pages 69- 187) and Irish folklore, but in the end, I didn't think she answer the question. Another nit pick is that she relays heavily on Robert Graves THE WHITE GODDESS, and ignores the facts that the Celtic Goddesses were not necessarily Mother, Maiden, and Crone - that they might be the Three Maters.
Mostly deals with the Mabinogion.
This was a very good book and I enjoyed reading it.I would have given it five stars if it wasn't for the title.The title led me to believe it would be about Goddesses from all the Celtic lands, the bulk of the book (from page 70 on) was about the women in the Mabinogion. The only other problem I have with this book is that it uses Robert Graves, whose work is deeply flawed,as a source.This leads to inacuracies in the book.For instance, the Celtic triple Goddess was never Maiden, Mother and Crone, but rather three Mothers, or three Maidens or three Crones. Despite these two problems I do recommend the book.

Traces the decline of a divine figure
The Celtic Goddess: Great Queen or Demon Witch? by medieval studies expert, writer and lecturer Claire French is a thoroughly fascinating study of the Celtic Goddess figure, venerated in triple form as Virgin, Mother, and Crone. From the ancient rituals that used to honor her to her displacement by Druidism in the fifth century BC (and her condemnation by Christianity), The Celtic Goddess traces the decline of a divine figure with scholarly accuracy and emotional heart. The Celtic Goddess is a very highly recommended, unique religious study. Also highly recommended is Claire French's The Queen Of The Silver Castle (...) in which she retells the story of Rhiannon and Pwyll for younger readers. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography    2. Biography/Autobiography    3. General    4. Goddesses, Celtic    5. History - General History    6. Mythology, Celtic    7. Mythology, Welsh    8. Wales   

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Subjects:  1. 1830-1864    2. Correspondence    3. History    4. History - Military / War    5. History: American    6. Military - General    7. U.S. History - Civil War And Reconstruction (1860-1877)    8. United States    9. United States - Civil War    10. Welsh, Peter,    11. Essays, journals, letters & other prose works    12. History / United States / Civil War Period (1850-1877)    13. UNITED STATES_HISTORY_CIVIL WAR, 1861-1865_PERSONAL NARRATIVES    14. USA    15. Welsh, Peter    16. c 1800 to c 1900   

Reviews (1)

A positive-themed manifesto of means to balance differing agendas into a more unified, and therefore stronger movement
The Future Of Environmental Criticism: Environmental Crisis And Literary Imagination is a scholarly summary of the distinct critical practices that constitute "ecocriticism" today. Written by one of the world's leading theorists, who traces the ecocritical movement to its roots in the 1970's and its coalescence in the 1990's, The Future Of Environmental Criticism Asks such bold questions as: Why has interest in environmental literary and cultural studies risen so rapidly in recent times? Can the emphasis upon preserving nature of earlier ecocriticism be successfully reconciled with later ecocritical issues of environmental justice? The Future Of Environmental Criticism draws from past and present reality to predict the directions in which future ecocritical movements will flow, and offers a positive-themed manifesto of means to balance differing agendas into a more unified, and therefore stronger movement.
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Subjects:  1. American - General    2. Anthropology - Cultural    3. Environmental    4. Literature - Classics / Criticism    5. Regional, Ethnic, Genre, Specific Subject    6. Social Science    7. Sociology    8. AMERICAN LITERATURE_HISTORY AND CRITICISM    9. ENGLISH LITERATURE_HISTORY AND CRITICISM    10. LANDSCAPE IN LITERATURE    11. Literary Criticism & Collections / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh    12. Literary theory    13. NATURE IN LITERATURE    14. The Environment   

Subjects:  1. Historiography    2. History    3. History: World    4. Celtic languages    5. Literary studies: classical, early & medieval    6. Wales    7. Welsh   

Subjects:  1. 1920-    2. Campaigns    3. Gallagher, James P.,    4. History    5. History - Military / War    6. History: American    7. Japan    8. Military - Aviation    9. Military - World War II    10. Military Aircraft - World War II    11. Military History - World War II    12. Pacific Ocean    13. Personal narratives, American    14. Pictorial works    15. United States    16. United States - 20th Century    17. United States - General    18. World War, 1939-1945    19. Air forces & warfare    20. American history: Second World War    21. Australasian & Pacific history: Second World War    22. Europe    23. European history: Second World War    24. Literary Criticism & Collections / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh    25. Photographs: collections    26. Second World War, 1939-1945    27. USA    28. War & defence operations   

Reviews (2)

The Bloomsbury Group
to Emma Ohara of uk re names of Bloomsbury Group:the main ones are Virginia Woolf, Leonard Woolf, Vanessa Bell, Clive Bell, Duncan Grant, Lytton Strachey, Maynard Keynes, Saxon Sydney-Turner (an original memberfrom Cambridge), also you could include Carrington, Roger Fry, David(Bunny) Garnett, Desmond McCarthy,Ralph Partridge, Frances Marshall(Partridge), Ottoline Morrell, Adrian Stephen, Alix and James Strachey. Ihope this helps-they are fascinating people well worth exploring

not yet
i have not yet read this book but would like to now the names of the 12 members of the blooms bury set please send it to my e-mail address ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 20th century    2. Authors, English    3. Biography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Bloomsbury (London, England)    6. England    7. Europe - Great Britain - General    8. General    9. Homes and haunts    10. Intellectual life    11. Intellectuals    12. Literary Criticism    13. London    14. English    15. History of art & design styles: from c 1900 -    16. Literary Criticism & Collections / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh    17. Literary studies: from c 1900 -    18. The Arts: General Issues   

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Reviews (1)

Great Introduction to Greenblatt
This is the place to start if you're unfamiliar with Greenblatt (and perhaps even with New Historicism in general, although the book "Practicing New Historicism" is also very good, but the Greenblatt essays can also be found in here). All of the important essays that laid the groundwork for New Historicism are found here plus many th