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From spooky stories and real-life ghost hunting, to shows about murder and serial killers, we are fascinated by death - and we owe these modern obsessions to the Victorian age. Death and the Victorians explores a period in history when the search for the truth about what lies beyond our mortal realm was matched only by the imagination and invention used to find it. Walk among London’s festering graveyards, where the dead were literally rising from the grave. Visit the Paris Morgue, where thousands flocked to view the spectacle of death every single day. Lift the veil on how spirits were invited into the home, secret societies taught ways to survive death, and the latest science and technol...
The Real Stan Lee is not just another biography. It is a journey through twentieth century American history, seen through the life of a man who personifies the American Dream.This book shows how Stan's life reflects the evolution of American entertainment, society and popular culture throughout the 1900s and beyond. Along the way, bold questions will be asked. Was Stan Lee himself a superhuman creation, just a mask to protect his true, more complicated secret identity? Just like the vibrant panels of the comics he wrote, Stan's life, it seems, is never black and white.Sourced from Stan's own words, this book also includes brand new and exclusive interviews with Marvel comic book creators, for whom Stan's work proved an invaluable inspiration. Upbeat, accessible and fun, this book is told with a glint in the eye and a flair for the theatrical that would make Stan proud.This is a bold celebration of the power of storytelling and a fitting tribute to Stan Lee's enduring legacy. Excelsior!
Discover the astonishing history of modern American entertainment, seen through the eyes of a pop-culture icon who lived for nearly 100 years. Stan Lee: How Marvel Changed the World is not just another biography. It is a journey through twentieth century American history, seen through the life of a man who personified the American Dream. This book shows how Stan Lee’s life reflects the evolution of American entertainment, society and popular culture throughout the 1900s and beyond. Along the way, bold questions will be asked. Was Stan Lee himself a superhuman creation, just a mask to protect his true, more complicated secret identity? Just like the vibrant panels of the comics he wrote, Lee’s life, it seems, is never black and white. Sourced from Lee’s own words, this book also includes brand new and exclusive interviews with Marvel comic book creators, for whom Lee’s work proved an invaluable inspiration. Upbeat, accessible and fun, this book is told with a glint in the eye and a flair for the theatrical that would make Stan Lee proud. This is a bold celebration of the power of storytelling and a fitting tribute to Stan Lee’s enduring legacy. Excelsior!
Comedy is a game that all humans play. There are big social prizes if you win, but it is easy to end up with custard pie on your face... or worse. Comedy can soothe our pain, vent our anger, make us feel less alone and provide the answer to life’s most difficult questions, such as, ‘What do you call a man with a seagull on his head?’* It’s a social glue but it can also be divisive, and the joke is on us if we don’t understand how it works. So, what are the rules? How does comedy do its magic and why does it matter? Join professional comedy writer Joel Morris on a hilarious journey into the hidden world of shared laughter where he reveals the mechanisms that make jokes work and what...
Tales Accursed is the second collection of classic supernatural stories selected by the artist Richard Wells. Each of the sixteen tales is accompanied by one of Richard’s striking lino-print illustrations. This anthology contains work from both the established masters of folk horror, and some more surprising contributors: from Shirley Jackson and M. R. James to E. F. Benson and William Croft Dickinson. Tales Accursed will raise the hairs on your neck and keep you alert to the slightest rustle in the trees: through the chill splendour of moonlit nights come apparitions through the orchard; sea-witches perch on the sharp fangs of rocks as they weave their spells; fir-woods lie unnaturally still with no birdsong, no breeze, nor any undergrowth; and hooded creatures crouch on grey secluded beaches. This book combines ancient horrors from the wilderness with sinister shadows of the landscape to remind us of the settings of our ancestors. Tales Accursed is a gloriously creepy collection of chilling folk horror tales that is both thrilling and unnerving.
Introduction to Nordic Cultures is an innovative, interdisciplinary introduction to Nordic history, cultures and societies from medieval times to today. The textbook spans the whole Nordic region, covering historical periods from the Viking Age to modern society, and engages with a range of subjects: from runic inscriptions on iron rings and stone monuments, via eighteenth-century scientists, Ibsen’s dramas and turn-of-the-century travel, to twentieth-century health films and the welfare state, nature ideology, Greenlandic literature, Nordic Noir, migration, ‘new’ Scandinavians, and stereotypes of the Nordic. The chapters provide fundamental knowledge and insights into the history and ...
How do you feel about your phone? Or your car? You probably don't think about them much, except when they go wrong. But what if they go really wrong and turn properly bad – evil, even? Join Terry Jones on a hilariously disturbing journey into the dark heart of machines that go wrong: meet the lift that takes people to places they don't want to go, the vacuum cleaner that's just too powerful, the apparently nice bomb, the truthful phone, the terrifying train to anywhere, and Mrs. Morris, a little old lady from Glasgow who turns out to be a very resourceful heroine... Brisk and cheerful on the outside, but as edgy and uncomfortable as any of Roald Dahl's Tales of the Unexpected within, Terry Jones's collection of thirteen cautionary fables will make you look at the 'helpful' inventions that surround you in a very different way. A brilliantly-written and gleefully mischievous book, suitable for Luddites of all ages or anyone who likes a bit of Pythonesque edge to their silliness.
“If you are looking to understand a bit more about the circumstances that inspired The Adventures of Tintin—this book will provide a good snapshot.” —The BookBuff Review Hergé created only twenty-four Tintin books which have been translated into more than seventy languages and sold 230 million copies worldwide. The Real Hergé: The Inspiration Behind Tintin takes an in-depth look at the man behind the cultural phenomenon and the history that helped shape these books. As well as focusing on the controversies that engulfed Hergé, this biography will also look at his personal life, as well as the relationships and experiences that influenced him. “Tintin is more famous now than when Hergé was actually writing and illustrating his adventures. Sian Mye’s book is another in the excellent series about the real lives of our most famous authors, and is well worth a look. Brilliant!” —Books Monthly “It is certainly possible to enjoy the Tintin books without knowing Hergé. But they are more interesting after learning about this complex, sometimes frustrating, man. We can learn from him, even if we learn from his mistakes.” —Rose City Reader
This report on the excavations at Atlantic House, London, describes and illustrates important new evidence of Roman London's western cemetery. The cemetery was established in the late 1st century AD, following land reclamation along the River Fleet, and abandoned in the 4th century. A total of 19 inhumation burials and 29 cremations were identified at the site, with the majority dating from the 2nd and 3rd centuries. Two timber coffins were rare survivals, and these were lifted and removed for conservation and display at the Museum of London. A rectangular pit lined with timber stakes may originally have been a water-filled feature of ritual significance. The osteological study indicates that the cemetery population was generally healthy, enjoying a balanced diet and suffering few serious diseases. This report provides a significant new contribution to our knowledge of Roman London's cemeteries, and augments recent studies of cemeteries to the east and south of the settlement.