![]() ![]() Some forms of magic were challenged by the Protestant Reformation, but only with the increased search for scientific explanation of the universe did the English people begin to abandon their recourse to the supernatural. ![]() The supernatural thus had its own practical utility in daily life. In this fascinating and detailed book, Keith Thomas shows how magic, like the medieval Church, offered an explanation for misfortune and a means of redress in times of adversity. As Keith Thomas shows, England during these years resembled in many ways today's "underdeveloped areas." The English population was exceedingly liable to pain, sickness, and premature death many were illiterate epidemics such as the bubonic plague plowed through English towns, at times cutting the number of London's inhabitants by a sixth fire was a constant threat the food supply was precarious and for most diseases there was no effective medical remedy. Helplessness in the face of disease and human disaster helped to perpetuate this belief in magic and the supernatural. ![]() ![]() Astrology, witchcraft, magical healing, divination, ancient prophecies, ghosts, and fairies were taken very seriously by people at all social and economic levels in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century England. ![]()
0 Comments
![]() Todd charges into these subjects with a fireman's courage, a small-town friend's vulnerability, and a local pastor's compassion. We need a plain-spoken voice to offer God's answers to difficult struggles and painful doubts. ![]() What bothers us about life and faith is real and gritty. ![]() ![]() GOD IS FOR REAL, a new book from author of the best-seller HEAVEN IS FOR REAL, addresses soul-searching questions about God, like What is God like? Why are things the way they are in spite of who God is? If Todd's first book, Heaven Is for Real, was about the then and there of heaven, GOD IS FOR REAL is about the here and now on earth: Why are there are so many hypocritical church people? Why do Christians make such a big deal about the cross? Why doesn't God seem to answer our biggest prayers? People are tired of pat answers offered up in churchy language explaining away their questions we want the down-and-dirty truth. ![]() ![]() ![]() When we learn that Nell has inherited a necklace, we can’t help but immediately form an image of it in our minds. This engrossing novel interweaves a present-day family drama with an ill-fated Prohibition-era love triangle and delves into the secrets, passions, and tragedies of a uniquely American family.ġ. More than just a piece of jewelry, the necklace links Nell to a long-buried family secret. An outsider in the eyes of the tight-knit Quincy clan, Nell’s cold reception from the family grows chillier when they learn that Loulou has left Nell a fantastically valuable heirloom: a stunningly ornate necklace from India. We hope that these ideas will enrich your conversation and increase your enjoyment of the book.Īlways the black sheep of the tight-knit Quincy clan, Nell is cautious when she’s summoned to the elegantly shabby family manor after her great-aunt Loulou’s death, where she learns that she’s been made the executor of the estate. ![]() ![]() ![]() The suggested questions are intended to help your reading group find new and interesting angles and topics for your discussion. This reading group guide for The Necklace includes an introduction, discussion questions, ideas for enhancing your book club, and a Q&A with author Claire McMillan. ![]() ![]() ![]() Should it receive a lower ranking on our ultimate spy show list than a classic like CBS’s Mission: Impossible? Also of note: They both have catchy theme songs. But the series - which has a 96% series-level Tomatometer score, every season of which is Certified Fresh (including one 100% CF season), and is regarded by critics as one of the greatest shows in this Golden Age of Television - is also about marriage, parenting, and history’s winning side’s ability to whitewash facts. With its propensity for disguises, double-crosses, and surveillance, FX’s Cold War–era drama The Americans, is certainly about spies. ![]() ![]() (Photo by FX) The 50 Best Spy TV Shows Everĭeciding which series are worthy of inclusion on a list of the best spy shows and streaming series ever is a matter of mystery itself. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Getting a second chance is something Sage knows is rare. Kimberly vowed to protect her heart from Sage, but when her sister is murdered and her world starts to fall apart, he's the one person she finds herself leaning on. He should have followed his gut, but he didn't, and now he's left watching the woman he wants more than anything from afar. ![]() Even commit murder.Until Sage Sage Mayson had Kimberly Cullen once, and the memory of that brief encounter has tortured him since the moment he pushed her away. But someone isn't happy for Dillon and Ashlyn and their new found romance, and they're willing to do anything to keep them apart. Having Dillon, her boss, a man she thinks is a dick, insist they stay married is absurd, but every time he touches her, she gets lost in him and wonders if maybe they are meant to be together. Waking up married in Vegas isn't something Ashlyn Mayson ever thought would happen to her. Instead, he did what he had been craving to do since the moment they met. He knew he should have taken her back to their hotel room and put her to bed. Until AshlynDillon Keck knew Ashlyn Mayson was drunk when she suggested they get married. ![]() ![]() The ultimate question then is, “Will Bert ever get to take off the Right Honourable Portia Simpson’s head-crown?”EXCERPT 1Marj looked at him and the wrinkles straightened out her face. Bert grows jealous and goes to utterly unsound measures to keep his wife’s love but instead, is pushing her away. But as she unbearably loses everything and everyone because of Bert’s insanity, she crumbles, thinking she’s holding on to dead hope for her husband to regain his sanity, but will it ever happen? Scorned by her friends and family for living with a madman her only listening ear is the handsome, thick-bodied Dr. His wife, Marjorie, decides to take care of her mentally-touched husband and hopes she has the strength to stick by him for better or worse. He then became a fat ninja, hell bent on murdering Portia Simpson’s head-crown, so every patty can be tax-free. ![]() Will he regain sanity or her love?When Portia Simpson implemented tax on patty, it mad Dr. Bert grows jealous and goes to utterly unsound measures to keep her but instead, pushes her away. His wife, Marj scorned by all for living with a madman except the handsome, thick-bodied Dr. ![]() He then became a fat ninja, hell bent on murdering Portia. When Portia Simpson implemented tax on patty, it mad Dr. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() These Renaissance-period utopias are explicitly framed by their authors to make drastic changes to the political culture of their time and to prescribe practical solutions to alleviate political problems that they endured. This thesis aims to understand the more pragmatic side of utopian writing by determining the political purposes of three specific utopias: Thomas More’s Utopia (1516), James Harrington’s The Commonwealth of Oceana (1656), and Johann Valentin Andreae’s Christianopolis (1619). More specifically, many scholars argue that utopias are serious and practical, ultimately aimed at re-shaping the entire political structure of a society. ![]() While some may perceive the purpose of utopias to be completely fantasy-driven, there is a great deal of scholarly literature that dedicates itself to proving otherwise. Much like more recent genres including science-fiction novels or movies, utopian works stimulate the mind and ultimately cause its readers to question whether an author’s design of such a place, or society, is possible in the real world. ![]() Utopian works have entertained generations throughout history. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() In 1962, he was hired by The New York Herald Tribune, where his editor, Clay Felker, encouraged him to try new avenues in journalism that broke with standard objective reporting. Christopher's School, an Episcopal all-boys school in Richmond, Wolfe rejected a chance to enroll at Princeton University to stay in Virginia and attend Washington and Lee University, a private liberal arts school in Lexington.Ī gifted amateur baseball player, Wolfe tried out in 1952 for the then-New York Giants, but he ended up getting cut and eventually landed at Yale University, where he pursued a graduate degree in American studies.ĭespite earning a Ph.D., Wolfe set out on a career in journalism, working as a reporter at the Springfield Union in Massachusetts and later at The Washington Post. ![]() ![]() ![]() In Story of a Soul Therese writes "I find myself at a period in my life when I can cast a glance on the past," but in her letters we accompany her day by day. Therese's letters, a translation of the critical edition of her correspondence, are an unclaimed treasure. Letters of Saint Therese of Lisieux, Volume I (1877-1890) See more information about Story of a Soul or purchase it.Īt the Web site of the Archives of the Lisieux Carmel, read Therese's authentic manuscripts online. General and biblical index, eight pages of photos. If you know Therese only through some other translation, I urge you to read it. John Clarke's translation is by far the best English translation on the market, and the only English translation from Therese's authentic manuscript. The introduction, epilogue, photographs, and notes supply a powerful setting for Therese's manuscripts, so that even those totally new to Therese enjoy the book. Translated into more than sixty languages, this classic in which Therese tells the story of her soul has had a miraculous impact on countless other souls. She wrote three manuscripts: in 1895, for her sisters, a memoir of her childhood in 1896, for her sister Marie, a souvenir of her last private retreat and, in June 1897, for her prioress, Mother Marie de Gonzague, a reflection on her religious life. ![]() Story of a Soul is often called Therese's autobiography. ![]() ![]() His earliest short stories and small press novels saw Malfi using his full name, Ronald Damien Malfi, but he later dropped his middle name for his mass market releases. Malfi began writing stories at an early age. Malfi went on to study at Anne Arundel Community College and ultimately received a degree in English from Towson University in 1999. His father's job saw the family transferred to various cities throughout the northeast until they eventually relocated to Severna Park, Maryland, where Ronald attended Severna Park High School until his graduation in 1995. His father was a Secret Service agent and his mother was a stay-at-home mom, who eventually raised four children, of which Ronald was the eldest. Ronald Malfi was born on April 28, 1977, in Brooklyn, New York. Malfi is also a musician, having fronted the Baltimore-based alternative rock band Nellie Blide as well as his current project, Veer. ![]() Ronald Malfi is an American novelist whose genres include horror, thrillers, mainstream, and literary fiction. ![]() ![]() Horror fiction, mainstream fiction, crime fiction ![]() |