A Vision Of Light

A village girl receives a divine vision that will lead her into the chambers of the English Inquisition... Young, wealthy and twice married, Margaret has a modest enough ambition: she wishes to write a book. But this is 1355, and the notion of a woman wanting to record her experiences and thoughts is not just arrogant, it’s possibly heretical. Three clerics contemptuously decline to be Margaret’s scribe, and it is only starvation that persuades Brother Gregory, a renegade Carthusian friar with a mysterious past, to take on the unseemly task of chronicling her life. As she narrates her life story, an extraordinary tale unfolds filled with perilous brushes with death, where a mix of miracle and Margaret’s innate intellect pull her through. But this is a world where a clever woman is at constant risk of being accused of witchcraft... A Vision of Light, first in the critically acclaimed historical Margaret of Ashbury Trilogy is a remarkable novel that challenges all of our notions about women’s roles in the medieval era, perfect for fans of Ariana Franklin, Sarah Perry and Jessie Burton. ‘Both arresting and absorbing’ The New York Times ‘Fascinating and factual...If all chronicles of earthly life were recorded with such drama, flair, and wit, the world would be full of history majors’ Los Angeles Times

Designed for a nonmathematical undergraduate optics course addressed to art majors, this four-part treatment discusses the nature and manipulation of light, vision, and color. Questions at the end of each chapter help test comprehension of material, which is almost completely presented in a nonmathematical manner. 170 black-and-white illustrations. 1983 edition.

Textures of Light draws on the work of Luce Irigaray, Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Emmanuel Levinas to present an outstanding and ground breaking study of the vital importance of light in Western thought. Since Plato's allegory of the cave, light and the role of sight have been accorded a unique position in Western thought. They have stood as a metaphor for truth and objectivity and the very axis of modern rationalism. More recently however, this status has come under significant criticism from continental and feminist thought which has stressed the privileging of subjectivity and masculinity in such a metaphor.

The first book in the series, this bestselling novel introduces Margaret of Ashbury, a fourteenth-century Englishwoman with mystical abilities Margaret of Ashbury wants to write her life story. However, like most women in fourteenth-century England, she is illiterate. Three clerics contemptuously decline to be Margaret’s scribe, and only the threat of starvation persuades Brother Gregory, a Carthusian friar with a mysterious past, to take on the task. As she narrates her life, we discover a woman of startling resourcefulness. Married off at the age of fourteen to a merchant reputed to be the Devil himself, Margaret was left for dead during the Black Plague. Incredibly, she survived, was apprenticed to an herbalist, and became a midwife. But most astonishing of all, Margaret has experienced a Mystic Union—a Vision of Light that endows her with the miraculous gift of healing. Because of this ability, Margaret has become suddenly different—to her tradition-bound parents, to the bishop’s court that tries her for heresy, and ultimately to the man who falls in love with her.

Traveling in 1995 around war-torn Bosnia and Croatia, where he had gone to stage a peace concert, this author encountered The Emissaries: a small group of mystics who meditated 12 hours a day. He went on to detail their message—that humanity was now ready to create a new world—in a book that was translated into more than a dozen languages. This new edition provides behind-the-scenes information about the people met on that trip and offers additional commentary on the monks' compelling mystic vision.

Seeing the Light is the most accessible and comprehensive study of optics and light on the market. Each chapter is a self-contained lesson, making it easy to learn about specific optical concepts. Diagrams, photos, and illustrations help bring concepts to life, and sections at the ends of chapters explore the more advanced aspects of each topic.

The unforgettable Margaret of Ashbury returns in the second book of this historical medieval trilogy Margaret, a resourceful midwife, is living with the insufferable relatives of her third husband, Gilbert de Vilers, known as Gregory. She is carving out a life for her and her daughters despite the hostility and greed of her in-laws. But when Gregory is captured in France and held for ransom, Margaret knows she must take action... With in-laws as tight-fisted as hers, she must rely on old friends Mother Hilde, the herbalist, and Brother Malachi, an alchemist on a quest for the secret of changing base metals into gold. Together the trio plan to rescue Gregory and bring him back to London, where he and Margaret can start a new life away from his meddling family. Margaret will not only need her special gift of healing, her quick mind, and her independent spirit but the loyalty of her friends and the love of her new husband to carry them all safely home. In Pursuit of the Green Lion, the second novel in The Margaret of Ashbury Trilogy, is perfect for fans of Ariana Franklin, Andrew Caldecott and Susanna Clarke. ‘Fascinating and factual... If all chronicles of earthly life were recorded with such drama, flair, and wit, the world would be full of history majors’ Los Angeles Times ‘Arresting and absorbing... rich with the ambience and flavor of the Middle Ages... a fourteenth-century story told with a twentieth-century sensibility’ The New York Times Book Review

World-leading researchers, including Nobel Laureates, explore the most basic questions of science, philosophy, and the nature of existence.