The Hermit

Tracing its distant origins to the villa of the Roman emperor Hadrian in the second century AD, the eccentric phenomenon of the ornamental hermit enjoyed its heyday in the England of the eighteenth century It was at this time that it became highly fashionable for owners of country estates to commission architectural follies for their landscape gardens. These follies often included hermitages, many of which still survive, often in a ruined state. Landowners peopled their hermitages either with imaginary hermits or with real hermits - in some cases the landowner even became his own hermit. Those who took employment as garden hermits were typically required to refrain from cutting their hair or washing, and some were dressed as druids. Unlike the hermits of the Middle Ages, these were wholly secular hermits, products of the eighteenth century fondness for 'pleasing melancholy'. Although the fashion for them had fizzled out by the end of the eighteenth century, they had left their indelible mark on both the literature as well as the gardens of the period. And, as Gordon Campbell shows, they live on in the art, literature, and drama of our own day - as well as in the figure of the modern-day garden gnome. This engaging and generously illustrated book takes the reader on a journey that is at once illuminating and whimsical, both through the history of the ornamental hermit and also around the sites of many of the surviving hermitages themselves, which remain scattered throughout England, Scotland, and Ireland. And for the real enthusiast, there is even a comprehensive checklist, enabling avid hermitage-hunters to locate their prey.

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AGELESS WISDOM FROM THE LAMA Inside the cave, the young monk bowed respectfully. "I have come to you for instruction, Venerable One," he said to the old hermit in a low voice. In response, the hermit instructed the monk in true cosmic laws and in the universal order that governs nature and humankind. He told of deep, dark secrets which had been passed on to him by a mysterious "Higher Order" who have protected and guided humans since the dawn of creation. The old hermit told of a trip inside a "great metallic body" (a UFO perhaps) and of the visit to a vast cavern where he was surrounded by various beings: "Here were small men and women, seemingly perfect in every detail and of god-like mien, radiating an aura of purity and calm. Others were also man-like but with a curious, quite bird-like head complete with scales or feathers and with hands which, although human in shape, still had astounding scales and claws. Also there were the giants, immense creatures who loomed like statues, and over-shadowed their more diminutive companions." Though blind, the old hermit was handed an amazing "sight box" which enabled him to view scenes that had been hidden from humankind for centuries to protect them from unnecessary self-abuse and harm.

Ours is an age where solitude tends to be discussed in the context of the 'problem of loneliness'. However in previous ages the capacity to seek fulfillment outside society has been admired and seen as a measure of discernment and inner security. In this lucid and highly readable book, Peter France shows how hermits, from the Taoists and Ancient Greeks to the present day, have something vitally important to say to a society that fears solitude.

Eleven year old Danny was hoping to have a simple, fun summer, but his plans are derailed when developers threaten to build condos on his community's beloved soccer field and when he cultivates an unexpected friendship with a hermit living in the nearby woods. Further uncovered secrets might just help Danny save the soccer field once and for all.

WINNER OF THE GLASS KEY AWARD – previous winners include Henning Mankell, Jo Nesbø, Karin Fossum, Stieg Larsson and Arnaldur Indridason A car is found on a deserted beach on the Spanish island of Fuerteventura. On the back seat lies a cardboard box containing the body of a small boy buried in newspaper cuttings. No one knows his name, and there is no trace of a driver. The last thing an ailing tourist resort needs is a murder, and the police are desperate to close the case. The island is rife with rumours about the reclusive Erhard. Two decades of self-imposed exile from his wife and children have left him alienated and alone, whiling away his days in a drunken haze, driving an old taxi to get by. This unlikeliest of detectives determines to solve the crime himself – and he has nothing to lose. But how can one old man, cut off from the modern world, solve a murder whose dangerous web of deceit stretches far beyond the small island? And what if the killer forces Erhard to confront his own long-buried past? Winner of the prestigious Glass Key Award and an instant bestseller in Denmark, The Hermit is taking the international publishing world by storm. Acutely observed and psychologically penetrating, this is existential noir at its finest.