The King The Witch And The Priest

"Her books are among the finest historical novels ever written." - Alison Weir "[O]rgies, spells, and rites . . . a tasty brew!" - Library Journal "This novel by Hilda Lewis is one of the best I have ever read about witchcraft." - Dennis Wheatley "All-out weirdness ... The ghost of a witch and the parson who sent her up for trial and is now tormenting himself ... crimes, orgies, and the Devil in person." - Illustrated London News Samuel Fleming, an aging priest, is tormented by doubts on the case of Joan Flower and her daughters Margaret and Philippa, whom he helped condemn to death as witches in 1618. Were they guilty? Was justice done? Did he do all he could to save their souls? The spirit of Joan Flower appears to him and tells him that she has been rejected by both Heaven and Hell and is condemned to wander the earth. She unfolds a story of horror, telling how she and her daughters became witches, participated in orgies at the witches' sabbath with the Devil himself, cast spells to kill and torment their enemies, and eventually faced trial and execution. As Samuel listens, he tries desperately to find some way to save the witch's soul. And the stakes are high: for as the witch tells her horrifying tale, Samuel realizes that hers is not the only soul in jeopardy, and if he fails, he may be joining her in Hell! Hilda Lewis (1896-1974), a prolific author of historical fiction, ranked The Witch and the Priest (1956), based on the real-life case of the Witches of Belvoir, as her own favourite among her many novels. In creating this masterpiece of historical fiction, Lewis conducted extensive research on the case and on early works of witchcraft and demonology, resulting in a novel that is both compulsively readable and historically accurate. This new edition is the first in more than 40 years and includes an introduction by bestselling historian and novelist Alison Weir, and the original jacket art by Evelyn Gibbs.

"Centuries ago, there was, in the eastern part of the island of Java, a kingdom by the name of Daha..." So begins The King, the Witch and the Priest, a fable with contemporary allure that is based on the story of Calon Arang, a Javanese legend dating from the twelfth century. As tradition tells it, Calon Arang was a powerful witch from the village of Girah who had a beautiful daughter named Ratna Manggali who could find no husband. No man would have her for fear of her mother. Calon Arang became so angered by her daughter's plight that she spread pestilence throughout the kingdom. To deal with the problem, King Erlangga ordered his most respected priest, Empu Baradah, to get rid of Calon Arang. This proved to be no easy task as Calon Arang owned a book containing all the secrets of sorcery. This ancient tale, as retold by Pramoedya Ananta Toer, exhibits a remarkable relevance to contemporary life with timeless lessons such as the triumph of good over evil and the ever-possible eternal salvation of one's soul. Pramoedya Ananta Toer (1925-2006) is Indonesia's most celebrated writer, with over thirty works of fiction translated into over thirty languages. A recipient of many major international awards, he was most recently awarded the Grand Prize in the 2000 Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize competition, Japan's highest literary honor. Willem Samuels is a long-time resident of Jakarta and has translated several of Pramoedya's works including The Fugitive, The Mute's Soliloquy, The Girl From the Coast and All That is Gone.

England 1604. At a remote palace in the dead of winter, William Shakespeare and his acting company are invited to perform for King James. When a killer tries to assassinate the king, a priest is murdered by mistake. Feeling he can trust no one inside the palace, King James appoints William Shakespeare to solve the mystery and bring the killer to justice. But when Shakespeare's daughter is arrested for witchcraft, the investigation becomes personal. The Witching of the King blends a fast-paced historical mystery with the paranormal to create a non-stop thrill ride. Follow William Shakespeare as he becomes a detective, leading up to a final climatic struggle between good and evil. Filled with mystery, intrigue, witchcraft, and more, The Witching of the King is a high adventure you won't soon forget.

Named after Lapindo Brantas, a gas exploration company that was drilling at the eruption site, the Lapindo mudflow initially burst in 2006 and continues to flow today, becoming the most expensive disaster in Indonesia’s history. Using this environmental incident in Indonesia as a case study, this book explores representations of disaster in scientific reports, public discourse, literature, and other cultural forms, observing the impact of these portrayals on the ways people both understand and respond to complicated environmental disasters. The author argues that power is expressed and contested in every representation of a disaster and its stakeholders. This book develops terminologies and perspectives that not only probe the social and ecological conditions that make disaster possible but also foster more effective and equitable strategies for adapting to a world fraught with hazards. Interdisciplinary in nature, this book makes a significant contribution to the fields of green cultural studies, disaster studies, science and technology studies and studies of political ecology in Southeast Asia.

In this collection of short stories, we follow a Persian mythological bird woman, Mother Simorq, who appears in many stories as a wise woman or a nanny. We read about teenage girls experiencing their coming of age within authoritarian or male-dominated environments and one little girl facing questions of life and death. We enter the world of a woman who transgresses oppressive social norms to be free and the nightmare of another one who has to commit murder to save her children. We see how women lost their power in human society as we read about a handful of symbolic characters interacting in a magical land. Finally, we revisit Sudaba, a mythical queen, as a contemporary Iranian woman in Canada, who loves her step-son like a traditional mother and pays heavily for her son-worshiping complex.

Kniha přináší interpretaci dvojice indoevropských mytologických témat s důrazem na jejich komplexní historický a sociálně-kognitivní kontext. Zvolený přístup umožňuje jak přehodnotit tradiční interpretaci všeobecně známého mytologického cyklu, tak i zároveň uvést mytologické téma dosud neuchopené. V první časti knihy je diskutována látka indoevropského stvořitelského mýtu. Závěrem je tvrzení, že protoindoevropský kulturní prostor pravděpodobně vznikl jako důsledek předhistorického kargo kultu. Předprotoindoevropští lovci-sběrači reagovali na příchod afroasijských farmářů způsobem připomínajícím chování moderních domorodých populací, náhle konfrontovaných s přítomností západního industriálního světa. Z toho důvodu jsou stěžejní témata a motivy indoevropského stvořitelského mýtu interpretovány jako možné relikty ideologie předprotoindoevropského kargo kultu. _x000D_Druhá část knihy je věnována vymezení nové indoevropské mytologické struktury, takzvaného mýtu o honu na čarodějnice. Prostřednictvím analýzy rozličných lokálních podob příběhu o konfliktu elity s démonickým vojskem vedeným čarodějnicí je identifikován základní vzorec tohoto narativu. Jeho sémantika je následně interpretována jako produkt sociálních a rodových nastavení archaických indoevropských společností.