Social and cultural history Books

Book SynopsisThis, the final title to be published from the sessions of the 2002 ICAZ conference, focuses on the role of man's best friend. As worker or companion, the dog has enjoyed a unique relationship with its human master, and the depth and variety of the papers in this fascinating collection is a testament to the interest that this symbiotic arrangement holds for many scholars working in archaeology today. The book covers an eclectic range of subjects, such as considering dogs as animals of sacrifice and animal components of ancient and modern religious ritual and practice; dogs as human companions subject to loving care, visual/symbolic representation, deliberate or accidental breed manipulation; as working dogs; and finally as co-inhabitors of uman dwelling paces and co-consumers of human food resources. While many of the papers in this volume have a predominant focus, they also demonstate that the relationships between humans and dogs are rarely, if ever singular or simple. Instead these relationships are complex, often combining the practical, the ideological and the symbolic.

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Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE FT & MCKINSEY BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2018 A Financial Times Book of the Year and an Amazon Top 100 Book of the Year India’s explosive rise has driven inequality to new extremes, with millions trapped in slums as billionaires spend lavishly and dodge taxes. Controversial prime minister Narendra Modi promised ‘to break the grip’ of the Bollygarchs, but many tycoons continue to thrive amidst the scandals, exerting huge influence over business and politics. But who are these titans of politics and industry shaping India through this period of breakneck change? And what kind of superpower are they creating? A vivid portrait of a deeply divided nation, The Billionaire Raj makes clear that India’s destiny – prosperous democratic giant or corrupt authoritarian regime – is something that should concern us all.Trade Review‘Compelling…vivid…Crabtree has given us the most comprehensive and eminently readable tour of economic India.’ * Meghnad Desai, Financial Times *‘An excellent survey of India’s economic and political transformation… Crabtree’s Indian story is a cautionary tale of globalization’s excesses and the consequences for one of the world’s most unequal societies.’ * Washington Post *‘A vivid comparison to America’s late 19th-century Gilded Age drives this account of 21st-century India, with a teeming, colourful cast of the super-rich, the ultra-poor, the politically ambitious and the irredeemably corrupt.’ * Financial Times, Books of the Year 2018 *‘Timely reading…Crabtree’s eye for detail…gives some nice close ups…With so many tasty details, it is the right sort of snack to fill a hole as we watch and wait.’ * The Times *‘The analysis really sings when Mr Crabtree finds new ways to capture the collision of profits, politics and public opinion. His account of India’s cut-throat network-TV industry, through the eyes of a star presenter, is thrilling.’ * The Economist *‘A pacey and perspicacious account… Crabtree’s unique achievement is to probe the peculiarities of Indian cronyism and lay out its structural causes… For sheer chutzpah, India’s billionaires provide tremendous value. All this makes for a thoroughly entertaining book, but also for a sadly enfeebled and unequal nation.’ * Oliver Balch, Literary Review *‘A reporting gem, The Billionaire Raj deserves to be widely read.’ * Ashutosh Varshney, Indian Express *‘An eye-opening book from someone who clearly loves his subject.’ * Oliver Bullough, Prospect *‘[A] stylish, sweeping survey of modern day India.’ * Times Literary Supplement *‘A lively and valuable blend of the empirical and the anecdotal… The best parts of Mr. Crabtree’s book, however, aren’t his observations on the civic state of India (although these are certainly valuable and wise). They are his reportage, in which he relates his encounters with several of the men who are emblematic of the billionaire raj.’ * Tunku Varadarajan, Wall Street Journal *‘A nuanced portrait…chock-full of profoundly revealing vignettes from various corners of India’s endlessly diverse society and economy.’ * New York Times *‘James Crabtree, once a hugely-admired star foreign correspondent, has transformed himself into a brilliant writer and analyst of the Indian super-rich. This timely, fascinating and eye-opening book is also – a rarity for a book about money – wonderfully witty and beautifully written.’ -- William Dalrymple‘An enlightening and engaging story of wealth and poverty in India, but also a sad indictment of the power of inequity in subduing and overwhelming its areas of success.’ -- Amartya Sen, winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics‘Crabtree’s stylish writing and sharp insights bring to life the extremes of a country changing with bewildering rapidity, and one the world will find increasingly hard to ignore. The Billionaire Raj is an essential guide if you want to understand modern India, as you must.’ -- Edward Luce, Chief US Commentator, Financial Times, and author of In Spite of the Gods: The Rise of Modern India‘Billionaire-watching may seem like voyeuristic fun, but it also provides serious insights about where a nation is headed. James Crabtree does just that in The Billionaire Raj, as he traces the incredible rise of India’s new super-rich and everything they reveal about the state of India’s political economy. Mixing colourful anecdotes with serious analysis, Crabtree’s urgent book gives us far more than just vicarious thrills about India’s new Gilded Age.’ -- Ruchir Sharma, author of The Rise and Fall of Nations‘A lucid, detailed and at times epic account of the new India… A must-read for all those interested in the political and economic destiny of the subcontinent.’ -- Robert D. Kaplan, author of Monsoon and The Return of Marco Polo’s World‘A fascinating look into the world of the Indian business elite…shedding considerable light on whether the country will sustain the miracle that is the Indian democracy or go the way of populism and authoritarianism as so many others have.’ -- Dani Rodrik, Professor of International Political Economy, Harvard University, and author of The Globalization Paradox‘James Crabtree distinguished himself as the most insightful journalist writing for the Financial Times from India. It is not surprising therefore that he has now written a book that offers a splendid overview of the issues that have been raised concerning India’s spectacular growth since the reforms began in 1991. It is bound to become a classic.’ -- Jagdish Bhagwati, author of In Defense of Globalization‘In this eye-opening rumination on wealth, power, and those who seek both…Crabtree brings a reporter’s precision and flair to his story… An inside look into the corridors of power, this is an invaluable commentary on Indian democracy and the forces that threaten it.’ * Publishers Weekly, starred review *‘A wonderful book! It artfully weaves together lively stories of India’s billionaires while retaining a balanced perspective on the big picture of the rise of India. It is not easy to write contemporary history but Crabtree manages to get to the heart of the matter – the problem of India’s state capacity and the need to reform the institutions of governance.’ -- Gurcharan Das, author of India Unbound and The Difficulty of Being Good‘Who are the Indian nouveau riche and what do they want? James Crabtree’s The Billionaire Raj will prove the defining work on these questions. It is a must-read for anyone interested in wealth, inequality, India, or the evolution of capitalism.’ -- Tyler Cowen, economist, blogger and author of The Great Stagnation

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Book SynopsisRenowned presenter, author, and journalist William Hartston unveils the first mainstream history of humor in his latest book Knock, Knock: In Pursuit of a Grand Unified Theory of Humour. Packed with meticulous research and delightful anecdotes, this book presents a captivating journey through the enigmatic realm of laughter. Humor, an essential aspect of the human experience, has always evoked curiosity and perplexity. Why do familiar catchphrases trigger laughter while repeated jokes fall flat? What's the connection between humor and words containing the letter K? William Hartston ventures into uncharted territory, skillfully exploring the evolution of humor and our ever-shifting perceptions of it, as he embarks on a quest for a Grand Unified Theory of Humour. In this captivating exploration, Hartston delves into a multitude of topics, from the comedy of ancient Greece and the jests of ancient Rome, to the profound significance of laughter in biblical texts. Unearthing the secrets of comic delivery and unveiling how humor transformed in the aftermath of the American Civil War, the book also examines Mark Twain's profound impact on written comedy in the English-speaking world. No stone is left unturned as Hartston strives to comprehend the essence of what tickles our funny bones. Knock, Knock: In Pursuit of a Grand Unified Theory of Humour is a meticulously crafted and highly entertaining work that sheds light on the fascinating history of humor. With its insightful exploration and witty storytelling, this book promises to engage readers from all walks of life. As the perfect gift for those seeking laughter and knowledge, Hartston's latest masterpiece guarantees an unforgettable reading experience.

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Book SynopsisIn an extended account of national identity, this companion volume to People, Places and Passions provides the first detailed study of the sexual and spiritual life of Wales in the period 1870–1945. The author argues that whilst Wales and its people experienced a disenchantment of the spiritual world, a revolution in sexual life was taking place. This innovative study examines how advances in life expectancy and improvements in health were reflected in emotional life. In contrast to the traditional emphasis upon hardship and hardscrabble experiences, this fascinating and beautifully written volume shows that the Welsh were also a free and fun-loving people.Table of Contents‘To begin at the beginning’: an introduction 1: ‘Dygŵyl y Meirwon’ (Festival of the Dead): death, transcendence and transience 2: The Citadel: pain, anxiety and wellbeing 3: Going Gently into that Good Night: desolation, dispiritedness and melancholy 4: Where, When, What Was Wales and who were the Welsh? contentment, disappointment and embarrassment 5: ‘The Way of all Flesh’: prudery, passion and perversion 6: Love in a Cold Climate: fidelity, friendship and fellowship 7: Religion and superstition: fear, foreboding and faith 8: The pursuit of pleasure: enthrallment, happiness and imagination Conclusion: A few selected exits.

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Book SynopsisThe late-Victorian and Edwardian East End was an area not only defined by its poverty and destitution, but also by its ethnic and religious diversity. In the neighbourhoods of East London diasporic communities interacted with each other and with the host society in a number of different contexts. In Socialism and the Diasporic ‘Other’ Daniel Renshaw examines the sometimes turbulent relationships formed between Irish Catholic and Jewish populations and the socialist and labour organisations agitating in the area. Employing a comparative perspective, the book analyses the complex relations between working class migrants, conservative communal hierarchies and revolutionary groups. Commencing and concluding with waves of widespread industrial action in the East End, where politics were conflated with ethnic and diasporic identity, this book aims to reinterpret the attitudes of the turn-of-the-century East London Left towards ‘difference’. Concerned with both protecting hard-won gains for the industrial proletariat and championing marginalised minority groups, the ‘correct’ path to be taken by socialist movements was unclear throughout the period. The book simultaneously compares the experiences of the Irish and Jewish working classes between 1889 and 1912, and the relationships formed, at work, at worship, in political organisations or at school, between these diasporic groups.Trade ReviewReviews 'By looking at the strong currents of anti-Semitism and anti-Catholic/Irish sentiment that ran through different strands of pre-1914 British socialism and trade unionism, this book makes a significant contribution to the revitalisation of British labour history.' Dr Jon Lawrence, University of Cambridge‘This is a very thorough study of radical Irish Catholic and Jewish migrants in East London between 1889 and 1912 and their wider relationships.’ Mike Davis, ChartistTable of ContentsAcknowledgements Introduction 1 Diaspora, Migration, and Irish–Jewish Interactions in London, 1800–1889 2 Socialist Ideology, Organisation, and Interaction with Diaspora and Ethnicity 3 Socialism and the Religious ‘Other’ 4 Concerns of the Communal Leaderships 5 Grass-roots Interactions in the Diasporic East End 6 Conclusion Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThis is a study of the relations between Britain and Chile during the Spanish American independence era (1806–1831). These relations were characterised by a dynamic, unpredictable, and changing nature, imperialism being only one and not the exclusive way to define them. The book explores how Britons and Chileans perceived each other from the perspective of cultural history, considering the consequences of these ‘cultural encounters’ for the subsequent nation–state building process in Chile. From 1806 to 1831 both British and Chilean ‘state’ and ‘non–state’ actors interacted across several different ‘contact zones’, and thereby configured this relationship in multiple ways. Although the extensive presence of ‘non–state’ actors (missionaries, seamen, educators and merchants) was a manifestation of the ‘expansion’ of British interests to Chile, they were not necessarily an expression of any British imperial policy. There were multiple attitudes, perceptions, representations and discourses by Chileans on the role played by Britain in the world, which changed depending on the circumstances. Likewise, for Britons, Chile was represented in multiple ways, the image of Chile acting as a pathway to other markets and destinations being the most remarkable. All these had repercussions in the early nation–building process in Chile.Trade Review'Contacts, Collisions and Relationships is an original and necessary contribution to the understanding of the passage from a colonial regime to a Republican system from the perspective of cultural and political history.'Juan Luis Ossa, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez‘In this period, British strategic planners sought ties between South America and the British East India Company, an avid purchaser of the American silver used in trade with China. Chile was thus seen as a potential component of the global mercantile empire linking Britain and India.' David Rock, Hispanic American Historical ReviewTable of ContentsAcknowledgementsAbbreviationsPrologueIntroductionChapter 1: Invasions, Negotiations and Conspiracies: British–Chilean Relations in an Era of Change, 1806–1817Chapter 2: Cultural Encounters Offshore: Britons and Chileans in the Navy of Chile, 1817-1823Chapter 3: Bibles, Schools and Citizens: British Protestant Missionaries and Educators in Chile, 1817–1831Chapter 4: British Merchants, Private Interests and the Fostering of Free Trade in Chile, 1811–1831Chapter 5: Beyond Diplomacy: The Cultural Significance of British Recognition of Chile’s Independence, 1817-1831ConclusionBibliography

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Book SynopsisLiverpool was a burgeoning trading centre and rapidly growing town in the early 18th century, developing into a thriving mercantile metropolis by the 19th century. The demand for new housing was high, and court housing largely filled that need. Court housing was a form of high-density back-to-back housing around courtyards. It provided homes to nearly half of Liverpool's working-class people by the mid 19th century. Contemporary descriptions highlight the cramped, dark and often damp conditions in these houses. This book uses a range of historical and archaeological evidence about courts to consider their development, life within them, and the measures eventually taken to rid Liverpool of them. This book considers courts and their impact on people's lives in Liverpool for over 250 years. This book features international parallels to courts as well as some of the people involved in investigating this type of housing, providing historical context to this fascinating aspect of Liverpool's past.Trade Review‘This is a well-conceived and executed addition to the scholarship of social conditions in Liverpool and deserves a wide readership.’ Nick Foggo, Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire ‘This volume, written and formatted in an accessible style, and well and appropriately illustrated, is part of the current national revival in interest in workers’ housing of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. […] The volume deftly balances social and political details within a broader context, whilst demonstrating that this is a thoroughly researched piece of work.’ Mike Nevell, Vernacular Architecture

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Book SynopsisA slave woman in 1840s America dresses as a white, disabled man to escape to freedom, while a twenty-first-century black rights activist is ‘cancelled’ for denying her whiteness. A Victorian explorer disguises himself as a Muslim in Arabia’s forbidden holy city. A trans man claiming to have been assigned male at birth is exposed and murdered by bigots in 1993. Today, Japanese untouchables leave home and change their name. All of them have ‘passed’, performing or claiming an identity that society hasn’t assigned or recognised as theirs. For as long as we’ve drawn lines describing ourselves and each other, people have naturally fallen or deliberately stepped between them. What do their stories—in life and in art—tell us about the changing meanings of identity? About our need for labels, despite their obvious limitations? Lipika Pelham reflects on tales of fluidity and transformation, including her own. From Pope Joan to Parasite, Brazil to Bangladesh, London to Liberia, Passing is a fascinating, timely history of the self.Trade Review'Pelham, a writer with a flair for capturing complex sensitivities, has produced a provocative, engaging history that doesn't balk at considering the fierce contemporary debate surrounding gender identity, or what happens when passing becomes trespassing, AKA cultural appropriation.' -- The Observer'A fascinating and engrossing exploration of racial passing and fluid racial identity from an award-winning documentary filmmaker and journalist.' -- Cosmopolitan UK‘[Offers] long histories, with much to say about the present.’'This remarkable book merges perceptive understanding of sociopolitical identity problems facing many who are disempowered and marginalised owing to skin-colour, sexuality, gender, caste, class or religion.' -- Morning Star'Expertly navigating themes of identity, boundaries and belonging, Pelham combines moving storytelling with patient writing to create a truly transformative experience.' -- David Lammy MP, author of 'Tribes: How Our Need to Belong Can Make or Break Society''Thoroughly elevates the complex reality of day-to-day identity dynamics, tracing their rich historical origins and posing pertinent questions for the future.' -- Koa Beck, author of 'White Feminism''A profound and heartfelt meditation on the cost of self-effacement and the need to forge a new sense of self from the debris of our atavisms.' -- Aatish Taseer, author of 'The Twice-Born', 'The Temple-Goers' and 'Stranger to History''A gripping account of how a person can be liberated by taking on another identity, or indeed how their own existence exposes the artificial boundaries of otherness. With compassion, honesty, and a storyteller's eye for beauty in meaning, Pelham destigmatises and viscerally recreates these crossings to another shore.' -- Medina Tenour Whiteman, author of 'The Invisible Muslim'

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Book SynopsisThis book presents rare evidence about the lives of three African women in the sixteenth century--the very period from which we can trace the origins of global empires, slavery, capitalism, modern religious dogma and anti-Black violence. These features of today's world took shape as Portugal built a global empire on African gold and bodies. Forced labour was essential to the world economy of the Atlantic basin, and afflicted many African women and girls who were enslaved and manumitted, baptised and unconvinced. While some women liaised with European and mixed-race men along the West African coast, others, ordinary yet bold, pushed back against new forms of captivity, racial capitalism, religious orthodoxy and sexual violence, as if they were already self-governing. Many Black Women of this Fortress lays bare the insurgent ideas and actions of Graça, Mónica and Adwoa, charting how they advocated for themselves and exercised spiritual and female power. Theirs is a collective story, written from obscurity; from the forgotten and overlooked colonial records. By drawing attention to their lives, we dare to grasp the complexities of modernity's gestation.Trade Review'This remarkable book recovers from the Portuguese archives the life histories of three women who lived in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries in present-day Ghana. Konadu, an outstanding historian of his generation, presents a lucid, riveting and transformative portrait of gender and politics in the face of the violence of European empires at the dawn of modernity.' -- Toby Green, Professor of Precolonial and Lusophone African History and Culture, King's College London'A fascinating picture of the entangled early modern world. Using the rich archival material found in inquisition records, this book provides an important new window onto the daily lives of three Black women in sixteenth-century coastal West Africa, and in Europe.' -- Bronwen Everill, Lecturer in History, University of Cambridge'A refreshing, remarkable excavation of the kind of life stories typically lost to history. Methodologically creative and bold in reach, this is a book that forces us to rethink both what we know and what we are able to know.' -- Paddy Docherty, author of Blood and Bronze

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Book SynopsisIn 16th and 17th century Ireland religion and nationality fused together in a people’s struggle to survive. In that struggle the country’s links with Europe provided a life line. Members of religious orders, with their international roots, played an important role. Among them were the Irish Jesuits, who adapted to a variety of situations – from quiet work in Irish towns to serving as an emissary for Hugh O’Neill in the south of Ireland and in the courts of Rome and Spain, and then founding seminary colleges in Spain and Portugal from which young Irishmen returned to keep faith and hope alive. In the seventeenth century persecution was more haphazard. There were opportunities for preaching and teaching and, at time, especially during the Confederation of Kilkenny in the 1640s, for the open celebration of one’s religion. This freedom gave way to the savage persecution under Cromwell, which resulted in the killing of some Jesuits and others being forced to find shelter in caves, sepulchres, and bogs, the Jesuit superior dying alone in a shepherd’s hut on an island off Galway. There followed a time of more relaxed laws during which Irish Jesuits publicly ran schools in New Ross and, for Oliver Plunkett, in Drogheda, but persecution soon resumed and Oliver Plunkett was arrested and martyred. At the end of the century, as the forces of King James II were finally defeated, some Jesuits lived and worked through the sieges of Limerick and then nerved themselves to face the Penal Laws in the new century.Trade Review‘With a broad stroke and a light touch, the author paints a fascinating picture of an unrecognisable Ireland from just a few centuries ago...[an] exceptional story, exceptionally told’ INTERCOM -- Fr Paul Clayton-Lea * Intercom *"Approachable yet detailed" The Irish Catholic 2021 -- Peter Costello * The Irish Catholic *‘Morrissey combines an immense knowledge of his subject with an engaging, accessible style’ -- Colmán O'Clabaigh * The Furrow *

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE CWA ALCS GOLD DAGGER FOR NON-FICTION 'Brilliantly summons up one girl's life, dreams and suffering. It's ingenious history writing' Mail on Sunday 'A gripping, unputdownable masterpiece' - Hallie Rubenhold, author of The Five 'Extraordinary' - Guardian 'Historical writing does not get any better than this' Matt Houlbrook, author of The Prince of Tricksters 1910, Wellington, New Zealand. Lydia Harvey is sixteen, working long hours for low pay, when a glamorous couple invite her to Buenos Aires. She accepts - and disappears. 1910, London, England. Amid a global panic about sex trafficking, detectives are tracking a ring of international criminals when they find a young woman on the streets of Soho who might be the key to cracking the whole case. As more people are drawn into Lydia's life and the trial at the Old Bailey, the world is being reshaped into a new, global era. Choices are being made - about who gets to cross borders, whose stories matter and what justice looks like - that will shape the next century. In this immersive account, historian Julia Laite traces Lydia Harvey through the fragments she left behind to build an extraordinary story of aspiration, exploitation and survival - and one woman trying to build a life among the forces of history.Trade ReviewA gripping, unputdownable masterpiece of scholarly historical research and true crime writing. -- Hallie RubenholdBrilliantly summons up one girl's life, dreams and suffering. It's ingenious history writing * Mail on Sunday *Extraordinary * Guardian *Historical writing does not get any better than this ... Imaginative and compelling, impassioned and powerful, and deeply, deeply moving -- Matt Houlbrook, author * Prince of Tricksters and Queer London *A gripping, unputdownable masterpiece of scholarly historical research and true crime writing. Julia Laite explores the sordid world of crime, sex and international policing in 1910 by focusing on the individuals caught up in an elaborate web of exploitation. Readers who loved The Five will find this story and its skilful telling equally as enthralling. -- Hallie Rubenhold, author * The Five *Demonstrates how, with determination, sensitivity and a careful dose of imagination, extraordinary recoveries are possible ... Laite has taken her slim archival trace and immeasurably enriched it; she has reclaimed a woman's life and restored a more complex reality to the record. -- Sarah Watling * Guardian *One of the great storytellers of her generation, Julia Laite provides a lens through which we can view the practices and experiences of sex trafficking in the early twentieth century. Along the way, Laite nudges us to think about the ethics of telling another person's story. Riveting, powerfully argued and emotionally moving. -- Joanna Bourke * Fear: A Cultural History *A careful, empathetic reconstruction of the early-20th-century vice trade, placing the victims at the heart of the narrative and returning their dignity to them. This is a moving and compelling work of great scholarship. -- Sarah Wise, author * The Blackest Streets *Historical writing does not get any better than this ... Working out from one trial at London's Old Bailey, Laite provides a vivid account of a globalising world at the start of the twentieth century. Imaginative and compelling, impassioned and powerful, and deeply, deeply moving, this book is also a signal example of the contemporary political stakes of writing about the past -- Matt Houlbrook, author * Queer London *With an inventive mix of sources, Laite brilliantly summons up one girl's life, dreams and suffering. It's ingenious history writing, but as the author says, it's a story being repeated daily for today's victims of traffickers. * Mail on Sunday *History at its most rigorous and imaginative. Laite provides an insightful account of the regulation of sex trafficking in the early twentieth century and an enthralling encounter with some of the people involved in one of its more salacious episodes. ...A history book that often reads more like a novel, and that challenges the clichés of villains, victims, and heroic rescuers that dominate writing on sex trafficking. ... A masterwork * Australian Book Review *

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Book SynopsisPostcards are usually associated with banal holiday pleasantries, but they have been made possible by sophisticated industries and institutions, from printers to postal services. Historically, postcards' innovation and significance was their ability to send and receive messages around the world easily and inexpensively. Fundamentally, postcards are about creating personal connections: links between people, places and beliefs. In this book Lydia Pyne examines postcards on a global scale, to understand them as artefacts that are at the intersection of history, science, technology, art and culture. In doing so, she shows us that postcards were the first global social network, and how here, in the twenty-first century, postcards are not yet extinct.Trade Review"In this beautifully illustrated, breezily articulated book, Pyne introduces us to an analog antecedent to today's tweets, texts, and memes: the postcard. Condensed within this compact carrier of pithy messages, Pyne demonstrates, are histories of the postal service, printing technologies, and portraiture of the quotidian-as well as humanity's enduring desire for palpable connection." -- Shannon Mattern, professor of anthropology at the New School for Social Research, and author of "Clay, Data and Dirt: Five Thousand Years of Urban Media" "Pyne's Postcards expertly tells the story of how this small piece of mail went from saving the US Post Office to being the foundations of our image-based social media platforms. This must-read book is a deeply researched chronicle of how we keep in touch, simultaneously invoking a rich sense of nostalgia while giving readers a meaningful framework for our contemporary moment." -- Jason Farman

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Book SynopsisAlong with red London buses, bowler hats and cricket, few things are considered more British than fish and chips. Sprinkled with salt and vinegar, fish and chips were the country’s original fast food. This innovative and well-researched book unwraps the history of the UK’s most popular takeaway, a story that brings up complicated issues of class and identity. Although we think of it as quintessentially British, fried fish was first introduced and sold by immigrant Jews before it spread to the British working classes during the course of the nineteenth century; by the twentieth century other migrant communities such as Italians and Greek Cypriots were playing a leading role in the fish and chip trade. Brimming with facts, anecdotes and historical and modern images, Fish and Chips will appeal to all interested in the story behind one of the world’s most iconic and popular meals.Trade Review‘This is the best history yet written of a British institution, alive to the cosmopolitan origins of food through global migration . . . a rewarding read for anyone interested in the history of Britain so good in fact that it made me venture out on a windy night to buy a fish supper at my traditional local chippie.’ — History Today; ‘an affectionate, sprightly and crisply informative history of our national obsession.’ — Daily Mail; ‘full of fascinating facts’ — The Spectator; ‘What a clever, accessible, enjoyable, and informative book! While providing an abundance of revealing anecdotes, it also goes beyond food to tackle relevant topics such as migration, identity, technology, entrepreneurship, and more . . . a wonderful book.’ — Gastronomica; ‘[a] scholarly account of the rise and enduring popularity of what Panayi presents as something of a cultural marvel.’ — TLS; ‘Fish and Chips is a book brimming with fascinating facts and anecdotes about a dish that can be found on menus compiled by both Michelin Star chefs and your local chippy down the road.’ — Oxford Times

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Book Synopsis Throughout the 1930s and early 1940s, approximately ninety thousand German Jews fled their homeland and settled in the United States, prior to that nation closing its borders to Jewish refugees. And even though many of them wanted little to do with Germany, the circumstances of the Second World War and the postwar era meant that engagement of some kind was unavoidable—whether direct or indirect, initiated within the community itself or by political actors and the broader German public. This book carefully traces these entangled histories on both sides of the Atlantic, demonstrating the remarkable extent to which German Jews and their former fellow citizens helped to shape developments from the Allied war effort to the course of West German democratization.Trade Review “… a rich, multilayered account that includes a variety of perspectives, experiences, and reactions to Germany by a diverse community of refugees.” • Studies In Contemporary Jewry “This is a solid, comprehensive study of German-Jewish refugees in the United States, especially in Los Angeles and New York. It is probing and judicious.” • Michael A. Meyer, Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of ReligionTable of Contents Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1. Background Chapter 2. Americanization before 1941 Chapter 3. The Enemy Alien Classification, 1941–1944 Chapter 4. German Jewish Refugees in the U.S. Military Chapter 5. German Jewish Refugees and the Discourse on Germany's Future, 1942–1945 Chapter 6. German Jewish Refugees and the West German Foreign Office in the 1950s and 1960s Chapter 7. German Jewish Refugee Travel to Germany and West German Municipal Visitor Programs Conclusion: Germany on Their Minds? Index

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Book Synopsis Well before the far-right resurgence that has most recently transformed European politics, Austria’s 1999 parliamentary elections surprised the world with the unexpected success of the Freedom Party of Austria and its charismatic leader, Jörg Haider. The party’s perceived xenophobia, isolationism, and unabashed nationalism in turn inspired a massive protest movement that expressed opposition not only through street protests but also in novels, plays, films, and music. Through careful readings of this varied cultural output, The Art of Resistance traces the aesthetic styles and strategies deployed during this time, providing critical context for understanding modern Austrian history as well as the European protest movements of today.Trade Review “This book is remarkable for closing an important gap in Austrian Studies scholarship on contemporary politics and specifically the cultural responses and resistance to far-right wing governments in Austria… a must-read for all scholars who seek a better understanding of cultural resistance to extreme right-wing movements in early twenty-first-century Austria.” • Journal of Austrian Studies “Fiddler’s book stands out for the range of works in different media that she discusses. These include acts of everyday protest (demonstrations, speeches, graffiti, dance, etc.), as well as literary texts, films, and dramas… An excellently researched and well-written study, The Art of Resistance will prove an invaluable resource for scholars interested in cultural protest against the far right not just in Austria but around the world.” • Modern Language Review “It is a fascinating book that demonstrates the extent to which the distinction between culture and politics has become blurred—in Austria as elsewhere… Allyson Fiddler’s book helps us to understand the complexity of factors behind the new culture of protest.” • Austrian History Yearbook “…a [groundbreaking], lucidly written, meticulously researched magnum opus surveying Austria’s, but above all Vienna’s, culture of dissent at the turn of the millennium. The passionate archivist Fiddler expertly disentangles the complexities behind protest art in a country once dubbed Insel der Seligen.” • Austrian Studies “The Art of Resistance is a comprehensive, vigorously written treatment of a topic that transcends Austrian Studies. It is clearly the product of extensive research and an intimate familiarity with the subject matter.” • Geoffrey C. Howes, Bowling Green State University “This study provides a meticulously researched analysis of a wide range of cultural phenomena before, during and after the protests at the turn of the millennium in Austria. An unquestionably valuable exploration of artistic production in Austria’s protest movement!” • Veronika Zangl, University of AmsterdamTable of Contents Acknowledgements Introduction Chapter 1. Austria Gets the ‘Blues’: Setting the Scene for Protest Chapter 2. Performing Politics: On the Sounds, Symbols and Sites of Resistance Chapter 3. Novel Responses: Protest in Prose Chapter 4. Projecting Protest: Resistance on Screen Chapter 5. Staging Resistance: Dramatic Themes and Interventions Conclusion: The Colours of 2016 and 2017: Green, Blue … Turquoise References Index

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Book Synopsis For many, the history of German social policy is defined primarily by that nation’s postwar emergence as a model of the European welfare state. As this comprehensive volume demonstrates, however, the question of how to care for the poor has had significant implications for German history throughout the modern era. Here, eight leading historians provide essential case studies and syntheses of current research into German welfare, from the Holy Roman Empire to the present day. Along the way, they trace the parallel historical dynamics that have continued to shape German society, including religious diversity, political exclusion and inclusion, and concepts of race and gender.Trade Review “The volume has many merits…[It] offers a much-needed and—for contemporary discussion—highly relevant historical investigation into modern poverty and the way it has been framed. Further, the scholars of Poverty and Welfare State in Modern German History make an impressive case for exploring their subject through the paradigm of exclusion/inclusion… This book truly deserves a wide readership.” • Journal of Social History “This is a wonderful collection; the essays are uniformly well written and thought provoking and, taken together, they present a provocative and sophisticated introduction to a crucial yet underexplored topic.” • German History “This is an extremely well-executed volume, featuring state-of-the-art historical research from a list of first-rate historians. It is informed by both cultural and social history, and while the focus is on Germany, it has a comparative spirit, embedding the German case in a broader framework.” • Peter Starke, University of Southern DenmarkTable of Contents List of Figures and Tables Acknowledgments Introduction: Poverty and Welfare in Modern German History: Recent Trends and New Perspectives in Current Research Lutz Raphael Chapter 1. The Economy of Love: Welfare and Poor Relief in Catholic Territories of the Holy Roman Empire (1500 to 1800) Sebastian Schmidt Chapter 2. German Pauper Letters and Petitions for Relief: New Perspectives on Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Poor Relief Andreas Gestrich Chapter 3. Vagabonds in the German Empire: Mobility, Unemployment, and the Transformation of Social Policies (1870-1914) Beate Althammer Chapter 4. The Welfare State and Poverty in the Weimar Republic Wilfried Rudloff Chapter 5. Welfare, Mobilization, and the Nazi Society Nicole Kramer Chapter 6. Who Cares?: Gender, Poverty and Welfare in West Germany Christiane Kuller Chapter 7. A “New Social Question”?: Politics, Social Sciences and the Rediscovery of Poverty in Post-Boom Western Germany Winfried Süß Chapter 8. The New Poverty: Trends and Debates in Contemporary Germany Olaf Groh-Samberg

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Book SynopsisOver the past 30 years, research on archaeological textiles has developed into an important field of scientific study. It has greatly benefitted from interdisciplinary approaches, which combine the application of advanced technological knowledge to ethnographic, textual and experimental investigations. In exploring textiles and textile processing (such as production and exchange) in ancient societies, archaeologists with different types and quality of data have shared their knowledge, thus contributing to well-established methodology. In this book, the papers highlight how researchers have been challenged to adapt or modify these traditional and more recently developed analytical methods to enable extraction of comparable data from often recalcitrant assemblages. Furthermore, they have applied new perspectives and approaches to extend the focus on less investigated aspects and artefacts.The chapters embrace a broad geographical and chronological area, ranging from South America and Europe to Africa, and from the 11th millennium BC to the 1st millennium AD. Methodological considerations are explored through the medium of three different themes focusing on tools, textiles and fibres, and culture and identity. This volume constitutes a reflection on the status of current methodology and its applicability within the wider textile field. Moreover, it drives forward the methodological debates around textile research to generate new and stimulating conversations about the future of textile archaeology.Table of ContentsList of Contributors and Editors Preface Ian Shaw Ancient tools and textiles: Thinking outside the box Gabriella Longhitano, Sarah Hitchens, Alistair Dickey and Margarita Gleba Part I: Application of Analytical Techniques on Tools 1. Preliminary remarks on some wear traces on Egyptian and Levantine textile tools Chiara Spinazzi-Lucchesi 2. Visible tools, invisible craft: an analysis of textile tools in Iron Age Cornwall Lewis Ferrero 3. Tools and their products: spindle whorls decorated by yarn impressions from Iron Age Donja Dolina in Northern Bosnia and Herzegovina Julia Kramberger 4. Shears in the ancient world: A comparison between the Iberian culture of southern Spain and Roman culture in northern Italy Patricia Rosell Garrido and Fabio Spagiari Part II: Application of Analytical Techniques on Textiles and Fibres 5. Early fibre production in the west coast of South America: The case of plant-fibre technology of the south coast of Peru Camila Alday 6. Humans, wool textiles, chronology and provenance: a case study from the Orenburg region in the southern Urals, Russia Natalia Shishlina, Olga Orfinskaya, Daria Kiseleva, Anna Mamonova, Lidia Kuptsova, and Tomasz Goslar 7. Using textiles to reconstruct looms: burial shrouds from Deir el-Banat (Fayum, Egypt) Olga Orfinsaya and Darya Klyuchnikova 8. EDS analysis of Neolithic to Early Dynastic Egyptian woven cloth in the Bolton Museum collection Alistair Dickey 9. A post-excavation study using the archaeothanatological approach to determine the possibility of wrapping in Early Bronze Age burials Eleanor James Part III: Cultural and Personal Identity 10. Beyond textile production: What textile tools can tell us about networks of craftspeople and cultural identity Gabriella Longhitano 11. Textiles and human needs. A discussion of textile production in the Hallstatt Culture Karina Grömer 12. Textile tools and textiles from the ninth–eighth century BC necropolis of Incoronata (Basilicata, Italy): Evidence for culture, status and specialisation in south Italian indigenous community Francesco Meo 13. Translating sailcloth into raw materials, land, and labour Lise Bender Jørgensen Afterword Lin Foxhall

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Book SynopsisFrom IndyRef and Brexit to the Refugee Crisis and Trump’s Wall, the construction and maintenance, subversion and traversing of frontiers and borderlands dominate our current affairs. Yet, while archaeologists have long participated in exploring frontiers and borderlands, their public archaeology has been starkly neglected. Incorporating the select proceedings of the 4th University of Chester Archaeology Student conference hosted by the Grosvenor Museum, Chester, on 20 March 2019, this is the first book to investigate realworld ancient and modern frontier works, the significance of graffiti, material culture, monuments and wall-building, as well as fictional representations of borders and walls in the arts, as public archaeology. Key themes include the heritage interpretation for linear monuments, public archaeology in past and contemporary frontiers and borderlands, and archaeology’s interactions with mural practices in politics, popular culture and the contemporary landscape. Together, the contributors show the necessity of developing critical public archaeologies of frontiers and borderlands.Table of ContentsForeword – Rebecca H. Jones ; Public Archaeologies from the Edge – Pauline Clarke, Kieran Gleave and Howard Williams ; Breaking Down Barriers: The Role of Public Archaeology and Heritage Interpretation in Shaping Perceptions of the Past – Richard Nevell and Michael Nevell ; Roman Walls, Frontiers and Public Archaeology – An Interview with Rob Collins ; Hands across the Border? Prehistory, Cairns and Scotland’s 2014 Independence Referendum – Kenneth Brophy ; Breaking Down the Berlin Wall: Dark Heritage, Pre-Wall Sites and the Public – Kieran Gleave ; The Political Dimensions of Public Archaeology in Borderlands: Exploring the Contemporary US-México Border – Maikin Holst ; Cofiwch Dryweryn: The Frontiers of Contemporary Welsh Nationalism, as seen through the Creation of Contested Heritage Murals – David Howell ; The Discomfort of Frontiers: Public Archaeology and the Politics of Offa’s Dyke – An interview with Keith Ray ; The Biography of Borderlands: Old Oswestry Hillfort and Modern Heritage Debates – Ruby McMillan-Sloan and Howard Williams ; Interpreting Wat’s Dyke in the 21st Century – Howard Williams ; Envisioning Wat’s Dyke – John G. Swogger and Howard Williams ; Watching Walls: Frontier Archaeology and Game of Thrones – Emma Kate Vernon ; Frontiers on Film: Evaluating Mulan (1998) and The Great Wall (2016) – Sophie Billingham

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Book SynopsisThis book opens readers’ eyes to something they see all the time but take for granted: street signs. It is a portrait of the signs on modern English streets: what they look like, who and what they are for, how they link to English history and how they form part of life in multilingual England today. It describes how their shapes, materials, letters, vocabulary, and grammar differ from other forms of written English, using a framework based on linguistics, typography and writing systems research. It provides readable and entertaining insights into an important use of written English, illustrated with over 400 examples of street signs. The book represents a starting point for the study of street signs as an academic area in its own right.Trade Review‘Fifth Avenue’ – what could be more tedious! Other than Manhattan and Kyoto where streets are just numbered, notable cities use street names. And they know why, as did Vivian Cook. Street signs are a treasure trove of linguistic, societal, historical, political and commercial knowledge. In this book he takes us on a multidisciplinary adventure trip to decode the wonders of written signs in public places. Trust the guide! * Florian Coulmas, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany *Vivian Cook has given us an excellent primer for the study of displayed writing. Based on a wealth of examples collected from two English cities, it will be a long-standing reference for novices and seasoned scholars of public signage in linguistics and other disciplines. * Adam Jaworski, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong *In this fascinating book, Cook takes readers for a walk in two British towns to discover street sign research. With encyclopaedic knowledge, enthusiasm and his signature humour, Cook analyses a wealth of fascinating examples – from hand-scribbled notices to stone-engraved mottos – drawing from his quarter-of-a-century-long inquiry into written language, discussing linguistics, psychology, marketing, aesthetics, politics and more. Our mindless wanderings around town will never be the same again. * Bene Bassetti, University of Birmingham, UK *The Language of the English Street Sign [...] is a comprehensive account of the signs on the streets of two English cities, Newcastle upon Tyne and Colchester, where Vivian spent most of his working life, including letters, numbers, characters, and symbols, handwritten, carved in stones, designed, printed, digitally displayed, etc. It delves into the history and functions of street signs, and opens up a range of avenues for innovative and interdisciplinary research. -- Li Wei, Institute of Education, UCL, UK * Applied Linguistics, 2022 *Cook’s survey is remarkably comprehensive; in years to come, anyone wanting to study the nature of street signage in England at this point in history will do well to consult this book. -- Geoffrey Sampson, University of Sussex, UK * LINGUIST List 33.2244 *Table of ContentsPreface Chapter 1. Describing Street Signs Chapter 2. The Writing System of the Street Chapter 3. The Language System of the Street Chapter 4. The Material of the Street Sign Chapter 5. Naming the Street Chapter 6. Controlling Signs Chapter 7. Connotations of Letter Forms in Street Signs Chapter 8. Street Signs in Other Languages Chapter 9. The Nature of Street Signs References Index

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Book Synopsis No matter how one defines its extent and borders, Eastern Europe has long been understood as a liminal space, one whose undeniable cultural and historical continuities with Western Europe have been belied by its status as an “Other” in the Western imagination. Across illuminating and provocative case studies, The World beyond the West focuses on the region’s ambiguous relationship to historical processes of colonialism and Orientalism. In exploring encounters with distant lands through politics, travel, migration, and exchange, it places Eastern Europe at the heart of its analysis while decentering the most familiar narratives and recasting the history of the region.Trade Review “This collection is a timely addition to emerging scholarship on Eastern European participation in the Othering and Orientalizing of the non-European world throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.” • Epp Annus, Ohio State University “The World Beyond the West makes valuable contributions to the fast-growing international interest in and research on Eastern Europe and its global and transregional contexts.” • Frank Hadler, Leibniz Institute for the History and Culture of Eastern EuropeTable of Contents Introduction Part I: Affirming and Contesting the Empire Chapter 1. Constructing Aziatchina: An Apology for Perceived Own “Emptiness” in Russian National and Imperial Discourses, 1828-1918 Batir Xasanov Chapter 2. Involuntary Orientalists: Polish Exiles and Adventurers as Observers of the Kazakh Steppe and the Caucasus Curtis G. Murphy Chapter 3. “These Sufferers, Constantly Lamenting Their Bitter Fate”: The Image of the Mountain Jews in the Writings of Joseph Judah Chorny and Ilya Anisimov Mateusz Majman Part II: Creating the Other: Travel and Migration Chapter 4. The East-West Dichotomy Disrupted: Triangulation and Reflections on the Imperial View in Hungarian Perceptions of North America Balázs Venkovits Chapter 5. Negogiating Empires: Eastern European Jewish Responses to the Expulsion of Jews from Palestine to Egypt in 1914–1915 Jonathan Hirsch Chapter 6. From Exotic Adventure to Victimization to Estrangement: Imagining “Africa” through the Eyes of Czechoslovak Travel Writers (1950s–1980s) Barbora Buzássyová Part III: Representations and Fantasies Chapter 7. Land Flowing with Milk and Honey. Polish Maritime and River/Colonial League’s Depictions of South America Marta Grzechnik Chapter 8. Between Postimperial Expansion and Promethean Mission: Africa and Africans in Interwar Polish Colonial Discourse Piotr Puchalski Chapter 9. Eastern Promises: Romanian Responses to the War in Vietnam Jill Massino Afterword Magdalena Kozłowska and Mariusz Kałczewiak Index

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Book Synopsis Hotbeds of Licentiousness is the first substantial critical engagement with British pornography on film across the 1970s, including the “Summer of Love,” the rise and fall of the Permissive Society, the arrival of Margaret Thatcher, and beyond. By focusing on a series of colorful filmmakers whose work, while omnipresent during the 1970s, now remains critically ignored, author Benjamin Halligan discusses pornography in terms of lifestyle aspirations and opportunities which point to radical changes in British society. In this way, pornography is approached as a crucial optic with which to consider recent cultural and social history.Trade Review “Halligan thrives when exploring a text’s cultural contradictions and the cracks in the philosophies underpinning the work. However, the book’s greatest asset is in taking these films (which rarely appear in most histories of British cinema) seriously.” • Choice “Halligan has uncovered a new canon of British filmmakers who for the most part have been ignored in previous histories, who played an important role in this secretive, frequently controversial world…In his new book… we get some fascinating insight into the history of British pornography and its connection to politics and the campaigning against it of groups such as the Festival of Light.. For anyone interested in this occasionally murky aspect of British film industry, this is an essential addition to a library.” • Cinema Retro “This book is a thought-provoking read not only for devotees of British cinema, but for anybody interested in the byways of film production, how obscenity is defined, the rationale for censorship and that liminal area where film interacts with the prevailing culture.” • Off ScreenTable of Contents List of illustrations Acknowledgements Introduction: The Soul of Pornography Part I: The Permissive Society and Its Discontents Chapter 1. Two Notional Regimes of Permissiveness Chapter 2. An Anti-Permissive Front Part II: The Hardcore Chapter 3. The ‘Connoisseur of Female Beauty’ and the ‘Curve Prospector’: Harrison Marks and Russell Gay Chapter 4. Erectile and Societal Dysfunctionality: The John Lindsay Loops Part III: The Softcore Chapter 5. Derek Ford in Essex Chapter 6. Tory Erotica: Sexual Fantasies for the Nouveau Riche Chapter 7. David Hamilton’s Uranian Cinema Coda: Post-Permissive Pornography Chapter 8. ‘Fucking Bang Me Like a Slag!’: Men with Men after Thatcher Conclusion: ‘That’s What the Average Man Wants’ Reference List

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Book Synopsis Since 1814 Sweden has avoided involvement in armed conflicts and carried out policies of non-alignment in peacetime and neutrality during war. Even though the Swedish government often describes Sweden as a ‘nation of peace’, in 2004 the 200-year anniversary of that peace passed by with barely any attention. Despite its extraordinary longevity, research about the Swedish experience of enduring peace is underdeveloped. 200 Years of Peace places this long period of peace in broader academic and public discussions surrounding claimed Swedish exceptionality as it is represented in the nation’s social policies, expansive welfare state, eugenics, gender equality programs, and peace.Trade Review “This generous collection of essays portrays salient aspects of Sweden’s policy of neutrality throughout the last 200 years. A truly stimulating read including splendid and sometimes thought-provoking interpretations. The book deserves international attention.” • Rasmus Mariager, University of Copenhagen “This is an interesting volume that (1) provides a clear survey of official (governmental) Swedish foreign policy since 1814 and (2) introduces readers to new perspectives that focus on aspects of ‘public diplomacy’ – diplomacy or elements of international relations that may or may not have had influence on official state policies. The scholarship in the book is excellent and reflects deep dives into neglected topics and neglected sources.” • Byron Nordstrom, Gustavus Adolphus CollegeTable of Contents Introduction: Pax Suecia 1814–2020 Nevra Biltekin, Leos Müller & Magnus Petersson Chapter 1. ‘Long Peace’, Neutrality and Sweden-Norway’s Foreign Policy, 1794–1856 Leos Müller Chapter 2. How Small States Manage to Stay Out of Wars: Explaining Sweden’s 200 Years of Peace Jacob Westberg Chapter 3. Swedish Peace Movements and the Breakup of the Forced Union Between Sweden and Norway in 1905 Fredrik Egefur Chapter 4. The Swedish Lotta Movement and its Neighbours: Navigating Neutrality, Peace Building and Women’s Issues in the Twentieth Century Anne Hedén Chapter 5. The Quest for Neutrality: Sweden, Finland and the Language Question in a Cold War Context Janne Väistö Chapter 6. No Peace Without Equality: The ‘North-South Conflict’ and its Effects on Sweden, the Netherlands and West Germany Christopher Seiberlich Conclusion Nevra Biltekin, Leos Müller & Magnus Petersson

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Book SynopsisThis book reconsiders the career of an important, controversial, but neglected figure in this history of Irish Presbyterianism. The Revd Isaac Nelson is mostly remembered for his opposition to the evangelical revival of 1859, but this book demonstrates that there was much more to Nelson’s career. Nelson started out as a protégé of Henry Cooke and as an exemplary young evangelical minister. Upon aligning himself with the Belfast Anti-Slavery Society and joining forces with American abolitionists such as Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison, Nelson emerged as a powerful voice against compromise with slaveholders. One of the central objectives of this book is to show that anti-slavery, especially his involvement with the ‘Send Back the Money’ controversy in the Free Church of Scotland and the debate over fellowship with slaveholders at the Evangelical Alliance, was crucially important to the development of Nelson into one of Irish Presbyterianism’s most controversial figures. His later opposition to the 1859 Revival has often been understood as being indicative of Nelson’s opposition to evangelicalism. This book argues that such a conclusion is mistaken and that Nelson opposed the Revival as a Presbyterian evangelical. His later involvement with the Land League and the Irish Home Rule movement, including his tenure as the Member of Parliament for County Mayo, could be easily dismissed as an entirely discreditable affair. While avoiding romantic nostalgia in relation to Nelson’s nationalism, this book argues that Nelson’s basis for advocating Home Rule was not as peculiar as it might first appear.Trade ReviewReviews ‘An interesting, probing, and thoroughly documented study of an importantly unconventional protagonist in several major religious and political debates, with reverberations far beyond Belfast or Ulster, which will make a considerable impact not merely on students of Ulster’s religious history, but on the broader field of Irish political history.' Professor David Fitzpatrick, Trinity College Dublin

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Book SynopsisAn Open Access edition of this book is available on the Liverpool University Press website and through Knowledge Unlatched.Save the Womanhood is a fascinating new history about promiscuity, prostitution and the efforts of local social purists to ‘save’ working-class women from themselves. The book examines how the work of the Liverpool Vigilance Association was supplemented by others, such as the Women Police Patrols, the Liverpool House of Help and the local branch of the Catholic Women’s League. It argues that though these organizations helped many lost and stranded women, their work also enacted a form of moral surveillance on the streets. As such, the book uncovers how important twentieth-century anxieties about changing sexual practices, female immigration, white slavery and the rise of new consumer cultures played out at local level and with what consequences for women in Liverpool. The book also brings together a wide range of local and national sources to show that when female-run, local organizations concerned about immorality went into decline in the post-war years, it was because official institutions and local law enforcement had increasingly taken up their cause. Consequently, Save the Womanhood argues that young, working-class women who travelled through Liverpool in search of work and adventure continued to arouse moral anxiety even as the city’s social purists battled to maintain their influence.Trade ReviewReviews 'A fascinating book with rich, insightful material.' Dr Charlotte Wildman, University of Manchester‘This is a very well-written, focused and insightful analysis.’ Helen Glew, Cercles 'Samantha Caslin... presents a compelling insight into the work of social purity and moral welfare groups in Liverpool during the twentieth century... This is an insightful and valuable addition to the field of study concerned with the sexual and moral policing of working-class women.'Sarah Watson, HSLC

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Book SynopsisA revealing and humorous trawl through the drinking establishments of the Rhondda Valley in south Wales, UK. Pub Life details pubs and clubs past and present, highlighting the characters that frequent them and the impact they''ve had as hubs of the Valleys community.

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Book SynopsisThough forced displacement constituted a central and pervasive feature of the Northern Ireland ‘Troubles’ effecting tens of thousands of citizens, remarkably it has been afforded little more than a footnote or fleeting reference in most accounts of the conflict. This book seeks to ‘end the silence’ surrounding this neglected and ubiquitous aspect of the conflict. Based on 88 in-depth qualitative interviews with victims and survivors, and extensive secondary research, this fascinating study provides the first comprehensive examination of forced displacement in Northern Ireland. The analysis presented captures the unique perspectives of those forcibly uprooted over the course of the 30-year conflict and places on historical record their stories and experiences. This thought-provoking work challenges and broadens prevailing understandings of conflict-related violence, harm, and loss in Northern Ireland to demonstrate the centrality of forced movement, territory, and demographics to the roots and subsequent trajectory of the Troubles. In doing so, it shows that to fully understand the eruption and outplaying of the Troubles and its elusive peace, engagement with and understanding of the legacy of forced displacement is crucial.Trade Review'This book makes a significant contribution to the literature in the field and that there is no doubt that it helps to plug a substantial gap in the debate about the Troubles and their legacy.' Dr Patrick Fitzgerald, Head of Research and Development at The Mellon Centre for Migration Studies.'This book makes a significant contribution to the literature in the field and that there is no doubt that it helps to plug a substantial gap in the debate about the Troubles and their legacy.' Dr Patrick Fitzgerald, Head of Research and Development at The Mellon Centre for Migration Studies.‘The authors complement their sound theoretical framework with a rich variety of testimony of first-hand accounts of those who left their homes… thoroughly researched and well-presented.’ Allan Leonard, Shared Future NewsTable of ContentsAcknowledgements Maps CHAPTER ONE – INTRODUCTION: THE SILENCE OF WAR CHAPTER TWO – FORMATIONS OF INTIMIDATION, FEAR AND FLIGHT CHAPTER THREE – EVACUATION, EXILE AND RESETTLEMENT CHAPTER FOUR – RUPTURED LIVES: HARMS, LOSS & GRIEVANCES CHAPTER FIVE – ADDRESSING THE LEGACY OF DISPLACEMENT CHAPTER SIX – CONCLUSION Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisJane Bell of Laceby, Elizabeth Dodds of Wrangle and Ellen Green of Fishtoft were three Lincolnshire women put on trial between 1845 and 1875 for killing their husbands with large quantities of arsenic, but were judged to be innocent of the crime. This latest book by Malcolm Moyes on nineteenth-century Lincolnshire poison trials is a comprehensive examination of the circumstantial evidence against the women, which was often constructed from unsavoury rumours, village gossip and downright lies. It is also a critical analysis of the varied key factors which probably led to the acquittal of the women, despite all the odds. Whilst all three women were saved from the hangman’s noose, the final verdict of the jury may still leave the modern reader with some doubts and question marks concerning the innocence of the women, as it did with a number of contemporary commentators on the cases. Malcolm Moyes is the author of By Force of Circumstances: the Lefley Case Reopened and Attired in Deepest Mourning – Eliza Joyce, Mary Ann Milner and Priscilla Biggadike, both published by Troubador.

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Book Synopsis‘Compelling, authoritative and as readable as the best airport thriller. It fizzes with crime, fame, power and illicit sex.’ Jeremy Vine‘A timely and important book. It’s quite remarkable how one building has played host to such debauchery. If only the walls could talk…’ Iain DaleDesigned as a city dwelling for the modern age, Dolphin Square opened in London’s Pimlico in 1936. Boasting 1,250 hi-tech flats, a swimming pool, restaurant, gardens and shopping arcade, the complex quickly attracted a long list of the affluent and influential. But behind its veneer of respectability, the Square has become one of the country’s most notorious addresses; a place where the private lives of those from the highest of high society and the lowest depths of the underworld have collided and played out over the best part of a century.This is the story of the Square and its people, an ever-evolving cast of larger-than- life characters who have borne witness to, and played pivotal roles in, some of the most scandalous episodes of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. From Oswald Mosley and the Carry On gang to allegations of systematic sexual abuse, it is a saga replete with mysterious deaths, exploitation, espionage, illicit love affairs and glamour, shining a light on the changing nature of British politics and society in the modern age.Trade ReviewCompelling, authoritative and as readable as the best airport thriller. It fizzes with crime, fame, power and illicit sex. -- Jeremy VineA timely and important book. It’s quite remarkable how one building has played host to such debauchery. If only the walls could talk … -- Iain DaleDanczuk and Smith’s entertaining history zips along, teeming with tales of espionage, crime, politics, scandals and lots of sex. The tenants of Dolphin Square include an extraordinary cast of well-known characters – royalty and party leaders; celebrity actors and star entertainers; the eccentric and the exotic. But the Square also has its darker side – as home to spies, secret lovers and paedophiles. -- Michael Crick

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Book SynopsisTraditionally history is cerebral: what did they believe, what did they think, what did they know?Woodsmoke and Sage is not a traditional book. Using the five senses, historian Amy Licence presents a new perspective on the material culture of the past, exploring the Tudors’ relationship with the fabric of their existence, from the clothes on their backs, the roofs over their heads and the food on their tables, to the wider questions of how they interpreted and presented themselves, and what they believed about life, death and beyond.Take a journey back 500 years and experience the sixteenth century the way it was lived, through sight, sound, smell, taste and touch.

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Book SynopsisDelve into this trove of anecdotes and stories to prove the core decency of humankind at a time when kindness can seem in short supply.This engaging collection demonstrates that courteous behaviour transcends all barriers, from gender and wealth to age and class – here are noble acts by footballers and fashionistas, television personalities and teenagers, great commanders and humble private soldiers, society ladies and modest housewives, elderly philosophers and very young children.It includes Alexander the Great, Marie Antoinette, the Duke of Wellington, Evelyn Waugh, Winston Churchill, Sammy Davis Junior and Colonel Tim Collins.Often amusing, sometimes moving, occasionally astounding and always fascinating, How to Be Kind is a tribute to the finest, albeit often overlooked, qualities of humankind

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Book SynopsisDuring the eighteenth century, ladies of high society kept handwritten notes on recipes, remedies, gardening and household advice in their personal House Books and it became fashionable to exchange their most successful tips with friends and neighbours. Very few of these fragile House Books have survived and this compilation celebrates two: one from Lady Talbot of Lacock Abbey and the other from Lady Louisa Conolly of Castletown House.In this collection you will find their herbal remedies for everything from coughs and colds to rickets, consumption and ‘preventing smallpox’, along with concoctions to ensure soft hands, improve the skin and ‘remove inhibitions’. There are also tips on cleaning and polishing, the best ways in which a garden should be laid out and the roles each servant should be expected to perform. Finally there is also a selection of their favourite recipes, including Cinnamon Spinach, Slipcoat Cheese and Pitchcocked Eels.This charming compilation is full of fascinating information and useful tips and gives an insight into the lives of those living in the grand houses of the eighteenth century.

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Book SynopsisThe history of British Islam and British Muslims is a growing area of interest among historians and the general public. But, whilst Muslim women have featured in some research, their lives and experiences prior to the present day have remained obscure, if not 'hidden', in both academic and popular discussion. Uncovering Muslim women's experiences and contributions to society in past generations is essential for us to build a full picture of Muslim life in Britain, then and now. This is the first book to address that gap, telling the stories of Muslim women who lived in Britain between the mid-nineteenth and mid-twentieth centuries, from Victorian times to the years immediately after the Second World War--just before immigration profoundly affected the size and composition of Britain's Muslim communities. It reveals a rich variety of experiences, including Muslim women who travelled to or away from Britain, and many who converted to Islam within the British Isles. Underpinned by feminist historical approaches, this groundbreaking book aims to make women visible where they have been hidden from or within history. Its fascinating accounts will reinstate Muslim women as actors, storytellers and storymakers who have shaped the history of Britain and of 'British Islam'.Trade Review‘A collection of remarkable and… hidden stories of Muslim women who helped shape the history of Britain.’ -- BBC News'Groundbreaking.' -- Morning Star'Providing unique insight into the stories of extraordinary Muslim women--from an aristocrat to a teacher and a WWI spy--this remarkable book reshapes our understanding of their profound impact on British history.' -- Sadiya Ahmed, founder of Everyday Muslim Heritage and Archive Initiative'This important and timely book sheds new light on the active and inspiring part that these pioneering women played in shaping the history of Islam in an increasingly multicultural Britain.' -- Humayun Ansari, Emeritus Professor in the History of Islam and Cultural Diversity, Royal Holloway, University of London, and author of "'The Infidel Within': Muslims in Britain Since 1800"'These captivating narratives transcend the limits of time and tradition, speaking to the multifaceted identities of Muslim women in colonial Britain. Their stories are not only tales of the past, but an enduring testament to the strength, diversity and spirit of women who have walked these shores.' -- Umar Ryad, Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies, University of Leuven

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Book SynopsisAs climate change becomes an increasingly important part of public discourse, the relationship between time in nature and history is changing. Nature can no longer be considered a slow and immobile background to human history, and the future can no longer be viewed as open and detached from the past. Times of History, Times of Nature engages with this historical shift in temporal sensibilities through a combination of detailed case studies and synthesizing efforts. Focusing on the history of knowledge, media theory, and environmental humanities, this volume explores the rich and nuanced notions of time and temporality that have emerged in response to climate change.

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Book SynopsisThis is not the Spain which has drawn historians, neither is it the Spain of many people's dreams: the olive and citrus groves of the Mediterranean, the beaches and white-washed villages.This is the story of a family from one of many villages in the poor mountain regions as they lived through the troubled times of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries which brought unrest, war and finally a long dictatorship lasting until Franco's death in 1975.On Franco's death the Spanish people faced an enormous challenge; the way forward would not be easy.How could they cast off their troubled past? What was it like for a foreigner arriving in the country over forty years ago as Spain struggled to find its way as a modern European state?An attempted coup d'état, terrorism, the declining power of the church and vertiginous social changes affected everyone's lives.Spain today is a very different country, yet something of the turbulent past remains.Echoes from a Vanished World is a thought-provoking and unique social history book on Spain during a particularly convulsive era.

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Book SynopsisAn exploration of both the reality and the spectre of waste throughout history.

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Book SynopsisThe sword is an important and multi-faceted symbol of military power, royal and communal authority, religion and mysticism. This study takes the sword beyond its functional role as a tool for killing, considering it as a cultural artefact, and the broader meaning and significance it had to its bearer. It should be on the bookshelf of anybody who claims to be interested in the importance of the sword in medieval life and thought and their cultural significance in the past - and present. Robert Woosnam-Savage, Royal Armouries. We see the sword as an object of nobility and status, a mystical artefact, imbued with power and symbolism. It is Roland's Durendal, Arthur's Excalibur, Aragorn's Narsil. A thing of beauty, its blade flashes in the sun, and its hilt gleams with opulent decoration. Yet this beauty belies a bloody function, for it is also a weapon that appears crude and brutal, requiring great strength to wield: cleaving armour, flesh, and bone. This wide-ranging book uncovers the breadth of the sword's place within the culture of high medieval Europe. Encompassing swords both real and imagined, physical, and in art and literature, it shows them as a powerful symbol of authority and legitimacy. It looks at the practicalities of the sword, including its production, as well as challenging our preconceptions about when and where it was used. In doing so, it reveals a far less familiar culture of swordsmanship, beyond the elite, in which swordplay was an entertainment, taught in the fencing school by masters such as Lichtenauer, Talhoffer, and Fiore, and codified in fencing manuals, or fechtbücher. The book also considers how our modern attempts to reconstruct medieval swordsmanship on screen, and in re-enactment and Historical European Martial Arts (or HEMA), shape, and have been shaped by, our preconceptions of the sword. As a whole, the weapon is shown to be at once far more mundane, and yet just as special, as we imagine it.Trade ReviewIt should be on the bookshelf of anybody who claims to be interested in the importance of the sword in medieval life and thought and their cultural significance in the past - and present. -- Robert Woosnam-SavageTable of ContentsList of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction 1. The Mystical Blade 2. The Powerful Sword 3. The Falchion: A Case Study of Form, Function, and Symbolism 4. The Civilian Sword 5. Learning the Sword 6. Using the Sword 7. Recreating Medieval Swordsmanship Conclusion Glossary Bibliography

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Book SynopsisOPEN ACCESS To read the PDF of Gentility in Early Modern Wales: The Salesbury Family, 1450–1720 for free, follow the link below Gentility in Early Modern Wales: The Salesbury Family, 1450–1720 (uwp.co.uk) This book is freely available on a Creative Commons licence thanks to the kind sponsorship of the libraries participating in the Jisc Open Access Community Framework OpenUP initiative. Early modern Wales was a place of opportunity for the gentry. The Acts of Union with England granted them powers to govern their local communities, the Reformation enabled them to add former monastic lands to their estates, and burgeoning global expansion encouraged them to seek fortunes abroad. Early modern Wales was also a place in transition. The gentry navigated a complex relationship with their English neighbours and found themselves cultivating a new identity as Cambro-Britons. This book is an exciting new study of how one Welsh gentry family, the Salesburys of Rhug and Bachymbyd, negotiated the changing expectations of gentility in early modern Wales. From this in-depth analysis, the book finds that the Welsh gentry were status-conscious and opportunistic, but Welshness remained fundamental to their sense of self. This is further enhanced by considering the early modern Welsh gentry within a wider global context for the first time.Table of ContentsAcknowledgements A note on spelling List of abbreviations Maps Genealogical tables Introduction 1. The Salesbury family 2. Territorial legitimacy 3. Networks of power 4. Culture, scholarship and religion 5. The wider world Epilogue Bibliography

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