'A brave and necessary book' GUARDIAN 'Shocking, gripping and sobering' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH No other society sends its young boys and girls away to school to prepare them for a role in the ruling class. Beating, bullying, fagging, cold baths, vile food and paedophile teachers are just some of the features of this elite education, and, while some children loved boarding school, others now admit to suffering life-altering psychological damage. Stiff Upper Lip exposes the hypocrisy, cronyism and conspiracy that are key to understanding the scandals over abuse and neglect in institutions all over the world. Award-winning investigative journalist Alex Renton went to three traditional boarding schools. Drawing on those experiences, and the vivid testimony of hundreds of former pupils, he has put together a compelling history, important to anyone wondering what shaped the people who run Britain in the twenty-first century.
There is a persistent myth about the British: that we are a nation of stoics, with stiff upper lips, repressed emotions, and inactive lachrymal glands. Weeping Britannia - the first history of crying in Britain - comprehensively debunks this myth. Far from being a persistent element in the 'national character', the notion of the British stiff upper lip was in fact the product of a relatively brief and militaristic period of our past, from about 1870 to 1945. In earlier times we were a nation of proficient, sometimes virtuosic moral weepers. To illustrate this perhaps surprising fact, Thomas Dixon charts six centuries of weeping Britons, and theories about them, from the medieval mystic Margery Kempe in the early fifteenth century, to Paul Gascoigne's famous tears in the semi-finals of the 1990 World Cup. In between, the book includes the tears of some of the most influential figures in British history, from Oliver Cromwell to Margaret Thatcher (not forgetting George III, Queen Victoria, Charles Darwin, and Winston Churchill along the way). But the history of weeping in Britain is not simply one of famous tear-stained individuals. These tearful micro-histories all contribute to a bigger picture of changing emotional ideas and styles over the centuries, touching on many other fascinating areas of our history. For instance, the book also investigates the histories of painting, literature, theatre, music and the cinema to discover how and why people have been moved to tears by the arts, from the sentimental paintings and novels of the eighteenth century and the romantic music of the nineteenth, to Hollywood weepies, expressionist art, and pop music in the twentieth century. Weeping Britannia is simultaneously a museum of tears and a philosophical handbook, using history to shed new light on the changing nature of Britishness over time, as well as the ever-shifting ways in which we express and understand our emotional lives. The story that emerges is one in which a previously rich religious and cultural history of producing and interpreting tears was almost completely erased by the rise of a stoical and repressed British empire in the late nineteenth century. Those forgotten philosophies of tears and feeling can now be rediscovered. In the process, readers might perhaps come to view their own tears in a different light, as something more than mere emotional incontinence.
No-one believes in ghosts, even in WWII, but strange things are going on in Hampshire Place. Sophie's in love with a writer who killed himself years before. At Halloween, as the midnight hour approaches, it's time for the boy to get the girl. Forever.
The complete guide to mastering the art of effective body language Body Language For Dummies is your ideal guide to understanding other people, and helping them understand you. Body language is a critical component of good communication, and often conveys a bigger message than the words you say. This book teaches you how to interpret what people really mean by observing their posture, gestures, eye movements, and more, and holds up a mirror to give you a clear idea of how you're being interpreted yourself. This updated third edition includes new coverage of virtual meetings, multicultural outsourcing environments, devices, and boardroom behaviours for women, as well as insight into Harvard professor Amy Cuddy's research into how body language affects testosterone and cortisol, as published in the Harvard Business Review.. Body language is a fascinating topic that reveals how the human mind works. Image and presentation are crucial to successful communication, both in business and in your personal life. This book is your guide to decoding body language, and adjusting your own habits to improve your interactions with others. Become a better communicator without saying a word Make a better first (and second, and third...) impression Learn what other people's signals really mean Transform your personal and professional relationships Realising what kind of impression you give is a valuable thing, and learning how to make a more positive impact is an incredibly useful skill. Whether you want to improve your prospects in job seeking, dating, or climbing the corporate ladder, Body Language For Dummies helps you translate the unspoken and get your message across.
"The pace is lively, the sexual tension palpable and the love story perfectly delightful. Fun and touching, this magical read is a keeper." —RT Book Reviews, 4 1/2 Stars, Top Pick! Everyone warned Lady Susanna about Gideon, but where has playing by the rules ever gotten her? Enticed by his "no compromises" approach to life, Susanna follows Gideon into London's dark underworld. When excitement turns to danger, Susanna must decide what price she's willing to pay...for the love of a reformed thief. Gideon Harrow has spent his life in London's dark underworld—and he wants out. A thief and a con, he plans one last heist to finally win his freedom. But when everything goes wrong, he finds himself at the tender mercies of one of Society's most untouchable women—Lady Susanna Derring Susanna has spent her life in London's glittering ton, under the thumb of a domineering mother—and she wants out. When a wickedly charming rogue lands at her feet, she jumps at the chance to experience life before it's too late. But as she descends into London's underworld, she finds that nothing— not even Gideon—is as it seems. As excitement turns to danger, Susanna must decide what price she's willing to pay...for the love of a reformed thief. Covent Garden Cubs Series: Earls Just Want to Have Fun (Book 1) The Rogue You Know (Book 2) I Kissed a Rogue (Book 3) Praise for Love and Let Spy, an RT Book Reviews Top Pick: "Splendid... an absolutely sublime love story... infused with beautiful, tender, and touching moments." —Fresh Fiction "An utterly wonderful historical romance." —Books of Love
The plane went down. . .and took their love with it. All Brandon Barlow-Barrett wants is a week away from his family's newspaper empire, time on the slopes to relax and refocus. What he gets is Lucy Cameron, the most extraordinary woman he's ever met. Lucy Cameron doesn't take vacations. Not until now. Her very first vacation is full of highs--falling in love with Brandon Barrett--and lows--realizing she has to tell him she earns her living as a stripper. But there's no time to reveal her secret. On the way back from a day trip to a neighboring Colorado town, their plane's engine sputters and stops. All they have left is the dangerous peaks of the mountains, a nearby lake for a crash-landing, and Brandon's last-minute declaration of love. CONTENT WARNING: This is not an easy road to Happily Ever After. Some readers may be disturbed by the detailed description of the plane crash. Also, explicit language. 71,000 Words
