Ten short stories include the tale of Queen Cimorene's Frying Pan of Doom, a yarn about a magical blue chipmunk with a passion for chestnuts, and a story about an enchanted wizard's daughter.
2016 Choice Outstanding Academic Title Finalist for 2016 Richard Wall Memorial Award by the Theatre Library Long listed for the 2017 Kraszna-Krausz Best Photography Book Award from the Kraszna-Krausz Foundation Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo, and Katharine Hepburn all made lasting impressions with the cinematic cross-dressing they performed onscreen. What few modern viewers realize, however, is that these seemingly daring performances of the 1930s actually came at the tail end of a long wave of gender-bending films that included more than 400 movies featuring women dressed as men. Laura Horak spent a decade scouring film archives worldwide, looking at American films made between 1908 and 1934, and what she discovered could revolutionize our understanding of gender roles in the early twentieth century. Questioning the assumption that cross-dressing women were automatically viewed as transgressive, she finds that these figures were popularly regarded as wholesome and regularly appeared onscreen in the 1910s, thus lending greater respectability to the fledgling film industry. Horak also explores how and why this perception of cross-dressed women began to change in the 1920s and early 1930s, examining how cinema played a pivotal part in the representation of lesbian identity. Girls Will Be Boys excavates a rich history of gender-bending film roles, enabling readers to appreciate the wide array of masculinities that these actresses performed—from sentimental boyhood to rugged virility to gentlemanly refinement. Taking us on a guided tour through a treasure-trove of vintage images, Girls Will Be Boys helps us view the histories of gender, sexuality, and film through fresh eyes.
Essays by popular children's authors reveal the books that shaped their personal and literary lives, explaining how the stories they loved influenced them creatively, politically, and intellectually.
A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK “Part love story, part history, this novel is a tour de force [told] in language that soars and sears.”—More St. Petersburg, 1917. After Rasputin’s body is pulled from the icy waters of the Neva River, his eighteen-year-old daughter, Masha, is sent to live at the imperial palace with Tsar Nikolay and his family. Desperately hoping that Masha has inherited Rasputin’s healing powers, Tsarina Alexandra asks her to tend to her son, the headstrong prince Alyosha, who suffers from hemophilia. Soon after Masha arrives at the palace, the tsar is forced to abdicate, and the Bolsheviks place the royal family under house arrest. As Russia descends into civil war, Masha and Alyosha find solace in each other’s company. To escape the confinement of the palace, and to distract the prince from the pain she cannot heal, Masha tells him stories—some embellished and others entirely imagined—about Nikolay and Alexandra’s courtship, Rasputin’s exploits, and their wild and wonderful country, now on the brink of an irrevocable transformation. In the worlds of their imagination, the weak become strong, legend becomes fact, and a future that will never come to pass feels close at hand. Praise for Enchantments “A sumptuous, atmospheric account of the last days of the Romanovs from the perspective of Rasputin’s daughter, [told] with the sensuous, transporting prose that is Kathryn Harrison’s trademark.”—Jennifer Egan “[A] splendid and surprising book . . . Harrison has given us something enduring.”—The New York Times Book Review “[Harrison delivers] this oft-told moment with shocking freshness. . . . Masha re-invents our ideas of Rasputin, and the world of Nicholas and Alexandra is imbued with a glow whose fierceness is governed by the imminence of its loss.”—Los Angeles Times “A mesmerizing novel.”—O: The Oprah Magazine “Bewitching . . . Harrison sets historic facts like jewels in this intricately fashioned work of exalted empathy and imagination, a literary Fabergé egg. . . . [A] dazzling return to historical fiction.”—Booklist (starred review) Look for special features inside. Join the Random House Reader’s Circle for author chats and more.
It's 1958, and fifteen-year-old Richie runs away from his Liverpool home and heads for London. He discovers a world of rent boys preyed on by criminal gangs yet giving each other comfort and support; the excitement of Soho in the rock'n'roll years; and love for an upper-class boy his own age. When his parents banish their son to Singapore, Richie joins the merchant navy and sets off in quest of his friend. Enchanted Youth is the follow-up to Richie McMullen's highly popular Enchanted Boy. If his first volume of memoirs was, in his word, "a journey through abuse to prostitution", the second leads him through a still more perilous time, from prostitution to love.
This beloved Newbery Honor-winning story about a feisty heroine is sure to enchant readers new and old. At her birth, Ella of Frell receives a foolish fairy's gift—the “gift” of obedience. Ella must obey any order, whether it's to hop on one foot for a day and a half, or to chop off her own head! But strong-willed Ella does not accept her fate... Against a bold backdrop of princes, ogres, giants, wicked stepsisters, and fairy godmothers, Ella goes on a quest to break the curse forever. A tween favorite for 25 years—now shared with today's young readers by moms, teachers, and other adults who remember the pleasure of discovering this fun fairy-tale retelling themselves!
In Enchantment, Orson Scott Card works his magic as never before, transforming the timeless story of Sleeping Beauty into an original fantasy brimming with romance and adventure. The moment Ivan stumbled upon a clearing in the dense Carpathian forest, his life was forever changed. Atop a pedestal encircled by fallen leaves, the beautiful princess Katerina lay still as death. But beneath the foliage a malevolent presence stirred and sent the ten-year-old Ivan scrambling for the safety of Cousin Marek's farm. Now, years later, Ivan is an American graduate student, engaged to be married. Yet he cannot forget that long-ago day in the forest—or convince himself it was merely a frightened boy’s fantasy. Compelled to return to his native land, Ivan finds the clearing just as he left it. This time he does not run. This time he awakens the beauty with a kiss . . . and steps into a world that vanished a thousand years ago. A rich tapestry of clashing worlds and cultures, Enchantment is a powerfully original novel of a love and destiny that transcend centuries . . . and the dark force that stalks them across the ages.
From the authors of the Goddess Girls series comes the fourth book in a series steeped in Norse mythology, magic, adventure, and friendship. Skade, the goddess of skiing, is known as one of the best athletes—and a top student—at Asgard Academy. But lately, she’s felt like she’s been in a slump. When three giants appear and offer to mend the rift between the worlds by organizing a ski competition, Skade feels like this is her big chance to prove herself again. After all, the powerful Odin will be choosing the Asgard team based on ability, attitude, and academics! But much to Skade’s embarrassment, Odin is less than impressed with her—and names her as an alternate instead of part of the main team. Aside from Skade’s frustrations, something seems fishy about the whole competition. After one of Skade’s classmates has a strange nightmare about it, they start to wonder if the games are one big cover-up for something more sinister. And when the Asgard team finds themselves on thin ice, it’s up to Skade to overcome a big fear, save her friend—and show everyone what she’s made of!
In the kingdom of Kaloon, nothing is quite as it seems.... "Y-y-y-you," he stammered, and Flissa turned to see he'd gone ashen. "T-t-t-two of you!" Uh-oh. Flissa reached up and checked. Sure enough, her hood had fallen off. Their secret was out. Princesses Flissa and Sara are even closer than most twins. In fact, most of the kingdom thinks they're the same person. When magic was outlawed in Kaloon generations ago, twins, black cats, and other potentially -magical beings were outlawed, too. Since they were born, Flissa and Sara have pretended to be one princess, Flissara, trading off royal duties like attending glamorous balls, participating in fencing exhibitions, and making friends with other young nobles, all while hiding in plain sight. But when the first magical attack in years puts their mother's life in danger, the girls must break the rules that have protected them to save her. With a brave servant boy and his plucky black kitten as their guides, they set off on an epic quest to the Twists—a forbidden place full of dark magic—to find the evil mage who cursed the queen. With a case of mistaken identity, a wickedly powerful exile out for vengeance, and time running out for their mother, the twins might just need to make their own magic to save the day. In the first book of this new series, author Elise Allen brings to life a fantastical world filled with high-stakes adventure, incredible twists, and all the spark and humor of sisterhood.