Curious Scotland
Curious Scotland

Author: George Rosie

Publisher: Macmillan

Published: 2006-08-08

Total Pages: 268

ISBN-13: 9780312354169

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"A must-read for all those who want to find out what this country is really made of." ---Scotland on Sunday

The Rogue Narrative and Irish Fiction, 1660-1790
The Rogue Narrative and Irish Fiction, 1660-1790

Author: Joe Lines

Publisher: Syracuse University Press

Published: 2021-09-20

Total Pages: 267

ISBN-13: 0815655193

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With characteristic lawlessness and connection to the common man, the figure of the rogue commanded the world of Irish fiction from 1660 to 1790. During this period of development for the Irish novel, this archetypal figure appears over and over again. Early Irish fiction combined the picaresque genre, focusing on a cunning, witty trickster or pícaro, with the escapades of real and notorious criminals. On the one hand, such rogue tales exemplified the English stereotypes of an unruly Ireland, but on the other, they also personified Irish patriotism. Existing between the dual publishing spheres of London and Dublin, the rogue narrative explored the complexities of Anglo-Irish relations. In this volume, Lines investigates why writers during the long eighteenth-century so often turned to the rogue narrative to discuss Ireland. Alongside recognized works of Irish fiction, such as those by William Chaigneau, Richard Head, and Charles Johnston, Lines presents lesser-known and even anonymous popular texts. With consideration for themes of conflict, migration, religion, and gender, Lines offers up a compelling connection between the rogues themselves, marked by persistence and adaptability, and the ever-popular rogue narrative in this early period of Irish writing.

Performing Dark Arts
Performing Dark Arts

Author: Michael Mangan

Publisher: Intellect Books

Published: 2007-08-01

Total Pages: 282

ISBN-13: 184150985X

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Magic and conjuring inhabit the boundaries and the borderlands of performance. The conjuror’s act of demonstrating the apparently impossible, the uncanny, the marvellous, or the grotesque challenges the spectator’s sense of reality. It brings him or her up against their own assumptions about how the world works; at its most extreme, it asks the spectator to re-evaluate his or her sense of the limits of the human. Performing Dark Arts is an exploration of the paradox of the conjuror, the actor who pretends to be a magician. It aims to illuminate the history of conjuring by examining it in the context of performance studies, and to throw light on aspects of performance studies by testing them against the art of conjuring. The book examines not only the performances of individual magicians from Dedi to David Blaine, but also the broader cultural contexts in which their performances were received, and the meanings which they have attracted.

The Book of Gin
The Book of Gin

Author: Richard Barnett

Publisher: Grove/Atlantic, Inc.

Published: 2012-12-04

Total Pages: 290

ISBN-13: 0802120431

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Presents a history of the gin industry, from its roots as a medicine to gin palaces of the nineteenth century to bathtub gin of the prohibition.

The Weird & Wonderful Story of Gin
The Weird & Wonderful Story of Gin

Author: Angela Youngman

Publisher: Pen and Sword History

Published: 2022-04-06

Total Pages: 242

ISBN-13: 1399002775

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“Dive into the history and culture of juniper spirits in this fun and informative book . . . a must-read for marketers and gin lovers alike.” —The Spirits Business Gin is a global alcoholic drink that has polarised opinion like no other, and its history has been a roller coaster, alternating between being immensely popular and utterly unfashionable. The Weird and Wonderful Story of Gin explores the exciting, interesting, and downright curious aspects of the drink, with crime, murder, poisons, fires, dramatic accidents, artists, legends, and disasters all playing a part. These dark themes are also frequently used to promote brands and drinks. Did you know that the Filipinos are the world’s biggest gin drinkers? And even that Jack the Ripper, Al Capone, and the Krays all have their place in the history of gin? Not to mention Sir Winston Churchill, Noel Coward, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and James Bond! “Gin was the original Dutch courage and mothers’ ruin and there is drama, disaster, crime and royal patronage in its story as its fortunes lurch from being hugely popular to deeply unfashionable—and back again.” —Great British Life