Leech painted portraits, landscapes and still lifes, including remarkable self-portraits, interiors and luxuriant aloes. Throughout his life he regularly exhibited in Ireland and England. The majority of his paintings are still in private hands and little known. This retrospective catalogue documents his reclusive life and confirms his place as a major Irish artist.
A'Beckett and Leech were original contributors to "Punch, or the London Charivari" magazine, established 1841. It became the famous "Punch" magazine and remained in publication to 2002. A'Beckett also wrote editorials for a similar concept magazine, "Figaro in London" that ceased publication in 1839. "In commencing this work, the object of the Author was, as he stated in the Prospectus, to blend amusement with instruction, by serving up, in as palatable a shape as he could, the facts of English History. He pledged himself not to sacrifice the substance to the seasoning; and though he has certainly been a little free in the use of his sauce, he hopes that he has not produced a mere hash on the present occasion. His object has been to furnish something which may be allowed to take its place as a standing at the library table, and which, though light, may not be found devoid of nutriment."--Preface.
'...it should be made standard reading for those dealing with disaster/survival situations, it is also very informative in helping the general reader understand the psychology of survivors...The text makes compulsive reading and the book is hard to put down. It is worth examining, no matter where your professional interest lies.'- Duncan MacPaul, Nursing Times. Why do so many people die without need? How can an exceptional few survive extraordinarily harsh conditions sometimes after months or years of deprivation? Recent years have seen remarkable improvements in survival training and technology, yet most people still perish quickly in the face of adversity. In this book John Leach seeks to answer these questions by considering the psychology of human survival; how groups and individuals behave before, during and after life threatening events. Both short and long-term survival are addressed as well as the psychological consequences of hunger, thirst, cold, heat, crowding, isolation, fatigue and sleep deprivation. The essence of this work is distilled into a set of principles for psychological first-aid for use in the field.
This monumental work of cultural history was nominated for a National Book Award. It chronicles America's transformation, beginning in 1880, into a nation of consumers, devoted to a cult of comfort, bodily well-being, and endless acquisition. 24 pages of photos.
That devil’s trick is the first study of nineteenth-century hypnotism based primarily on the popular – rather than medical – appreciation of the subject. Drawing on the reports of mesmerists, hypnotists, quack doctors and serious physicians printed in popular newspapers from the early years of the nineteenth century to the Victorian fin de siècle, the book provides an insight into how continental mesmerism was first understood in Britain, how a number of distinctively British varieties of mesmerism developed, and how these were continually debated in medical, moral and legal terms. Highly relevant to the study of the many authors – Charles Dickens, George Eliot, Bram Stoker and Conan Doyle among them – whose fiction was informed by the imagery of mesmerism, That devil’s trick will be an essential resource for anybody with an interest in the popular and literary culture of the nineteenth century, including literary scholars, medical historians and the general reader.
