THE STORY: The scene is a mountain pass in ancient Greece, on the road to Thebes. The pass is guarded by a priestess from the temple of Hera and by a sphinx who must ask a riddle of all who pass. If the traveler cannot solve the riddle he is hurled to his death, but if he can he is allowed to pass—and proceed to his doom. A young man approaches, and while the priestess pleads that he be allowed to turn back, or to pass unchallenged, the sphinx is adamant that the riddle must be posed. The priestess retires, and the sphinx accosts the young man, Oedipus, who has come from Delphi, where he has consulted the oracle. At first he denies this, but the sphinx knows his story without his telling it—and foretells what lies ahead for him as well. In keeping with the casual, offhand mood of the play, Oedipus attempts to treat these disclosures lightly, but inevitably he cannot. The riddle is asked, and solved, the sphinx vanishes forever, and Oedipus proceeds to the awful fate that the gods have ordained for him.
NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER Following Thomas Jefferson from the drafting of the Declaration of Independence to his retirement in Monticello, Joseph J. Ellis unravels the contradictions of the Jeffersonian character. He gives us the slaveholding libertarian who was capable of decrying mescegenation while maintaing an intimate relationship with his slave, Sally Hemmings; the enemy of government power who exercisdd it audaciously as president; the visionarty who remained curiously blind to the inconsistencies in his nature. American Sphinx is a marvel of scholarship, a delight to read, and an essential gloss on the Jeffersonian legacy.
**The Times and Sunday Times Books of the Year 2020** **The Times Best Biography Audiobook of the Year 2021** 'Vickers gives breathing, alarming life to a woman who puzzled and thrilled her contemporaries' SUNDAY TIMES 'Best Paperbacks of 2021' 'A continuously astonishing and ultimately moving account of a unique figure, the stuff of great literature' Simon Callow, SUNDAY TIMES 'Gripping . . . jaw-dropping story, brilliantly told' Ysenda Maxtone Graham, THE TIMES 'Mr. Vickers, with his sharp eye for detail, splendidly captures the drama of Gladys's life and the amazing cast of characters she encountered' WALL STREET JOURNAL 'This biography is truly wonderful - a masterclass in storytelling' SUNDAY TIMES 'The most extraordinary, rackety life' William Boyd, DAILY TELEGRAPH 'Richly anecdotal and oddly captivating' Miranda Seymour, FINANCIAL TIMES 'At the end of the book the reader can only say, "Whew! What a story!"' Anne de Courcy, SPECTATOR 'Hugo Vickers's life of Gladys Marlborough is an extraordinary and tragic story, with special resonance today' EVENING STANDARD ******************* One of the most beautiful and brilliant women of her time, Gladys Deacon dazzled and puzzled the glittering social circles in which she moved. Born in Paris to American parents in 1881, Gladys emerged from a traumatic childhood - her father having shot her mother's lover dead when Gladys was only eleven - to captivate and inspire some of the greatest literary and artistic names of the Belle Epoque. Marcel Proust wrote of her, 'I never saw a girl with such beauty, such magnificent intelligence, such goodness and charm.' Berenson considered marrying her, Rodin and Monet befriended her, Boldini painted her and Epstein sculpted her. She inspired love from diverse Dukes and Princes, and the interest of women such as the Comtesse Greffulhe and Gertrude Stein. In 1921, when Gladys was forty, she achieved the wish she had held since the age of fourteen to marry the 9th Duke of Marlborough, then freshly divorced from fellow American Consuelo Vanderbilt. Gladys's circle now included Lady Ottoline Morrell, Lytton Strachey and Winston Churchill, who described her as 'a strange, glittering being'. But life at Blenheim was not a success: when the Duke evicted her in 1933, the only remaining signs of Gladys were two sphinxes bearing her features on the west terraces and mysterious blue eyes in the grand portico. She became a recluse, and the wax injections she'd had to straighten her nose when she was 22 had by now ravaged her beauty. Gladys was to spend her last years in the psycho-geriatric ward of a mental hospital, where she was discovered by a young Hugo Vickers. Intrigued and compelled to unmask the truth of her mysterious life, Vickers visited her over the course of two years, eventually publishing Gladys, Duchess of Marlborough, a biography of her life - and his first book - in 1979, two years after Gladys's death. Forty years on, Vickers has now completely rewritten and revised his original biography, updating it with previously unavailable material and drawing on his own personal research all over Europe and America. He once asked Gladys, 'Where is Gladys Deacon?' She answered him slowly, 'Gladys Deacon? . . . She never existed.' The Sphinx is a fascinating portrait of this elusive but brilliant woman who was at the centre of a now bygone era of wealth and privilege - and a tribute to one of the brightest stars of her age.
The nature, faults and future of modern civilization and how theseconnect to the past are tackled in this broad-reaching volume. Presents a study of modernity that examines classicalinfluences Incorporates political, economic, social, and psychologicaltheories Highlights writings from a wide range of thinkers, includingAdam Smith, Marx, Mill, Nietzsche, Weber, and Freud
Salem And The Sphinx War is about a boy warrior and his angel dragon Medea that have to set out to fight evil and to protect the light. Salem is a young orphaned boy and Medea is a solid white angel dragon, as well as the princess of the northern angel dragons, she is a fireless type of dragon with fur instead of scales. Angel dragons didn't possess the ability to breath fire and they had very little defense since they didn't have scales, but fur instead. The angel dragons did posses the ability to use advanced magic however and could easily summon a lightning bolt, or turn the enemy to stone. Together Salem and Medea will set out to defend Delmore and the light from the rise of the evil sphinxes sought on destroying the human race and everything good. They will also have to fight against an evil country called Tarkay as well, a country sought on spreading it's darkness and burying the light. Tarkay seeks to defeat Delmore and all the other peace loving countries, they want to kill anything good and extinguish the light. Tarkay is lead by the evil King Grevill, the evil king of Tarkay that wants to spread his evil and destroy the powers of the light, the force of good. During their quest both Salem and Medea would face hardships along the way, they would have to defend themselves against the darkness or they would perish. Salem and Medea would prove to be the perfect companions to each other, Salem for his wise, but brave personality and Medea for her caring, but loyal and protective personality over her dragon friend. She would save his life countless times during their quest and would fit the role of fates' decision about being his guardian. Come along with Salem and Medea as they fight to track down the Legends Sword before time runs out and its too late. For more information about the future of the series and the books more information can be found at the official website. https://www.armorstrongbooks.com/ #Dragons #Dragon_Rider #Dragon_Friend #Dragon_Princess #Fantasy #Epic_Fantasy #Dragons_Fantasy
In this update of a popular text, Leveton draws from the works of Moreno, Erickson, Satir, and Perls. She fashions a psychodramatic approach that will help therapists practice more effective group work. New to this edition is material on drama therapy and supervision in institutional settings. "...a delightful and informative journey into a world of psychodrama for both the experienced and newly-trained timid clinician. Ms. Leveton has clearly vitalized the use of psychodrama." -- (about the second edition) "...relevant, alive and exceedingly helpful." --Virginia Satir, From the Foreword to the first edition
