Tough Choices
Tough Choices

Author: Ekaterina Hertog

Publisher: Stanford University Press

Published: 2009-08-07

Total Pages: 241

ISBN-13: 0804772398

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As is the case in Western industrialized countries, Japan is seeing a rise in the number of unmarried couples, later marriages, and divorces. What sets Japan apart, however, is that the percentage of children born out of wedlock has hardly changed in the past fifty years. This book provides the first systematic study of single motherhood in contemporary Japan. Seeking to answer why illegitimate births in Japan remain such a rarity, Hertog spent over three years interviewing single mothers, academics, social workers, activists, and policymakers about the beliefs, values, and choices that unmarried Japanese mothers have. Pairing her findings with extensive research, she considers the economic and legal disadvantages these women face, as well as the cultural context that underscores family change and social inequality in Japan. This is the only scholarly account that offers sufficient detail to allow for extensive comparisons with unmarried mothers in the West.

Royal Bastards
Royal Bastards

Author: Peter de Vere Beauclerk-Dewar

Publisher: History PressLtd

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 286

ISBN-13: 9780752446684

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Sex, power, mystery and blood - this fresh approach to the British monarchy recounts gripping, untold stories about their unofficial offspring.

The Book of Harold
The Book of Harold

Author: Owen Egerton

Publisher: Catapult

Published: 2012-05-01

Total Pages: 241

ISBN-13: 1593764383

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The Book of Harold is as profound and deeply respectful a novel as it is irreverent in its wild, often hilarious take on a modern messianic movement in suburbia. The titular and sometimes exasperating hero of this masterful satire is Harold Peeks, a middle-aged suburbanite living a lonely if typical modern life in the outskirts of Houston, Texas. His world feels bland and pointless until one evening at a mundane office party he announces to his stunned co-workers that he is the Second Coming of Christ. Oddly enough, people start to believe him. Blake Waterson, Harold's closest friend and narrator of the novel, is as skeptical as anyone of this disheveled and disconcertingly bawdy Savior and yet this would-be Judas is compelled to follow Harold on his two-hundred mile walking journey to Austin with a mismatched group of equally puzzled disciples. On the road, this motley crew of witnesses to the holy get to experience misguided converts, violent possums, and the ungrateful recipients of off-kilter healings. They also discover the inherent paradoxes, absurdities, and dangers of spirituality, as they learn that saviors may not have all the answers, and humanity is just as bizarre and beautiful as the beliefs we hold.

Royal Bastards
Royal Bastards

Author: Sara McDougall

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2017

Total Pages: 327

ISBN-13: 0198785828

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The stigmatization as 'bastards' of children born outside of wedlock is commonly thought to have emerged early in Medieval European history. Christian ideas about legitimate marriage, it is assumed, set the standard for legitimate birth. Children born to anything other than marriage had fewer rights or opportunities. They certainly could not become king or queen. As this volume demonstrates, however, well into the late twelfth century, ideas of what made a child a legitimate heir had little to do with the validity of his or her parents' union according to the dictates of Christian marriage law. Instead a child's prospects depended upon the social status, and above all the lineage, of both parents. To inherit a royal or noble title, being born to the right father mattered immensely, but also being born to the right kind of mother. Such parents could provide the most promising futures for their children, even if doubt was cast on the validity of the parents' marriage. Only in the late twelfth century did children born to illegal marriages begin to suffer the same disadvantages as the children born to parents of mixed social status. Even once this change took place we cannot point to 'the Church' as instigator. Instead, exclusion of illegitimate children from inheritance and succession was the work of individual litigants who made strategic use of Christian marriage law. This new history of illegitimacy rethinks many long-held notions of medieval social, political, and legal history.

Other Tudors: Henry VIII's Mistresses & Bastards
Other Tudors: Henry VIII's Mistresses & Bastards

Author: Philippa Jones

Publisher: Fox Chapel Publishing

Published: 2017-03-07

Total Pages: 348

ISBN-13: 1607652374

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Forget everything you thought you knew about Henry the Eighth. While Henry VIII has frequently been portrayed as a womanizer, author Philippa Jones reveals a new side to his character. Although he was never faithful, Jones sees him as a serial monogamist: he spent his life in search of a perfect woman, a search that continued even as he lay dying. This book brings together for the first time the 'other women' of King Henry VIII. When he first came to the throne, Henry VIII's mistresses were dalliances, the playthings of a powerful and handsome man. However, when Anne Boleyn disrupted that pattern, ousting Katherine of Aragon to become Henry's wife, a new status quo was established. Suddenly noble families fought to entangle the king with their sisters and daughters; if wives were to be beheaded or divorced so easily, the mistress of the king was in an enviable position. Yet he loved each of his wives and mistresses, he was a romantic who loved being in love, but none of these loves ever fully satisfied him; all were ultimately replaced. "The Other Tudors" examines the extraordinary untold tales of the women who Henry loved but never married, the mistresses who became queens and of his many children, both acknowledged and unacknowledged. Philippa Jones takes us deep into the web of secrets and deception at the Tudor Court and explores another, often unmentioned, side to the King's character.

In the Family Way
In the Family Way

Author: Jane Robinson

Publisher: National Geographic Books

Published: 2016-03-22

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 0241962919

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Only a generation or two ago, illegitimacy was one of the most shameful things that could happen in a family. In the Family Way tells secrets kept for entire lifetimes: long-silent voices from the workhouse, the Magdalene Laundry or the distant mother-and-baby home. Anonymous childhoods are recalled, spent in the care of Dr Barnardo or a Child Migration scheme halfway across the world. There are sorrowful stories in this book, but it is also about hope: about supportive families who welcomed 'love-children' home, or those who were parted and are now reconciled. Most of all, In the Family Way is about finally telling the truth.

John of Moravia between the Czech Lands and the Patriarchate of Aquileia (ca. 1345–1394)
John of Moravia between the Czech Lands and the Patriarchate of Aquileia (ca. 1345–1394)

Author: Ondřej Schmidt

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2019-09-16

Total Pages: 363

ISBN-13: 9004407898

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In this book, Ondřej Schmidt offers a critical biography of John of Moravia, illegitimate son of the Moravian Margrave John Henry from the Luxembourg dynasty. Earlier research has confused John with another son of the Margrave, but here, the author argues that John actually became provost of Vyšehrad (1368–1380), bishop of Litomyšl (1380–1387), and eventually patriarch of Aquileia (1387–1394). The study provides a detailed account of John’s life and his assassination in the wider context of princely bastards’ careers, the Luxembourg dynasty, and Czech and Italian history. Schmidt also explores the development of the “second life” of John of Moravia in the historical memory of the following centuries. First published in Czech by Vyšehrad Publishers Ltd as Jan z Moravy. Zapomenutý Lucemburk na aquilejském stolci, Prague, 2016

Royal Bastards
Royal Bastards

Author: Peter Beauclerk-Dewar

Publisher: The History Press

Published: 2011-10-24

Total Pages: 367

ISBN-13: 0752473166

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Since 1066 when William the Conqueror (alias William the Bastard) took the throne, English and Scottish kings have sired at least 150 children out of wedlock. Many were acknowedged at court and founded dynasties of their own - several of today's dukedoms are descended from them. Others were only acknowledged grudgingly or not at all. In the twentieth century this trend for royals to father illegitimate children continued, but the parentage, while highly probably, has not been officially recognised. This book - split into four sections: Tudor, Stuart, Henoverian and, perhaps most fascinating, Royal Loose Ends - is a genuinely fresh approach to British kings and queens, examining their lives and times through the unfamiliar perspective of their illegitimate children.

The Bastard Child
The Bastard Child

Author: Sean P. Hoggs

Publisher: Author House

Published: 2013-11

Total Pages: 230

ISBN-13: 149183286X

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The Bastard Child is the long awaited autobiography by author Sean P. Hoggs. His gripping true-life story takes the reader from his abusive and turbulent childhood, through his struggles as a homeless teenager (in the violent inner city streets of Central New Jersey), to his incredible rise onto the national and international stage as an humanitarian and mentor. Each chapter is a remarkable, yet humble, testament to resiliency and perseverance. Regardless of age, race, socioeconomic background, start or station in life, his tragedy to triumph story is one for the ages. The Bastard Child is an uplifting American success story that goes far beyond your stereotypical "rags to riches" story shared today. If you ever hungered for an inspirational life story to help you overcome personal hardship or a challenge in life, this book is simply a must read. The Bastard Child..."To say that this book will change many lives is an understatement. I am forever changed since reading it. A book like this comes along once in a generation!" -Dione Lauray-Davis (Community Activist) The Bastard Child..."Once I picked the book up, I could not put it down. This autobiography is a must read, it's inspiring me to continue my education. I highly recommend this book for anyone who's having any kind of doubts about achieving their goals in life." -Terrence Bellamy (Youth Advocate and Retired Law Enforcement Officer) The Bastard Child..."Is a must read autobiography for any adult or at risk youth that is struggling with his or her direction in life." "Powerful...!" -Vernice Jackson (Mother, Washington D.C.)