The tale begins as Arthur, trying to take a fast buck, is accused of poaching by the Black Knight. He attacks the king and--even though Arthur defends himself valiantly with a rubber chicken--defeats him. In order to keep his kingdom, Arthur must answer the most difficult riddle ever: What do women most desire?
Fisher's work is a vivid, lively, and readable translation of the most famous work of England's premier medieval poet. Preserving Chaucer's rhyme and meter and faithfully articulating his poetic voice, Fisher makes Chaucer's tales accessible to a contemporary ear.
This volume is the first affordable, modern collection of all eleven of the known Middle English Gawain tales, and aims to make these texts accessible to a wider, contemporary audience. These poems-The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle, Sir Gawain and the Carle of Carlisle, The Avowyng of Arthur, The Awyntrs off Arthur, The Knightly Tale of Gologras and Gawain, The Greene Knight, The Turke and Sir Gawain, The Marriage of Sir Gawain, The Carle of Carlisle, The Jeaste of Sir Gawain, and King Arthur and King Cornwall-are united by their common concern with the theme of chivalry. Sir Gawain was by far the most popular of Arthur's knights in medieval England, and the verses collected here offer a window not only into English views on Gawain but also attitudes towards the knightly ideal and chivalry. Incorporating glosses and introductions for each text as well as an extensive glossary, this edition is excellent for students of Middle English romance.
In Lady into Fox, Silvia Tebrick, the 24-year-old wife of Richard Tebrick, suddenly becomes a fox while they are out walking in the woods. Mr. Tebrick sends away all the servants in an attempt to keep Silvia's new nature a secret, although Silvia's childhood nurse returns. While Silvia initially acts human, insisting on wearing clothing and playing piquet, her behavior increasingly becomes that characteristic of a vixen, causing the husband a great deal of anguish. Eventually, Mr. Tebrick releases Silvia into the wild, where she gives birth to five kits, whom Tebrick names and plays with every day. Despite Tebrick's efforts to protect Silvia and her cubs, she is ultimately killed by dogs during a fox hunt. Tebrick, who tried to save Silvia from the dogs, is badly wounded, but eventually recovers. In A Man in the Zoo, Josephine Lackett and John Cromartie walking around London Zoo. They had been dating for some time and John was keen to marry Josephine but they are having an argument about it as her father didn’t approve, presumably due to the lack of money on John’s behalf. Josephine Lackett and John Cromartie walking around London Zoo as they were wont to do on a pleasant weekend. He wants them to be married regardless, but she is reluctant to fall out with her family. Exasperated, John compares his situation with the caged animals they are viewing and decides to join them as an exhibit. John’s proposal is accepted by the Zoo’s Board, and he packs his bags and takes up residence in a new cage in the Ape-house.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Have you ever wished you could live in an earlier, more romantic era? Ladies, welcome to the 19th century, where there's arsenic in your face cream, a pot of cold pee sits under your bed, and all of your underwear is crotchless. (Why? Shush, dear. A lady doesn't question.) UNMENTIONABLE is your hilarious, illustrated, scandalously honest (yet never crass) guide to the secrets of Victorian womanhood, giving you detailed advice on: ~ What to wear ~ Where to relieve yourself ~ How to conceal your loathsome addiction to menstruating ~ What to expect on your wedding night ~ How to be the perfect Victorian wife ~ Why masturbating will kill you ~ And more Irresistibly charming, laugh-out-loud funny, and featuring nearly 200 images from Victorian publications, UNMENTIONABLE will inspire a whole new level of respect for Elizabeth Bennett, Scarlet O'Hara, Jane Eyre, and all of our great, great grandmothers. (And it just might leave you feeling ecstatically grateful to live in an age of pants, super absorbency tampons, epidurals, anti-depressants, and not-dying-of-the-syphilis-your-husband-brought-home.)
Welcome to the dark side of Camelot. The acclaimed author of Mortal Engines delivers a “powerfully inventive” re-creation of the King Arthur tale (Booklist, starred review). Gwynna is just a girl who is forced to run when her village is attacked and burns to the ground. To her horror, she is discovered, but it is Myrddin the bard, a traveler and spinner of tales, who has found her. He agrees to protect Gwynna if she will agree to be bound in service to him. Gwynna is frightened but intrigued, for this Myrddin serves the young, rough, and powerful Arthur. In the course of their travels, Myrddin transforms Gwynna into the mysterious Lady of the Lake, a boy warrior, and a spy. It is part of a plot to transform Arthur from the leader of a ragtag war-band into King Arthur, the greatest hero of all time. If Gwynna and Myrrdin’s trickery is discovered, what will become of Gwynna? Worse, what will become of Arthur? Only the endless battling, the mighty belief of men, and the sheer cunning of one remarkable girl will tell. “Nodding to canon and history while not particularly following either Reeve, like Myrddin, turns hallowed myth and supple prose to political purposes, neatly skewering the modern-day cult of spin and the age-old trickery behind it. Smart teens will love this.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Is there room for yet another reworking of the Arthur legend? If it’s this one, yes . . . Absorbing, thought-provoking and unexpectedly timely.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “A multilayered tour de force for mature young readers.” —School Library Journal
A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK • From an award-winning journalist, a poignant and gripping immersion in the life of a young, homeless single mother amid her quest to find stability and shelter in the richest city in America LONGLISTED FOR THE PEN/JEAN STEIN BOOK AWARD • “Riveting . . . a remarkable feat of reporting.”—The New York Times Camila is twenty-two years old and a new mother. She has no family to rely on, no partner, and no home. Despite her intelligence and determination, the odds are firmly stacked against her. In this extraordinary work of literary reportage, Lauren Sandler chronicles a year in Camila’s life—from the birth of her son to his first birthday—as she navigates the labyrinth of poverty and homelessness in New York City. In her attempts to secure a safe place to raise her son and find a measure of freedom in her life, Camila copes with dashed dreams, failed relationships, the desolation of abandonment, and miles of red tape with grit, humor, and uncanny resilience. Every day, more than forty-five million Americans attempt to survive below the poverty line. Every night, nearly sixty thousand people sleep in New York City-run shelters, 40 percent of them children. In This Is All I Got, Sandler brings this deeply personal issue to life, vividly depicting one woman's hope and despair and her steadfast determination to change her life despite the myriad setbacks she encounters. This Is All I Got is a rare feat of reporting and a dramatic story of survival. Sandler’s candid and revealing account also exposes the murky boundaries between a journalist and her subject when it becomes impossible to remain a dispassionate observer. She has written a powerful and unforgettable indictment of a system that is often indifferent to the needs of those it serves, and that sometimes seems designed to fail. Praise for This Is All I Got “A rich, sociologically valuable work that’s more gripping, and more devastating, than fiction.”—Booklist “Vivid, heartbreaking. . . . Readers will be moved by this harrowing and impassioned call for change.”—Publishers Weekly “A closely observed chronicle . . . Sandler displays her journalistic talent by unerringly presenting this dire situation. . . . An impressive blend of dispassionate reporting, pungent condemnation of public welfare, and gritty humanity.” —Kirkus Reviews
London's lawbreakers and loathsome lords ... beware! How does a wealthy widow avoid the marriage market in 1890s London? If you're Lady Theodosia Fortescue-Brown, you hide behind outrageously bad clothing and glasses you don't need. After the disappearance of her husband, Theodosia can't imagine giving up her freedom to marry again and relishes her role as detective to the ladies of the upper echelons of society. When a priceless necklace on loan from the Royal family is stolen, Theodosia must work with the scandalous Lord Montague to recover it before the theft is discovered. But somewhere between setting a brothel on fire, being knocked out in a cemetery in the middle of the night, and narrowly avoiding death via Scotch egg, Theodosia and William fall in love ...