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Hereafter: The Telling Life of Ellen O'Hara (The Glucksman Irish Diaspora Series #6)
by Vona GroarkeWinner of the 2024 Michel Déon Prize for Non-FictionA lyrical portrait of a young Irish woman reinventing herself at the turn of the twentieth century in AmericaEllen O’Hara was a young immigrant from Ireland at the end of the nineteenth century who, with courage and resilience, made a life for herself in New York while financially supporting those at home. Hereafter is her story, told by Vona Groarke, her descendant, in a beautiful blend of poetry, prose, and history. In July 1882, Ellen O’Hara stepped off a ship from the West of Ireland to begin a new life in New York. What she encountered was a world of casual racial prejudice that characterized her as ignorant, dirty, and feckless, the butt of many jokes. From the slim range of jobs available to her she, like, many of her kind, found a position as a domestic servant, working long hours and living in to save on rent and keep. After an unfortunate marriage, Ellen determined to win financial security on her own, and eventually opened a boarding house where her two children were able to rejoin her. Vona Groarke builds this story from historical fact, drawing from various archives for evidence of Ellen. However, she also considers why lives such as Ellen’s seem to leave such a light trace in such records and fills in the gaps with memory and empathetic projection. Ellen—scrappy, skeptical, and straight-talking—is the heroine of Hereafter, whose resilience animates the story and whose voice shines through with vivid clarity. Hereafter is both a compelling account of an incredible figure and a reflection on how one woman’s story can speak for more than one life.
Heretic Queen: Queen Elizabeth I and the Wars of Religion
by Susan RonaldAcclaimed biographer Susan Ronald delivers a stunning account of Elizabeth I that focuses on her role in the Wars on Religion—the battle between Protestantism and Catholicisim that tore apart Europe in the 16th CenturyElizabeth's 1558 coronation procession was met with an extravagant outpouring of love. Only twenty-five years old, the young queen saw herself as their Protestant savior, aiming to provide the nation with new hope, prosperity, and independence from the foreign influence that had plagued her sister Mary's reign. Given the scars of the Reformation, Elizabeth would need all of the powers of diplomacy and tact she could summon. Extravagant, witty, and hot-tempered, Elizabeth was the ultimate tyrant. Yet at the outset, in religious matters, she was unfathomably tolerant for her day. "There is only one Christ, Jesus, one faith," Elizabeth once proclaimed. "All else is a dispute over trifles." Heretic Queen is the highly personal, untold story of how Queen Elizabeth I secured the future of England as a world power. Susan Ronald paints the queen as a complex character whose apparent indecision was really a political tool that she wielded with great aplomb.
Heretic's Heart: A Journey Through Spirit and Revolution
by Margot AdlerStarting in 1964, writes Margot Adler in this dazzling memoir, "I found myself mysteriously at the center of extraordinary events." Now a correspondent for National Public Radio, Adler was a young woman determined to be taken seriously and to be an agent of change--on her own terms, free from dogma and authoritarian constraints. From campus activism at the University of California at Berkeley to civil rights work in Mississippi, from antiwar protests to observing the socialist revolution in Cuba, she found those chances in the 1960s. Heretic's Heart illuminates the events, ideas, passions, and ecstatic commitments of the decade like no other memoir. At the book's center is the powerful--and unique--correspondence between Adler, then an antiwar activist at Berkeley, and a young American soldier fighting in Vietnam. The correspondence begins when Adler reads a letter the infantryman has written to a Berkeley newspaper. "I've heard rumors that there are people back in the world who don't believe this war should be. I'm not positive of this though, 'cause it seems to me that if enough of them told the right people in the right way, then something might be done about it. . . . You see, while you're discussing it amongst each other, being beat, getting in bed with dark-haired artists . . . some people here are dying for lighting a cigarette at night." Heretic's Heart also explores Adler's attempt to come to terms with her singular legacy as the only grandchild of Alfred Adler, collaborator of Freud and founder of Individual Psychology, and as the daughter of a forceful beauty who bequeaths her spunk and adventurousness to her daughter, but whose overpowering personality forces Adler to strike out on her own. Adler's memoir marks an initiatory journey from spirit through politics and revolution back to spirit again. Revealing, funny, joyful, and often wise, Heretic's Heart will restore the spirit of the 1960s: the passion, the confusion, the sense of social transformation and limitless possibility, and the ecstatic feeling that the world is on the cusp of change.
Heretic: A Memoir
by Jeanna KadlecA memoir of leaving the evangelical church and the search for radical new ways to build community. Jeanna Kadlec knew what it meant to be faithful--in her marriage to a pastor’s son, in the comfortable life ahead of her, in her God--but there was no denying the truth that lived under that conviction: she was queer and, if she wanted to survive, she would need to leave behind the church and every foundational building block she knew. Heretic is a memoir of rebirth. Within, Kadlec reckons with religious trauma and Midwestern values, as a means of unveiling how evangelicalism directly impacts every American--religious or not--and has been a major force in driving our democracy towards fascism. From the story of Lilith to celebrity purity rings, Kadlec interrogates how her indoctrination and years of piety intersects with her Midwest working-class upbringing. As she navigated graduate school, a new home on the East Coast, and a new marriage, another insidious truth began to reveal itself --that conservative Christianity has both built and undermined our political power structures, poisoned our pop culture, and infected how we interact with one another in ways that the secular population couldn’t see. Weaving the personal with powerful critique, Heretic explores how we can radically abandon these painful systems by taking a sledgehammer to the comfortable. Whether searching for community in the face of millennial loneliness or wanting to reclaim a secular form of fellowship in everyday life, Kadlec envisions the brilliant possibilities that come with not only daring to want a different way but actually striking out and claiming it for ourselves.
Heretic: Jesus Christ and the Other Sons of God
by Catherine Nixey“Heretic has the mother lode of tales too hot for Christendom. Nixey has carefully wrung out a number of apocryphal texts for scandal.” —Harper's Magazine From a celebrated classicist and author of The Darkening Age (“[a] ballista-bolt of a book”—New York Times Book Review), a biography of the many, diverse variations of Jesus who thrived in early Christian traditions—and how they were lost until just one “true” Christ survived.Contrary to the teachings of the church today, in the first several centuries of Christianity’s existence, there was no consensus as to who Jesus was or why he had mattered. Instead, there were many different Christs. One had a twin brother and traveled to India; another consorted with dragons. One particularly terrifying Christ scorned his parents and killed those who opposed him.Moreover, in the early years of the first millennium there were many other saviors, many sons of gods who healed the sick and cured the lame. But as Christianity spread, they were pronounced unacceptable – even heretical – and they faded from view.Heretic unearths the different versions of Christ who existed in the minds of early Christians, and the process of evolution—and elimination—by which Jesus became the singular figure we know today. "A brilliant book—sometimes frightening, occasionally funny, frequently unsettling and always a thrill to read. It probes painfully into the pathology of belief." — The Times
Here’s the Story: A Memoir
by Mary McAleeseThe groundbreaking two-term President of Ireland tells the stories of her lifeWhen a young Mary McAleese told a priest that she planned to become a lawyer, the priest dismissed the idea: she knew no one in the law, and she was female. The reality of what she went on to achieve - despite those obstacles, and despite a sectarian attack that forced her family to flee their home - is even more improbable.In this luminous memoir, Mary McAleese traces that astonishing arc: from the tight streets of north Belfast, to a professorship in Dublin while still in her twenties, behind-the-scenes work on the peace process, and two triumphant terms as President of Ireland. She writes of her encounters with prime ministers, popes and royalty with the same easy candour and intimacy with which she describes her childhood. And her account of the latest act in her remarkable career - quietly pursuing a doctorate, and loudly opposing the misogyny of the Catholic Church - is inspiring.Here's the Story is warm, witty, often surprising and relentlessly fascinating: an extraordinarily intimate memoir by one of the most remarkable public figures of our time._______________'A fascinating story and well worth the read' Irish Times'Riveting ... A fiercely urgent reminder to the world - and the Government - that peace must never be sacrificed for politics' Telegraph 'Excellent' Matt Cooper, Irish Daily Mail'I was enthralled and absorbed by this memoir' Sunday Independent'What an incredible life lived by an outstanding role model. I ate this book up' Sinéad Moriarty'Full of conviction and isn't afraid of plain speaking ... Priests, popes, paramilitaries and Ian Paisley are all held to account' Herald Scotland '[A] chatty, provocative and embraceable biography' RTÉ Guide
Herinneringen aan mijn dorp
by Cristiano ParafioritiDiep in de bergen van het Nebrodi-natuurpark, ligt het dorp Galati Mamertino, waar de muren een lange historie met zich meedragen. 'Era il mio paese' laat ons een klein gedeelte van deze historie herbeleven. Aan de hand van twintig verhalen die bol staan van levendige personages, betoverende geuren en klassieke smaken, schetst Cristiano Parafioriti een beeld van zijn jeugd, waarbij fictie en werkelijkheid op kundige wijze worden afgewisseld. In deze verhalenbundel klinkt de zwakke stem van het zuiden van Italië door. Het is een verstikte stem als gevolg van een algeheel gevoel van berusting en melancholie, maar ook als gevolg van de liefde voor een reeds lang vervlogen tijd, voor een arm en wreed eiland dat uitgeput en beschadigd is geraakt door aanhoudende armoede, onrecht en emigratie. Sicilië verdwijnt echter nooit uit de gedachten van degenen die dit eiland ooit verlieten. Deze gedachten vormen als het ware een bezinksel van emoties in het hart dat tot uiting komt in de vorm van woorden, gedachten en beelden van een tijd, een dag of een moment dat werd beleefd en nog steeds emoties kan losmaken.
Heritage Tourism: Vietnam and Asia (Global Vietnam: Across Time, Space and Community)
by V. Dao Truong David W. KnightThis book provides an overview of research and best practices associated with heritage tourism, with a particular focus on Vietnam, in conversation with heritage tourism in other Asian contexts. These include Iran in the Middle East, Sri Lanka in South Asia, Japan and China in East Asia, Thailand in Southeast Asia, and Brunei and the Philippines in the South Pacific. By delving into crucial questions and challenges relating to cultural innovation, preservation, and authenticity, it offers key lessons for policy-making and theorisation which not only contribute to understanding and improving heritage tourism in Vietnam, specifically, and in Asia more broadly, but also inform efforts to preserve and regenerate both natural and cultural heritage on a global scale. It is relevant to researchers and student communities working within areas of heritage, sustainability, tourism, geography, and in Asian studies.
Heritage and Legitimacy: Cultural Governance in Modern Iraq
by Madison LeesonThis book offers cultural governance as a theoretical framework for the exploration of 20th-century Iraqi political history, from the foundation of the Imperial Tribal School in Constantinople in 1892 until 1992, the end of the Iraq-Kuwait crisis. Case studies investigate the diversity of cultural governance as an analytical tool for historical heritage management, from the protection of antiquities and guardianship of holy shrines to the use of heritage for corporate legitimacy, the dissemination of conservation expertise throughout the Arab world, and management of heritage in times of conflict. This material explores negotiations of power and sovereignty between local caretakers, officials of the Mandate administration, members of the Iraqi and Arab intelligentsia, UNESCO consultants, and Iraqi state officials, among others, underlining the ideological pluralism of governance efforts throughout the period. This research offers a historical analysis of cultural projects and programs in Iraq to consider the sociopolitical conditions that shaped their governance. The material included this book is based on previously unpublished archives from the Ottoman Prime Ministry Archives, Middle East and North African Newspapers Collection, and UNESCO Archives, among other repositories. The work addresses a gap in scholarship which has neglected the role of cultural governance in heritage management and development in Iraq. The primary audience is academic scholars, historians, and educational institutions although the book will also be of interest to individuals in Iraq, in the Iraqi diaspora abroad, and those with a general interest in modern Middle East studies.
Heritage in Eight Acts: International Themes (The Latin American Studies Book Series)
by Rodrigo ChristofolettiHeritage in Eight Acts brings together contributions on cultural heritage at an international level with an emphasis on Latin American and Ibero-American studies, addressing points of convergence between the local and the global in an accessible and direct way. It discusses themes that have gained importance on the heritage preservation agenda, signaling how Latin America and Europe have expanded their connections and actions in favor of the multiplicity of heritage. Eight scholars from diverse backgrounds bring critical and nuanced understandings of heritage to the context of international relations. From architecture to history and from archeology to art history, each contribution displays methodological creativity and analytical depth. The result is a synthesis with the impact of showing how points of connection can bring Latin America closer to Europe, but not from a relationship of subalternity, but of shared protagonism.
Heritage in War and Peace: Legal and Political Perspectives for Future Protection (Law and Visual Jurisprudence #12)
by Mirosław Michał Sadowski Gianluigi Mastandrea BonaviriThis edited collection, which brings together nearly fifty authors from across the globe and various disciplines, makes a valuable contribution to the field of conservation, covering a wide range of topics regarding the protection of heritage in times of war and peace. Uniquely linking the two typically separate perspectives, the book builds on the wealth of discussions that took place during the 2021 and 2022 installments of the international “Heritage in War and Peace” Seminars held in Rome and Montréal, respectively.Issues explored in the volume include but are not limited to questions surrounding the protection of contentious heritages, unsustainability of the current dichotomic cultural/natural heritage protection frameworks, digitalization of heritage, place of heritage in military conflicts, use of heritage by armed non-state actors, indigenous peoples’ relationships with heritage, the intersection of intellectual property (IP) law and heritage, human rights matters linked to heritage protection, and the latest case studies surrounding restitution.Given its scope, the book will be of particular interest not only to practitioners and conservation specialists but also to academics and students in the broader social sciences and humanities, and to all those who hope to preserve our heritage for future generations.
Heritage-Making in Hong Kong Through Culture and Religion
by Trevor Sofield Lawal Mohammed Marafa Fung Mei Li Kwo Fung ShekThis book centres on religious heritage-making where religion as a rich and diverse manifestation of culture and community empowerment lead to the transformation of place. Fusing heritage and religion in the novel multidisciplinary concept ‘heri-ligion’, the authors illuminate the dynamics of change inherent in religious-oriented heritage-making. Grounded in empirical evidence, this rich concept integrates religious tourism, heritage tourism, and community-based empowerment for sustainable development. Applying this unique concept to the once abandoned Hakka village of Yim Tin Tsai, the authors analyse the evolving paths of the island from its Hakka origins to a Christian pilgrimage site, and more recently, to a UNESCO cultural heritage site and thriving tourist destination. The authors foreground the important role of the scattered community as a key agent of change in facilitating a sustainable environment of Hong Kong’s only salt-producing place today. A dynamic example of community development and empowerment founded upon religious, cultural, industrial and natural heritage, this book uniquely contributes to tourism and heritage studies, human geography, cultural sociology, Hakka studies, Asian studies, and anthropology of religion.
Herman B Wells: The Promise of the American University
by James H. CapshewEnergetic, shrewd, and charming, Herman B Wells was the driving force behind the transformation of Indiana University—which became a model for American public higher education in the 20th century. A person of unusual sensitivity and a skilled and empathetic communicator, his character and vision shaped the structure, ethos, and spirit of the institution in countless ways. Wells articulated a persuasive vision of the place of the university in the modern world. Under his leadership, Indiana University would grow in size and stature, establishing strong connections to the state, the nation, and the world. His dedication to the arts, to academic freedom, and to international education remained hallmarks of his 63-year tenure as President and University Chancellor. Wells lavished particular attention on the flagship campus at Bloomington, expanding its footprint tenfold in size and maintaining its woodland landscape as new buildings and facilities were constructed. Gracefully aging in place, he became a beloved paterfamilias to the IU clan. Wells built an institution, and, in the process, became one himself.
Herman Melville: A Half Known Life (Rotunda: New Digital Scholarship Ser.)
by John BryantA comprehensive exploration of Melville’s formative years, providing a new biographical foundation for today’s generations of Melville readers Herman Melville: A Half Known Life, Volumes 1 and 2, follows Herman Melville’s life from early childhood to his astonishing emergence as a bestselling novelist with the publication of Typee in 1846. These volumes comprise the first half of a comprehensive biography on Melville, grounded in archival research, new scholarship, and incisive critical readings. Author John Bryant, a distinguished Melville scholar, editor, critic, and educator, traces the events and experiences that shaped the many-stranded consciousness of one of literature’s greatest writers. This in-depth and innovative biography covers Melville’s family history and literary friendships, his father-longing, god-hunger, and search for the hidden nature of Being, the genesis of his liberal politics, his empathy for African Americans, Native Americans, Polynesians, South Americans, and immigrants. Original perspectives on Melville’s earliest identities—orphaned son, sibling, farmer, teacher, debater, lover, actor, sailor—provide the context for Melville’s evolution as a writer. The biography presents new information regarding Melville’s reading, his early orations and acting experience, his life at sea and on the road, and the unsettling death of his older, rival brother from mercury poisoning. It provides insights on experiences such as Melville’s trauma at the loss of his father, his learning to write amidst a coterie siblings, his struggles to find work during economic depression, his journey West, his life in whaling and in the navy, and his vagabondage in the South Pacific during the moment of American and European imperial incursions. A significant addition to Melville scholarship, this important biographical work: Explores the nature and development of Melville’s creative consciousness, through the lens of his revisions in manuscript and print Assesses Melville’s sexual growth and exploration of the spectrum of his masculinities Highlights Melville’s relevance in contemporary democratic society Discusses Melville’s blending of dark humor and tragedy in his unique version of the picturesque Examines the ‘replaying’ of Melville’s life traumas throughout his entire works, from Typee, Omoo, Redburn, White-Jacket, Moby-Dick, Pierre, Israel Potter, and The Confidence-Man to his shorter works, including “Bartleby,” his epic Clarel, his poetry, and his last novella Billy Budd Covers such cultural and historical events as the American revolution of his grandparents, the whaling industry, New York slavery, street life and theater in Manhattan, the transatlantic slave trade, the Jacksonian economy, Indian removal, Pacific colonialism, and westward expansion Written in an engaging style for scholars and general readers alike, Herman Melville: A Half Known Life, Volumes 1 and 2 is an indispensable new source of information and insights for those interested in Melville, 19th-century and modern literature and culture, and readers of general American history and literary culture.
Herman Melville: The Tragedy of Mind
by William Ellery SedgwickAn edition intended to the study of Melville from a particular point of view, rather than an exhaustive treatment.
Hermann Hesse: An Illustrated Biography
by Bernhard ZellerAn illustrated biography drawing on Hesse's own work and on the recollections of his family and friendsBernhard Zeller depicts Herman Hesse's ancestry and childhood, spent in the small German town where Hesse was born in 1877, and traces his adolescence and early manhood. He describes his relationship with his first wife, his emigration to Switzerland in protest against German militarism, his Jungian psychoanalysis, the visit to India which inspired his narrative masterpieces Siddhartha and Journey to the East, and the breakup of his marriage. Hesse's growing Iiterary reputation coincided with his brief second marriage, and with his peaceful later years in Montagnola spent in the company of his third wife, Ninon, whom he married in 1931. His stature was not fully recognized outside German-speaking countries until after his death in 1962. Zeller also recalls Hesse's circle of friends, including his famous contemporaries such as Thomas Mann and Andre Gide. This valuable documentary portrait is illustrated with photographs from Hermann Hesse's private collection. In addition, it includes a bibliography and chronology.
Hermann Roesler and the Making of the Meiji State
by Johannes SiemesThat Imperial Japan closely resembled authoritarian Germany was no simple coincidence. This book explores the effect of German thought on nineteenth century Japan, focusing on Hermann Roesler-the most influential collaborator.The Meiji leadership was committed to an authoritarian form of government. At the same time it was also clearly committed to a constitutional system. The mid and late 1880's saw the efforts of Japan's most capable leaders directed to the formation and rationalization of this ambivalent system. Because German socio-political ideas played an important role in this process, it is necessary to examine closely the extent of German influences on the Japanese leaders.All the standard Western works on Meiji Japan refer in passing to the influence of German, and in particular of Prussian, political and legal theories. Of the many German scholars who worked in Japan during the mid-Meiji period who were responsible for weighty changes, Hermann Roesler is considered one of the most influential in regard to political thought. Employed by the Japanese government as adviser on legal affairs from 0878, he was until 1893 one of the most trusted and esteemed collaborators of Ito Hirobumi.
Hermann Von Helmholtz and the Foundations of Nineteenth-Century Science
by David CahanRepresents a significant contribution not only to Helmholtz scholarship but also to the history of nineteenth-century science and philosophy in general.
Hermano: La confesión de Mariano Macri sobre la trama de poder, política, negocios y familia de su hermano Mauricio
by Santiago O'DonnellEl hermano menor de Mauricio Macri cuenta todo lo que sabe del ex presidente: anécdotas, características, sus manejos como empresario y como político. "Este libro es para resolver una situación de sometimiento, extorsión, maltrato y aislamiento. Que la gente lea y se pronuncie". Como ha sucedido con las grandes revelaciones que cambiaron el curso de la historia, Santiago O'Donnell se encontró con un testigo invalorable. Mariano, el hermano menor del ex presidente Mauricio Macri, le detalló, durante las entrevistas que mantuvieron, el maltrato y el sistema de chantaje y estafas que primero destruyeron a la familia y, luego, a la Argentina. Solo un periodista con la experiencia de Santiago O'Donnell -y un prestigio global por investigaciones como Wikileaks y Panamá Papers- podía rastrear, chequear y profundizar en esos secretos íntimos que su entrevistado iba contándole encuentro tras encuentro. Hermano es el resultado de ese trabajo minucioso con los dichos y los testimonios pero también con la información y los hechos concretos. Roto con dolor el pacto de silencio y amenazas de una vida, Mariano pudo detallar las intrigas domésticas, los movimientos empresariales y las manipulaciones políticas que llevaron al poder a Mauricio Macri.
Hermione
by Hilda Doolittle“H. D's wit, sense of rhythm, and control of language prove the inadequacy of the imagist label that is so often applied to this writer.” —Library Journal This autobiographical novel, an interior self-portrait of the poet H. D. (1886-1961) is what can best be described as a "find,' a posthumous treasure. In writing HERmione, H.D. returned to a year in her life that was "peculiarly blighted." She was in her early twenties––"a disappointment to her father, an odd duckling to her mother, an importunate, overgrown, unincarnated entity that had no place… Waves to fight against, to fight against alone…'I am Hermione Gart, a failure’––she cried in her dementia, 'l am Her, Her, Her."' She had failed at Bryn Mawr, she felt hemmed in by her family, she did not yet know what she was going to do with her life. The return from Europe of the wild-haired George Lowndes (Ezra Pound) expanded her horizons but threatened her sense of self. An intense new friendship with Fayne Rabb (Frances Josepha Gregg), an odd girl who was, if not lesbian, then certainly of bisexual bent, brought an atmosphere that made her hold on everyday reality more tenuous. This stormy course led to mental breakdown, then to a turning point and a new beginning as her own true self, as "Her”––the poet H.D. Perdita Schaffner, H.D.'s daughter, who can remember back to the time in 1927 when her mother was barricaded with her typewriter behind a locked door, working on this very novel, has provided a charming and telling introduction.
Hermit in Paris
by Italo CalvinoFrom one of modern literature's most captivating and elusive masters comes a posthumous volume of thoughtful, elegant, and quick-witted autobiographical writings, all previously unpublished in English. Here is Italo Calvino paying homage to his literary influences and tracing the evolution of his signature style. Here are his reminiscences of Italy's antifascist resistance and the frenzy of politics and ideas of the postwar era. The longest and most delightfully revealing section of the book is Calvino's diary of his travels in the United States in 1959 and 1960, which show him marveling at color TV, wrinkling his nose at the Beats, and reeling at the outpouring of racial hatred attending a civil rights demonstration in Alabama. Overflowing with insight and amusement, Hermit in Paris is an invaluable addition to the Calvino legacy.From the Trade Paperback edition.
Hermit in Paris: Autobiographical Writings (Vintage International Ser.)
by Italo CalvinoThis collection of journals, interviews and travelogues by the author of Invisible Cities has “something fascinating on every page” (The Guardian, UK).This posthumously published collection offers a unique, puzzle-like portrait of one of the postwar era’s most inventive and mercurial writers. In letters and journals, occasional pieces and interviews, Italo Calvino recalls growing up in seaside Italy and fighting in the antifascist resistance during World War II. He traces the course of his literary career and reflects on his many travels, including a journey through the United States in 1959 and 1960 that brings out his droll wit at its best. Sparkling with wisdom and unexpected delights, Hermit in Paris is an autobiography like no other.“Surprising, tart, and distinctive, like [Calvino] himself.” —Philadelphia Inquirer
Hermit: A darkly hilarious, moving debut novel about a misfit son and mum
by Chris McQueer'An utter triumph . . . Far and away the best debut novel I've read in a very long time' JOHN NIVEN, author of O BROTHER'As compelling as doom scrolling' THE HERALD MAGAZINE 'A story of shame, transgression and the distances we will travel in order to feel less alone. I was so moved' ANNIE MACMANUS, author of MOTHER MOTHER'[An] empathetic novel . . . Masterful' ALICE SLATER, author of DEATH OF A BOOKSELLERSince dropping out of school three years ago with no qualifications, no pals, and no ambition, Jamie Skelton spends most of his days asleep and most of his nights wanking, playing video games with his online friend, Lee, and occasionally making the journey downstairs to the kitchen for a microwave burger. He hasn't left the house in months, and now he's not sure he can. Fiona, Jamie's maw, is trying her best, but since finding the courage to kick out her abusive husband her confidence has never recovered. She goes to work every day, but otherwise she's not that different from her son - withdrawn from life, without friends. She knows their lives can't carry on like this, but she's at a loss to know how to change things. When Fiona tries to get Jamie to apply for a job, he sees her as the cause for all of his problems. Then Lee tells Jamie he's realised there's a name for what they are - incels - and that there's a guy he's met through the forums they can go stay with in London, to get away from their nagging mams. But in running away from his problems at home, Jamie may actually be running towards something much worse.Praise for Chris McQueer:'Charlie Brooker on Buckfast' Martin Compston, Line of Duty'[McQueer's] talent zings off the page' Guardian'Impressive' Eric Idle, Monty Python
Hermit: A darkly hilarious, moving debut novel about a misfit son and mum
by Chris McQueer'An utter triumph . . . Far and away the best debut novel I've read in a very long time' JOHN NIVEN, author of O BROTHER'As compelling as doom scrolling' THE HERALD MAGAZINE 'A story of shame, transgression and the distances we will travel in order to feel less alone. I was so moved' ANNIE MACMANUS, author of MOTHER MOTHER'[An] empathetic novel . . . Masterful' ALICE SLATER, author of DEATH OF A BOOKSELLERSince dropping out of school three years ago with no qualifications, no pals, and no ambition, Jamie Skelton spends most of his days asleep and most of his nights wanking, playing video games with his online friend, Lee, and occasionally making the journey downstairs to the kitchen for a microwave burger. He hasn't left the house in months, and now he's not sure he can. Fiona, Jamie's maw, is trying her best, but since finding the courage to kick out her abusive husband her confidence has never recovered. She goes to work every day, but otherwise she's not that different from her son - withdrawn from life, without friends. She knows their lives can't carry on like this, but she's at a loss to know how to change things. When Fiona tries to get Jamie to apply for a job, he sees her as the cause for all of his problems. Then Lee tells Jamie he's realised there's a name for what they are - incels - and that there's a guy he's met through the forums they can go stay with in London, to get away from their nagging mams. But in running away from his problems at home, Jamie may actually be running towards something much worse.Praise for Chris McQueer:'Charlie Brooker on Buckfast' Martin Compston, Line of Duty'[McQueer's] talent zings off the page' Guardian'Impressive' Eric Idle, Monty Python
Hermit: A memoir of finding freedom in a wild place
by Jade Angeles Fitton'I never imagined that the wind would blow me here, to a kind of isolation I have never experienced... There is never anything out here but my shadow, that no one treads on any more'When Jade's partner leaves the barn that they moved into just weeks before, he leaves a dent in the wall and her life unravelled. Numbed from years in a destructive, abusive relationship, she faces an uncertain future and complete solitude. Slowly, with the help of Devon's salted cliffs and damp forested footpaths, Jade comes back to life and discovers the power of being alone.As Jade reacclimatizes, she considers what it means to live alone. Through conversations with other hermits across the world, Fitton sheds light on the myriad - and often misunderstood - ways of living alone: from monks to hikikomori, and the largely ignored female hermit. Jade questions whether hermitic living is possible in an era of constant communication and increased housing costs as she finds herself financially unstable and itinerant. She realises that home doesn't exist within walls, but within the landscape of her childhood home county.Lyrically written, this is an inspirational story of recovery, of finding home, and of celebrating solitude in the natural world.