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From “one of the most perceptive, compassionate writers of fiction in America...immensely talented and brave” (Michael Schaub, NPR), a historical saga about love, class, and the past we never escape. The Peacock Feast opens on a June day in 1916 when Louis C. Tiffany, the eccentric glass genius, dynamites the breakwater at Laurelton Hall—his fantastical Oyster Bay mansion, with columns capped by brilliant ceramic blossoms and a smokestack hidden in a blue-banded minaret—so as to foil the town from reclaiming the beach for public use. The explosion shakes both the apple crate where Prudence, the daughter of Tiffany’s prized gardener, is sleeping and the rocks where Randall, her seven-year-old brother, is playing. Nearly a century later, Prudence receives an unexpected visit at her New York apartment from Grace, a hospice nurse and the granddaughter of Randall, who Prudence never saw again after he left at age fourteen for California. The mementos Grace carries from her grandfather’s house stir Prudence’s long-repressed memories and bring her to a new understanding of the choices she made in work and love, and what she faces now in her final days. Spanning the twentieth century and three continents, The Peacock Feast ricochets from Manhattan to San Francisco, from the decadent mansions of the Tiffany family to the death row of a Texas prison, and from the London consultation room of Anna Freud to a Mendocino commune. With psychological acuity and aching eloquence, Lisa Gornick has written a sweeping family drama, an exploration of the meaning of art and the art of dying, and an illuminating portrait of how our decisions reverberate across time and space.
Breathtakingly beautiful and exotic, the peacock inspires devotion among both artists and bird lovers. Its iridescent plumage, when fully displayed, is a delight to behold. The bird itself, as Christine E. Jackson notes in Peacock, appears to enjoy its audience, preening and strutting about within a few feet of humans. It is not surprising, then, that these vain birds and their distinctive feathers have been the prized possessions of kings for nearly three thousand years. Jackson here explores the peacock’s beauty—and its apparent attitude—through fairy tales, fables, and superstitions in both Eastern and Western cultures. Peacock takes stock of the bird as it appears within art, from the earliest mosaics to medieval illuminated manuscripts to modern graphics, with a special emphasis on the peacock’s symbolic value in the nineteenth-century arts and crafts and art nouveau movements. Jackson further details the peacock’s colorful presence in hats, clothing, and even sports equipment. A sweeping combination of social and natural history, Peacock is the first book to bring together all the shimmering, colorful facets of these magnificent birds.
Until Flynn’s neighbor in North Carolina offered him one, he had never considered whether he wanted a peacock. His family became the owners of not one but three charming yet fickle birds: Carl, Ethel, and Mr. Pickle. Here he chronicles their first year as peacock owners, from struggling to build a pen to assisting the local bird doctor in surgery to triumphantly watching a peahen lay her first egg. He also examines the history of peacocks, from their appearance in the Garden of Eden. And Flynn travels across the globe to learn more about the birds firsthand. His book offers surprising lessons about love, grief, fatherhood, and family. -- adapted from jacket.
With Ranulf's life at stake, can Sir Hugh hope to save him? An exclusive digital novella featuring Sir Hugh Corbett, the medieval sleuth of acclaimed historian Paul Doherty's most popular series. Includes an exclusive extract from the eighteenth Corbett novel Dark Serpent. Perfect for fans of Susanna Gregory and Ellis Peters It is 1311 and England seethes with unrest. Sir Hugh Corbett, former keeper of the Secret Seal, has been absent from royal service for over six years. Content to live a life more relaxed with his wife and children in the country Corbett has enjoyed his time away from the machinations of court and the secrets men will kill to keep. But a visit from his new King, Edward II, brings about change. His former protégé, Ranulf Atte-Newgate, now Senior Clerk in the Chancery, has been implicated in the death of a young novice, and Edward has made it clear that Corbett must resume his post and solve the case if Ranulf is not to hang for the murder... Corbett knows that resuming his post will bring him to the fore of Edward's political machinations but with Ranulf's life at stake, does Corbett have any choice but to accept the Seal once more? What readers are saying about Paul Doherty: 'Doherty manages to build in plot twists and misdirection and the whole thing moves at a tremendous pace to the final conclusion' 'A magical author' 'Master storytelling from one of the best authors'
This is the first book to offer a literary analysis of Peacock's novels, including the two ironic medieval romances Maid Marian and The Misfortunes of Elphin. Other works included are Headlong Hall, Melincourt, Nightmare Abbey, Crotchet Castle, The Romances and Gryll Grange.
The king is coming to visit! The lord and lady of Camdenton Manor must work quickly to prepare fo his arrival. It will take weeks to ready rooms, set up tents, and prepare the feast itself. Everyone is busy hunting and hawking, brewing and churning. This will be a feast to remember!
Originally published in 1931, The English Medieval Feast examines the act of feasting and food during the medieval period. The book provides a scholarly look at the human detail involved in the variety of medieval manners and customs which make up the medieval feast. The book introduces the scene of the feast and its service, providing explanations of the food, drink and preparation that comprised the act of the medieval feast. The book also describes in full, certain and notable feasts of the period. The book also includes some historical examination of medieval dietetics which will be of interest to the modern reader.