Author: Elizabeth Ironside
Publisher: Canelo
ISBN: 178863022X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 330
Book Description
Can Helena solve the mystery of a murder in the family that has festered for over two generations? In 1925 the beautiful, bohemian Diana Pollexfen was celebrating her thirtieth birthday with a party at a country estate, but the celebrations soured when her husband died, poisoned by a cocktail that had been liberally laced with some of Diana's photographic chemicals. Sixty years later, Diana's grand-niece, Helena, is also turning thirty, but with rather less fanfare. An overworked attorney in London, Helena's primary social outlet is an obsessive love affair. By way of distraction, Helena starts looking through her great-aunt's papers and soon develops another obsession: Determining just who killed George Pollexfen in that lovely, sunlit garden between the wars. Praise for Elizabeth Ironside ‘Excellent local colour and culture, good adventure and an admirable denouement’ Marcel Berlins ‘She joins those few mystery writers you unreservedly look forward to reading ... a thoroughly satisfying psychological thriller’ Harriet Waugh, Spectator ‘A fine, stylish book to be savoured’ James Melville ‘Superbly handled ... a masterly example of classic crime fiction’ Birmingham Post ‘A spell-binding story of love, murder and deception’ Coventry Evening Telegraph ‘Enticing murder mystery’ Manchester Evening News
Death in the Garden
Author: Michael Brown
Publisher: Grub Street Publishers
ISBN: 152670840X
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 331
Book Description
“Readers who enjoy plants and offbeat tales will find Brown’s book a happy mix” (Publishers Weekly). Mankind has always had a morbid fascination with poisonous plants. Over the centuries, poisonous plants have been used to remove garden pests—as well as unwanted rivals and deceitful partners. They have also been used for their medicinal qualities, as rather dangerous cosmetics, and even to help seduce a lover when perceived as an aphrodisiac. Some of these and other uses originate in a medieval book that has not yet been translated into English. This book delves into the history of these plants, covering such topics as: How shamans and priests used these plants for their magical attributes, as a means to foretell the future or to commune with the gods How a pot of basil helped to conceal a savage murder The truth about the mysterious mandrake A conundrum written by Jane Austen to entertain her family—the answer to which is one of the plants in this book These stories and many more will enlighten you on these treacherous and peculiar plants, their defensive and deadly traits, the facts behind them, and the folklore that has grown around them.
Publisher: Grub Street Publishers
ISBN: 152670840X
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 331
Book Description
“Readers who enjoy plants and offbeat tales will find Brown’s book a happy mix” (Publishers Weekly). Mankind has always had a morbid fascination with poisonous plants. Over the centuries, poisonous plants have been used to remove garden pests—as well as unwanted rivals and deceitful partners. They have also been used for their medicinal qualities, as rather dangerous cosmetics, and even to help seduce a lover when perceived as an aphrodisiac. Some of these and other uses originate in a medieval book that has not yet been translated into English. This book delves into the history of these plants, covering such topics as: How shamans and priests used these plants for their magical attributes, as a means to foretell the future or to commune with the gods How a pot of basil helped to conceal a savage murder The truth about the mysterious mandrake A conundrum written by Jane Austen to entertain her family—the answer to which is one of the plants in this book These stories and many more will enlighten you on these treacherous and peculiar plants, their defensive and deadly traits, the facts behind them, and the folklore that has grown around them.
Death and Garden Narratives in Literature, Art, and Film
Author: Feryal Cubukcu
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1793625891
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 222
Book Description
Death and Garden Narratives in Literature, Art and Film: Song of Death in Paradise explores the combination of two motifs, death and gardens, to show how the two subjects are intertwined and used in various media and cultural contexts. Using cultural, literary, film, and art history theories, the contributors analyze various death and garden sceneries in literary works by Arthur Machen, Agatha Christie, J.K. Rowling, as well as in superhero comics, films, and cultural and art contexts such as Ian Hamilton Finley's “Little Sparta,” the poetic verses from the Karoo Desert National Botanical Garden in South Africa, and the Australian wilderness.
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1793625891
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 222
Book Description
Death and Garden Narratives in Literature, Art and Film: Song of Death in Paradise explores the combination of two motifs, death and gardens, to show how the two subjects are intertwined and used in various media and cultural contexts. Using cultural, literary, film, and art history theories, the contributors analyze various death and garden sceneries in literary works by Arthur Machen, Agatha Christie, J.K. Rowling, as well as in superhero comics, films, and cultural and art contexts such as Ian Hamilton Finley's “Little Sparta,” the poetic verses from the Karoo Desert National Botanical Garden in South Africa, and the Australian wilderness.
Death in the Garden City
Author: Jeanne M. Dams
Publisher: Severn House Publishers Ltd
ISBN: 1448303532
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 226
Book Description
American Anglophile Dorothy Martin heads to the picturesque city of Victoria on Vancouver Island to investigate a series of petty crimes – that soon turn deadly. When Dorothy Martin and her ex-policeman husband Alan are asked by some good friends to look into a series of petty crimes that are perplexing the local Mounties in the picturesque Canadian city of Victoria, they immediately jump on a plane to British Columbia and settle themselves into the heart of the local community. Drinking champagne with the local businessman and would-be politician as well as cups of tea with the local recluse, they infiltrate all ranks of Victoria society. But when a young woman goes missing and a body is discovered, it would appear that the petty crimes have turned deadly. With their ability to get to the root of a crime and dig out the culprit, it’s not long before Dorothy and Alan realize they have embarked on a trip that will become far more dangerous than they ever envisaged...
Publisher: Severn House Publishers Ltd
ISBN: 1448303532
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 226
Book Description
American Anglophile Dorothy Martin heads to the picturesque city of Victoria on Vancouver Island to investigate a series of petty crimes – that soon turn deadly. When Dorothy Martin and her ex-policeman husband Alan are asked by some good friends to look into a series of petty crimes that are perplexing the local Mounties in the picturesque Canadian city of Victoria, they immediately jump on a plane to British Columbia and settle themselves into the heart of the local community. Drinking champagne with the local businessman and would-be politician as well as cups of tea with the local recluse, they infiltrate all ranks of Victoria society. But when a young woman goes missing and a body is discovered, it would appear that the petty crimes have turned deadly. With their ability to get to the root of a crime and dig out the culprit, it’s not long before Dorothy and Alan realize they have embarked on a trip that will become far more dangerous than they ever envisaged...
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
Author: John Berendt
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 0679429220
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 417
Book Description
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A modern classic of true crime, set in a most beguiling Southern city—now in a 30th anniversary edition with a new afterword by the author “Elegant and wicked . . . might be the first true-crime book that makes the reader want to book a bed and breakfast for an extended weekend at the scene of the crime.”—The New York Times Book Review Shots rang out in Savannah’s grandest mansion in the misty, early morning hours of May 2, 1981. Was it murder or self-defense? For nearly a decade, the shooting and its aftermath reverberated throughout this hauntingly beautiful city of moss-hung oaks and shaded squares. In this sharply observed, suspenseful, and witty narrative, John Berendt skillfully interweaves a hugely entertaining first-person account of life in this isolated remnant of the Old South with the unpredictable twists and turns of a landmark murder case. It is a spellbinding story peopled by a gallery of remarkable characters: the well-bred society ladies of the Married Woman’s Card Club; the turbulent young gigolo; the hapless recluse who owns a bottle of poison so powerful it could kill every man, woman, and child in Savannah; the aging and profane Southern belle who is the “soul of pampered self-absorption”; the uproariously funny drag queen; the acerbic and arrogant antiques dealer; the sweet-talking, piano-playing con artist; young people dancing the minuet at the black debutante ball; and Minerva, the voodoo priestess who works her magic in the graveyard at midnight. These and other Savannahians act as a Greek chorus, with Berendt revealing the alliances, hostilities, and intrigues that thrive in a town where everyone knows everyone else. Brilliantly conceived and masterfully written, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is a sublime and seductive reading experience.
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 0679429220
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 417
Book Description
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A modern classic of true crime, set in a most beguiling Southern city—now in a 30th anniversary edition with a new afterword by the author “Elegant and wicked . . . might be the first true-crime book that makes the reader want to book a bed and breakfast for an extended weekend at the scene of the crime.”—The New York Times Book Review Shots rang out in Savannah’s grandest mansion in the misty, early morning hours of May 2, 1981. Was it murder or self-defense? For nearly a decade, the shooting and its aftermath reverberated throughout this hauntingly beautiful city of moss-hung oaks and shaded squares. In this sharply observed, suspenseful, and witty narrative, John Berendt skillfully interweaves a hugely entertaining first-person account of life in this isolated remnant of the Old South with the unpredictable twists and turns of a landmark murder case. It is a spellbinding story peopled by a gallery of remarkable characters: the well-bred society ladies of the Married Woman’s Card Club; the turbulent young gigolo; the hapless recluse who owns a bottle of poison so powerful it could kill every man, woman, and child in Savannah; the aging and profane Southern belle who is the “soul of pampered self-absorption”; the uproariously funny drag queen; the acerbic and arrogant antiques dealer; the sweet-talking, piano-playing con artist; young people dancing the minuet at the black debutante ball; and Minerva, the voodoo priestess who works her magic in the graveyard at midnight. These and other Savannahians act as a Greek chorus, with Berendt revealing the alliances, hostilities, and intrigues that thrive in a town where everyone knows everyone else. Brilliantly conceived and masterfully written, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is a sublime and seductive reading experience.
The Reaper’s Garden
Author: Vincent Brown
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674298551
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 369
Book Description
Winner of the Merle Curti Award Winner of the James A. Rawley Prize Winner of the Louis Gottschalk Prize Longlisted for the Cundill Prize “Vincent Brown makes the dead talk. With his deep learning and powerful historical imagination, he calls upon the departed to explain the living. The Reaper’s Garden stretches the historical canvas and forces readers to think afresh. It is a major contribution to the history of Atlantic slavery.”—Ira Berlin From the author of Tacky’s Revolt, a landmark study of life and death in colonial Jamaica at the zenith of the British slave empire. What did people make of death in the world of Atlantic slavery? In The Reaper’s Garden, Vincent Brown asks this question about Jamaica, the staggeringly profitable hub of the British Empire in America—and a human catastrophe. Popularly known as the grave of the Europeans, it was just as deadly for Africans and their descendants. Yet among the survivors, the dead remained both a vital presence and a social force. In this compelling and evocative story of a world in flux, Brown shows that death was as generative as it was destructive. From the eighteenth-century zenith of British colonial slavery to its demise in the 1830s, the Grim Reaper cultivated essential aspects of social life in Jamaica—belonging and status, dreams for the future, and commemorations of the past. Surveying a haunted landscape, Brown unfolds the letters of anxious colonists; listens in on wakes, eulogies, and solemn incantations; peers into crypts and coffins, and finds the very spirit of human struggle in slavery. Masters and enslaved, fortune seekers and spiritual healers, rebels and rulers, all summoned the dead to further their desires and ambitions. In this turbulent transatlantic world, Brown argues, “mortuary politics” played a consequential role in determining the course of history. Insightful and powerfully affecting, The Reaper’s Garden promises to enrich our understanding of the ways that death shaped political life in the world of Atlantic slavery and beyond.
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674298551
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 369
Book Description
Winner of the Merle Curti Award Winner of the James A. Rawley Prize Winner of the Louis Gottschalk Prize Longlisted for the Cundill Prize “Vincent Brown makes the dead talk. With his deep learning and powerful historical imagination, he calls upon the departed to explain the living. The Reaper’s Garden stretches the historical canvas and forces readers to think afresh. It is a major contribution to the history of Atlantic slavery.”—Ira Berlin From the author of Tacky’s Revolt, a landmark study of life and death in colonial Jamaica at the zenith of the British slave empire. What did people make of death in the world of Atlantic slavery? In The Reaper’s Garden, Vincent Brown asks this question about Jamaica, the staggeringly profitable hub of the British Empire in America—and a human catastrophe. Popularly known as the grave of the Europeans, it was just as deadly for Africans and their descendants. Yet among the survivors, the dead remained both a vital presence and a social force. In this compelling and evocative story of a world in flux, Brown shows that death was as generative as it was destructive. From the eighteenth-century zenith of British colonial slavery to its demise in the 1830s, the Grim Reaper cultivated essential aspects of social life in Jamaica—belonging and status, dreams for the future, and commemorations of the past. Surveying a haunted landscape, Brown unfolds the letters of anxious colonists; listens in on wakes, eulogies, and solemn incantations; peers into crypts and coffins, and finds the very spirit of human struggle in slavery. Masters and enslaved, fortune seekers and spiritual healers, rebels and rulers, all summoned the dead to further their desires and ambitions. In this turbulent transatlantic world, Brown argues, “mortuary politics” played a consequential role in determining the course of history. Insightful and powerfully affecting, The Reaper’s Garden promises to enrich our understanding of the ways that death shaped political life in the world of Atlantic slavery and beyond.
Garden of Death
Author: Chrystle Fiedler
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1476748918
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 400
Book Description
"A bitter battle has sprouted in the village of Greenport on the eve of the annual maritime festival: Willow McQuade has transformed a vacant lot alongside Nature's Way Market & Cafe into a beautiful garden of healing plants--as much a tribute to her late aunt Claire, the shop's beloved founder, as an enlightening educational center. The town board awarded Willow the plot fair and square, but that's not how some folks see it--including Dr. Charles White, who invested in plans to develop a high-end boutique hotel on the property. When the belligerent surgeon publicly threatens Willow during the festival, Jackson Spade ratchets up the hostile confrontation to defend the woman he loves. The seeds of guilt have already taken root by the time Dr. White's corpse turns up among Willow's chamomile and periwinkle plants. To prove Jackson's innocence, she must dig deep to bring a killer to light."--Page [4] cover.
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1476748918
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 400
Book Description
"A bitter battle has sprouted in the village of Greenport on the eve of the annual maritime festival: Willow McQuade has transformed a vacant lot alongside Nature's Way Market & Cafe into a beautiful garden of healing plants--as much a tribute to her late aunt Claire, the shop's beloved founder, as an enlightening educational center. The town board awarded Willow the plot fair and square, but that's not how some folks see it--including Dr. Charles White, who invested in plans to develop a high-end boutique hotel on the property. When the belligerent surgeon publicly threatens Willow during the festival, Jackson Spade ratchets up the hostile confrontation to defend the woman he loves. The seeds of guilt have already taken root by the time Dr. White's corpse turns up among Willow's chamomile and periwinkle plants. To prove Jackson's innocence, she must dig deep to bring a killer to light."--Page [4] cover.
Plants That Kill
Author: Elizabeth A. Dauncey
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691178763
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 224
Book Description
"This richly illustrated book provides an in-depth natural history of the most poisonous plants on earth, covering everything from the lethal effects of hemlock and deadly nightshade to the uses of such plants in medicine, ritual, and chemical warfare"--Dust jacket.
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691178763
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 224
Book Description
"This richly illustrated book provides an in-depth natural history of the most poisonous plants on earth, covering everything from the lethal effects of hemlock and deadly nightshade to the uses of such plants in medicine, ritual, and chemical warfare"--Dust jacket.
Losing the Garden
Author: Laura Waterman
Publisher: Catapult
ISBN: 1619020440
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 265
Book Description
In 1971, Laura and Guy Waterman decided to give up all the conveniences of life and live self–sufficiently for the land, in a cabin in the mountains of Vermont. For nearly three decades they created a deliberate life, eating food they grew themselves and using no running water or electricity. Losing The Garden is an honest account of their marriage, seen as idyllic but riddled from within, as well as the event that would end it — the day Guy climbed a summit and sat down among the rocks to die. This is the memoir of a woman who was compelled to ask herself, "How could I support my husband's plan to commit suicide?" In her intimate examination, we explore the intricate and dark family histories of this couple, and reach a deep understanding of the marriage that tried to transcend them. At its heart, this is a love story and an affirmation of life after loss.
Publisher: Catapult
ISBN: 1619020440
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 265
Book Description
In 1971, Laura and Guy Waterman decided to give up all the conveniences of life and live self–sufficiently for the land, in a cabin in the mountains of Vermont. For nearly three decades they created a deliberate life, eating food they grew themselves and using no running water or electricity. Losing The Garden is an honest account of their marriage, seen as idyllic but riddled from within, as well as the event that would end it — the day Guy climbed a summit and sat down among the rocks to die. This is the memoir of a woman who was compelled to ask herself, "How could I support my husband's plan to commit suicide?" In her intimate examination, we explore the intricate and dark family histories of this couple, and reach a deep understanding of the marriage that tried to transcend them. At its heart, this is a love story and an affirmation of life after loss.