Book 1: Dive into the captivating autobiography of a musical genius with “My Life — Volume 1 by Richard Wagner.” Wagner, the renowned composer, provides a firsthand account of his life, artistic journey, and the profound influences that shaped his groundbreaking contributions to the world of music. Book 2: Explore the Renaissance through the lens of a fascinating figure in “The Life of Poggio Bracciolini by William R. Shepherd.” Shepherd delves into the intriguing life of Poggio Bracciolini, a key figure in the revival of classical knowledge, shedding light on the cultural and intellectual landscape of the time. Book 3: Experience the spiritual odyssey of a revered saint with “The Confessions of St. Augustine by Bishop of Hippo Saint Augustine.” Augustine's introspective journey, rich with theological insights, takes readers on a profound exploration of faith, redemption, and the eternal quest for a meaningful life.

The premise of this volume is that the ubiquity of lactation imagery in early modern visual culture and the discourse on breastfeeding in humanist, religious, medical, and literary writings is a distinct cultural phenomenon that deserves systematic study. Chapters by art historians, social and legal historians, historians of science, and literary scholars explore some of the ambiguities and contradictions surrounding the issue, and point to the need for further study, in particular in the realm of lactation imagery in the visual arts. This volume builds on existing scholarship on representations of the breast, the iconography of the Madonna Lactans, allegories of abundance, nature, and charity, women mystics' food-centered practices of devotion, the ubiquitous practice of wet-nursing, and medical theories of conception. It is informed by studies on queer kinship in early modern Europe, notions of sacred eroticism in pre-tridentine Catholicism, feminist investigations of breastfeeding as a sexual practice, and by anthropological and historical scholarship on milk exchange and ritual kinship in ancient Mediterranean and medieval Islamic societies. Proposing a variety of different methods and analytical frameworks within which to consider instances of lactation imagery, breastfeeding practices, and their textual references, this volume also offers tools to support further research on the topic.

Clearly a literary great, O. Henry gave his great gifts to the world with his classic works, including this western short story, "Telemachus, Friend." Enjoy Henry's amazing imagination as you take a trip into the Old West. Telemachus, Friend is the 3rd short story of the Heart of the West collection of short stories by author O. Henry.

Reproduction of the original: Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama by E. Cobham Brewer

This volume contains ones of the sets of linked short stories that Conan Doyle centred on his character of Brigadier Gerard, and six short stories featuring Sherlock Holmes. The other is also available in a volume from CSP.

The ghosts that haunt our sexual pleasure were born in the Stone Age. Sex and gender taboos were used by tribes to differentiate themselves from one another. These taboos filtered into the lives of Bronze and Iron Age men and women who lived in city-states and empires. For the early Christians, all sex play was turned into sin, instilled with guilt, and punished severely. With the invention of sin came the construction of women as subordinate beings to men. Despite the birth of romance in the late middle ages, Renaissance churches held inquisitions to seek out and destroy sex sinners, all of whom it saw as heretics. The Age of Reason saw the demise of these inquisitions. But, it was doctors who would take over the roles of priests and ministers as sex became defined by discourses of crime, degeneracy, and sickness. The middle of the 20th century saw these medical and religious teachings challenged for the first time as activists, such as Alfred Kinsey and Margaret Sanger, sought to carve out a place for sexual freedom in society. However, strong opposition to their beliefs and the growing exploitation of sex by the media at the close of the century would ultimately shape 21st century sexual ambivalence. Book Two of this two-part publication traces the history of sex from the Victorian Era to present day. Interspersed with ‘personal hauntings’ from his own life and the lives of friends and relatives, Knowles reveals how historical discourses of sex continue to haunt us today. This book is a page-turner in simple and plain language about ‘how sex got screwed up’ for millennia. For Knowles, if we know the history of sex, we can get over it.