The subject of Roman scandal has been recounted at various points in all histories of Rome, but not in one unified place. Roman scandal often depended on the social class, not to mention the sex, of the perpetrator and that of the victim. As we survey the thousand year history of Rome and its western rump state stumbling into final oblivion in 476, one notes that it ran on the fuel of extreme violence and brutality, such as most modern people in the West have not had to deal with, at least since Hitler was defeated in 1945. Romans were continuously at war with foreigners, against tribes beyond the pale, and with each other in civil strife, for centuries. When the ruling elite were not plundering abroad to fuel the empire, they were plotting and killing each other in the palace, the Senate, and the Forum. In fact, they often combined the two pursuits all at once. Plunder gave them wealth and slaves, and with wealth came leisure, and in their leisure the Romans chose to entertain themselves with blood spectacles. Men and women fought to the death as gladiators in the Colosseum and hippodrome, and wild animals were killed for fun. Surely the depravity and excess that took place under the emperors proves not that success and luxury assured the empire's destruction, as Livy feared, but that the empire could function well enough to last several centuries, despite moral and political anarchy at the very top. Historian of empire, Dr. Frank H. Wallis, makes a valuable contribution to Roman studies based on the ancient authorities, including Tacitus, Suetonius, Herodian, Livy, Plutarch, Zosimus, Ammianus, Dio, Eutropius, Zonares, Josephus.

The Art of Scandal advances a relatively simple claim with far-reaching consequences for modernist studies: writers and readers throughout the early twentieth century revived the long-despised codes and habits of the roman á clef as a key part of that larger assault on Victorian realism we now call modernism. In the process, this resurgent genre took on a life of its own, reconfiguring the intricate relationship between literature, celebrity, and the law. Sean Latham summons cases of the novel's social notoriety--and the numerous legal scandals the form provoked--to articulate the material networks of reception and circulation through which modernism took shape, revealing a little explored popular history within its development. Producers as well as consumers used elements of the controversial roman á clef, a genre that challenges the idea of fiction as autonomous from the social and political world. In turn, this widespread practice provoked not only a generative aesthetic crisis, but also a gradually unfolding legal quandary that led Britain's highest courts to worry that fiction itself might be illegal. Modernism sat squarely, for a time, between literature and the law. With skillful close readings aided by extensive archival research, Latham illuminates the world of backbiting, gossip, litigation, and sensationalism through chapters on Oscar Wilde's trial, Joyce's Ulysses, celebrity salons, and Parisian bohemia. Original, colorful, and perceptive, The Art of Scandal both salvages the reputation of the roman á clef form and traces its curious itinerary through the early twentieth century. Seeking out the best new interdisciplinary work, this series explores the cultural bearings of literary modernism across multiple fields, geographies, symbolic forms, and media.

The Boston Globe'sPulitzer Prize - winning coverage of clergy sexual abuse of minors in 2002 led to what few would hesitate to call the most significant scandal in the history of the Catholic Church in the United States. In contrast, Catholics themselves disagree about whether the voting records of some Catholic politicians or the particular policies and practices of Catholic institutions might be called scandalous. Such questions often both reflect and intensify divisions within the Catholic community. Whether understood as negative public relations or as an action, attitude, law, or institution influencing another to sin, scandal affects the Catholic Church's proclamation of the good news of God's saving love. This makes theological reflection about scandal an essential aspect of being Catholic today. Failure to engage in this reflection risks truncating the tradition and obscuring the Good News. This book invites this reflection in order to understand differences in perception and judgment, make appropriate courses of action more clear, and enable Catholics to participate more effectively and authentically as a faith community in public life.

Mahatma Gandhi once chided a Christian friend, "All you Christians, missionaries and all, must begin to live more like Jesus Christ." And what Christian among us would disagree with him? After the holy wars and witch-hunts, after persecutions and political machinations, there is a broad sense today that the Church, however well-meaning, is on the wrong side of history. But do we really know our history? In this collaboration with historian Arnold Angenendt, best-selling German author Manfred Lütz dares to show us what contemporary historians actually say about Christianity's track record over the ages. This detailed overview begins with the ancient pagans, passing through Israel, the early Church martyrs, Constantine's Rome, the reign of Charlemagne, the Crusades, the Inquisition, the Reformation, the Borgia popes, the Galileo affair, the conquistadores, the French Revolution, the slave trade, the Holocaust, the sex abuse crisis, and more. The Scandal of the Scandals separates myth from fact, giving us a candid portrait of Christendom with its scars and all. Prepare to be amazed at how little you really knew about Christianity.

There are many types of political scandals: sex, corruption, and election scandals are but a few. Political scandals are public events that have tremendous consequence on citizenry and can undermine democratic institutions-when we pay attention to scandal, we risk ignoring weightier matters. This volume brings together an array of academics to explore the impact of political scandals. What makes this book different from others is the wide spectrum of perspectives brought together to help analyze a single subject.

Are sex scandals simply trivial distractions from serious issues or can they help democratize politics? In 1820, George IV's "royal gambols" with his mistresses endangered the Old Oak of the constitution. When he tried to divorce Queen Caroline for adultery, the resulting scandal enabled activists to overcome state censorship and revitalize reform. Looking at six major British scandals between 1763 and 1820, this book demonstrates that scandals brought people into politics because they evoked familiar stories of sex and betrayal. In vibrant prose woven with vivid character sketches and illustrations, Anna Clark explains that activists used these stories to illustrate constitutional issues concerning the Crown, Parliament, and public opinion. Clark argues that sex scandals grew out of the tension between aristocratic patronage and efficiency in government. For instance, in 1809 Mary Ann Clarke testified that she took bribes to persuade her royal lover, the army's commander-in-chief, to promote officers, buy government offices, and sway votes. Could women overcome scandals to participate in politics? This book also explains the real reason why the glamorous Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, became so controversial for campaigning in a 1784 election. Sex scandal also discredited Mary Wollstonecraft, one of the first feminists, after her death. Why do some scandals change politics while others fizzle? Edmund Burke tried to stir up scandal about the British empire in India, but his lurid, sexual language led many to think he was insane. A unique blend of the history of sexuality and women's history with political and constitutional history, Scandal opens a revealing new window onto some of the greatest sex scandals of the past. In doing so, it allows us to more fully appreciate the sometimes shocking ways democracy has become what it is today.

From the New York Times bestselling authors of the Masters of Ménage series.... They are the Perfect Gentlemen of Creighton Academy: privileged, wealthy, powerful friends with a wild side. But a deadly scandal is about to tear down their seemingly ideal lives. Maddox Crawford’s sudden death sends Gabriel Bond reeling. Not only is he burying his best friend, he’s cleaning up Mad’s messes, including his troubled company. Grieving and restless, Gabe escapes his worries in the arms of a beautiful stranger. But his mind-blowing one-night stand is about to come back to haunt him.... Mad groomed Everly Parker to be a rising star in the executive world. Now that he’s gone, she’s sure her job will be the next thing she mourns, especially after she ends up accidentally sleeping with her new boss. If only their night together hadn’t been so incendiary—or Gabe like a fantasy come true.... As Gabe and Everly struggle to control the heated tension between them, they discover evidence that Mad’s death was no accident. Now they must bank their smoldering passions to hunt down a murderer—because Mad had secrets that someone was willing to kill for, and Gabe or Everly could be the next target....

From the glossy monochrome of the classic Hollywood romance, to the gritty greyscale of the gangster picture, to film noir’s moody interplay of light and shadow, black-and-white cinematography has been used to create a remarkably wide array of tones. Yet today, with black-and-white film stock nearly impossible to find, these cinematographic techniques are virtually extinct, and filmgoers’ appreciation of them is similarly waning. Black and White Cinema is the first study to consider the use of black-and-white as an art form in its own right, providing a comprehensive and global overview of the era when it flourished, from the 1900s to the 1960s. Acclaimed film scholar Wheeler Winston Dixon introduces us to the masters of this art, discussing the signature styles and technical innovations of award-winning cinematographers like James Wong Howe, Gregg Toland, Freddie Francis, and Sven Nykvist. Giving us a unique glimpse behind the scenes, Dixon also reveals the creative teams—from lighting technicians to matte painters—whose work profoundly shaped the look of black-and-white cinema. More than just a study of film history, this book is a rallying cry, meant to inspire a love for the artistry of black-and-white film, so that we might work to preserve this important part of our cinematic heritage. Lavishly illustrated with more than forty on-the-set stills, Black and White Cinema provides a vivid and illuminating look at a creatively vital era.

"The entire field of film historians awaits the AFI volumes with eagerness."--Eileen Bowser, Museum of Modern Art Film Department Comments on previous volumes: "The source of last resort for finding socially valuable . . . films that received such scant attention that they seem 'lost' until discovered in the AFI Catalog."--Thomas Cripps "Endlessly absorbing as an excursion into cultural history and national memory."--Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.