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An engrossing study of Leo Africanus and his famous book, which introduced Africa to European readers Al-Hasan al-Wazzan--born in Granada to a Muslim family that in 1492 went to Morocco, where he traveled extensively on behalf of the sultan of Fez--is known to historians as Leo Africanus, author of the first geography of Africa to be published in Europe (in 1550). He had been captured by Christian pirates in the Mediterranean and imprisoned by the pope, then released, baptized, and allowed a European life of scholarship as the Christian writer Giovanni Leone. In this fascinating new book, the distinguished historian Natalie Zemon Davis offers a virtuoso study of the fragmentary, partial, and often contradictory traces that al-Hasan al-Wazzan left behind him, and a superb interpretation of his extraordinary life and work. In Trickster Travels, Davis describes all the sectors of her hero's life in rich detail, scrutinizing the evidence of al-Hasan's movement between cultural worlds; the Islamic and Arab traditions, genres, and ideas available to him; and his adventures with Christians and Jews in a European community of learned men and powerful church leaders. In depicting the life of this adventurous border-crosser, Davis suggests the many ways cultural barriers are negotiated and diverging traditions are fused.

"Includes special edition full-length Natalie Merchant CD."--Cover.

Student Book 1 develops the reading and writing skills that students will be assessed on in the exams. Using a thematic approach that focuses on the AOs, with SPAG delivered in context, this book supports students of all abilities. Peer and self-assessment activities, end-of-chapter assessments and sample exam papers allow progress to be monitored.

Must a gift be given freely? How can we tell a gift from a bribe? Are gifts always a part of human relations--or do they lose their power and importance once the market takes hold and puts a price on every exchange? These questions are central to our sense of social relations past and present, and they are at the heart of this book by one of our most interesting and renowned historians. In a wide-ranging look at gift giving in early modern France, Natalie Zemon Davis reveals the ways that gift exchange is crucial to understanding alliance and conflict in family life, economic relations, politics, and religion. Moving from the king's bounty to the beggar's alms, her book explores the modes and meanings of gift giving in every corner of sixteenth-century French society. In doing so, it arrives at a new way of considering gifts--what Davis calls "the gift register"--as a permanent feature of social relations over time. Gift giving, with its own justifications and forms in different periods, can create amity or lead to quarrels and trouble. It mixes the voluntary and the obligatory, with interested bribery at one extreme and inspired gratuitousness at the other. Examining gifts both ethnographically (through archives, letters, and other texts) and culturally (through literary, ethical, and religious sources), Davis shows how coercive features in family life and politics, rather than competition from the market, disrupted the gift system. This intriguing book suggests that examining the significance of gifts can not only help us to understand social relations in the past, but teach us to deal graciously with each other in the present.

There are few women in English history more famous or controversial than Queen Anne Boleyn. She was the second wife of Henry VIII, mother of Elizabeth I and the first English queen to be publicly executed. Much of what we think we know about her is colored by myth and legend, and does not stand up to close scrutiny. Reinvented by each new generation, Anne is buried beneath centuries of labels: homewrecker, seductress, opportunist, witch, romantic victim, Protestant martyr, feminist. In this vivid and engaging account of the triumphant and harrowing final year of Queen Anne Boleyn’s life, the author reveals a very human portrait of a brilliant, passionate and complex woman. The last twelve months of Anne’s life contained both joy and heartbreak. This telling period bore witness to one of the longest and most politically significant progresses of Henry VIII’s reign, improved relations between the royal couple, and Anne’s longed-for pregnancy. With the dawning of the new year, the pendulum swung. In late January 1536, Anne received news that her husband had been thrown from his horse in his tiltyard at Greenwich. Just days later, tragedy struck. As the body of Anne’s predecessor, Katherine of Aragon, was being prepared for burial, Anne miscarried her son. The promise of a new beginning dashed, the months that followed were a rollercoaster of anguish and hope, marked by betrayal, brutality and rumour. What began with so much promise, ended in silent dignity, amid a whirlwind of scandal, on a scaffold at the Tower of London. Through close examination of these intriguing events considered in their social and historical context, readers will gain a fresh perspective into the life and death of the woman behind the tantalising tale. "Natalie Grueninger skilfully unravels the myths surrounding Anne Boleyn’s downfall, and presents the most compelling account of her final months to date. A Triumph.” - Dr Owen Emmerson, Historian and Assistant Curator, Hever Castle "A heart-stirring account of Anne Boleyn's last living year. Researched flawlessly, the events are revealed in a compelling read; little-known facts adding to the tension which builds toward an emotional end. A must-read for fans and students of Tudor history." - S.V author of Anne Boleyn's Letter From the Tower; A New Assessment "Genuinely ground-breaking, provocative yet sensitive, exquisitely well-researched and fair - both to Anne's friends and enemies - Natalie Grueninger's book shows us the complexities, and the secrets, that wove together during Anne Boleyn's final twelve months as queen. This is an exciting and important book of Tudor history." - Gareth Russell, Historian and author of The Ship of Dreams and Young and Damned and Fair “Astonishingly well-researched, 'The Final Year of Anne Boleyn' triumphantly re-writes the fall of one of England's most famous queen consorts, shedding new light on a well-known story. A riveting and emotional read.” - Kate McCaffrey, Assistant Curator, Hever Castle

Student Book 2 provides guidance and activities, in the context of the Component 1 and Component 2 exam questions, on how to improve reading and writing skills. With the types of texts that students will face in the exams, in-context SPAG support and regular opportunities to monitor progress, this book aims to improve exam performance.

This book provides an excellent and easy-to-read path to making the most of your medical career starting as a student...and a ready source of really useful hints and tips that will help anyone reading this book maximise their personal and professional development.' From the Foreword by Dr Inam Haq Want to optimise your chances of success? Take a fresh look at the clinical world. Medical careers have changed and learning how to play the game is as important as being the best in your field. This inspirational new guide considers your medical career from a wide-ranging perspective, encouraging a positive, early outlook. On a highly practical note, it acts as a comprehensive information source, covering all aspects of job applications and medical careers. On a personal note the book fosters a complete reassessment of the way you view your working life. It offers fresh ideas to help identify important opportunities to improve your CV - taking opportunities when you can whilst making the most of what you have. Easy to read and conversational in tone, it details invaluable ideas on developing your portfolio and innovative methods to successfully market yourself, alongside sound approaches to the challenges and intricacies of the modern medical career.

From high-rise ledges to charming residential neighborhoods in Washington, DC, a team of superheroes saves people and battles villains…while struggling with bill collectors, day jobs, and complicated love lives. Empath Daley Charm feels like the weakest member of DC’s superhero team—especially when someone targets them for destruction. Her insecurities also complicate her relationship with team leader Adam Tarantino, especially since she can’t “see” emotions that are about her. When missions start going dramatically wrong, Adam pulls away even more, knowing his feelings would reveal an exploitable weakness that could mean the end of the team. As they struggle to discover who’s sabotaging their missions, Daley must confront her own self-worth and faith in her abilities. Does she step away to protect her friends, or stand with them and risk someone getting hurt…or worse?

A biography of one of the Gilded Age’s most fascinating and mysterious society women that “reads as well as any page-turning novel” (Library Journal). At twenty-eight, Clover Adams, a fiercely intelligent Boston Brahmin, married the soon-to-be-eminent American historian Henry Adams. She thrived in her role as an intimate of power brokers in Gilded Age Washington, where she was admired for her wit and taste by such luminaries as Henry James, H. H. Richardson, and General William Tecumseh Sherman. Clover so clearly possessed, as one friend wrote, “all she wanted, all this world could give.” Yet at the center of her story is a haunting mystery. Why did Clover, having begun in the spring of 1883 to capture her world vividly through photography, end her life less than three years later by drinking a chemical developer she used in the darkroom? The key to the mystery lies, as Natalie Dykstra’s searching account makes clear, in Clover’s photographs themselves. The aftermath of Clover’s death is equally compelling. Dykstra probes Clover’s enduring reputation as a woman betrayed, and, most movingly, she untangles the complex, poignant—and universal—truths of her shining and impossible marriage.