Other books that might interest you

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  On the Duty of Civil Disobedience

  Henry David Thoreau

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  Thoreau's Civil Disobedience - his protest against the government's interference with civil liberty - has inspired many to embrace his philosophy of individualism and love of nature. First published in 1849, this essay argues that individuals have rights and duties in relation to their government. Motivated by his disgust over both slavery and the Mexican-American War, Thoreau argued that individuals must not permit nor enable their government to act against their own consciences. More than a century and a half later, his message is more timely than ever.

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  Jack the Ripper & the London Press

  L. Perry Curtis

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  “Breaks new ground in its examination of the role of newspaper reporting during the police hunt for the first notorious serial killer.”—Reviews in History   Press coverage of the 1888 mutilation murders attributed to Jack the Ripper was of necessity filled with gaps and silences, for the killer remained unknown and Victorian journalists had little experience reporting serial murders and sex crimes. This engrossing book examines how fourteen London newspapers—dailies and weeklies, highbrow and lowbrow—presented the Ripper news, in the process revealing much about the social, political, and sexual anxieties of late Victorian Britain and the role of journalists in reinforcing social norms.   L. Perry Curtis surveys the mass newspaper culture of the era, delving into the nature of sensationalism and the conventions of domestic murder news. Analyzing the fourteen newspapers—two of which emanated from the East End, where the murders took place—he shows how journalists played on the fears of readers about law and order by dwelling on lethal violence rather than sex, offering gruesome details about knife injuries but often withholding some of the more intimate details of the pelvic mutilations. He also considers how the Ripper news affected public perceptions of social conditions in Whitechapel.   “The apparently motiveless violence of the Whitechapel killings denied journalists a structure, and it is the resulting creativity in news reporting that L Perry Curtis Jr describes. His impressive book makes a genuine contribution to 19th-century history in a way that books addressing the banal question of the identity of the Ripper do not.”—The Guardian

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  Jane Austen's Inspiration -...

  Judith Stove

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  An insightful portrait of Austen’s friend and fellow writer Anne Lefroy and the society that surrounded these two literary women. 
   
  In this insightful new biography of Anne Lefroy, Judy Stove investigates the life of a writer who had a direct and undeniable influence on the life and works of Jane Austen. Jane shared some of her earliest writings with Anne, who became a devoted confidant; it is believed that their friendship was an essential component in their creativity. As a published female writer, Anne was an immense source of inspiration to Jane as she developed her own talents. 
   
  Judy Stove, a member of the Jane Austen Society of Australia, brings a wealth of insight to this illuminating history of a literary friendship. She has uncovered fascinating snippets of information relating to Anne Lefroy’s circle, and her book addresses developments across a period of great social and political change. Setting Lefroy’s life in context, she looks at the war against Napoleon and illustrates evolutions in healthcare as well as changes in religious beliefs and practices that shaped the world of these remarkable women.

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  Honeymoons - through writers' eyes

  Rose Baring, Roger Hudson

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  The honeymoon – no other holiday inspires so much anticipation of blissful happiness, nor such potential for catastrophic disappointment. Using extracts from fiction and from real-life diaries and letters, Honeymoons: through writers' eyes takes you on a rollercoaster of an emotional journey into the heart of human longing, to examine what it is we are seeking, what we expect, when we embark on life together. There are real journeys to Pisa and Rome, through Switzerland and India and to the moors of Yorkshire. We hear about the consummations of royal weddings; and the dire consequences of marriages of convenience and those entered into with calculation. The road is littered with pleasures, great and small, not to mention surprises, disappointments, cads and one or two corpses.

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  Ask a Native New Yorker -...

  Jake Dobkin

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  Ask a Native New Yorker is Jake Dobkin's essential guide to the Big Apple's culture, people, and lifestyles.As a third-generation New Yorker who was born, bred, and educated there, Jake Dobkin was such a fan of his hometown that he started Gothamist, a popular and acclaimed website with a focus on news, events, and culture in the city, and Ask a Native New Yorker became one of its most popular columns. This book version features all original writing and aims to help newbies evolve into real New Yorkers with humor and a command of the facts.In forty-eight short essays and eleven sidebars, the book offers practical information about transportation, apartment hunting, and even cultivating relationships for anyone fresh to the Big Apple. Subjects include "Why is New York the greatest city in the world?," "Where should I live?," "Where do you find peace and quiet when you feel overwhelmed?," and "Who do I have to give up my subway seat to?"Part philosophy, part anecdote collection, and part no-nonsense guide, Ask a Native New Yorker will become the default gift for transplants to New York, whether they're here for internships, college, or starting a new job.

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  Surrender - A memoir of nature...

  Marylee MacDonald

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  Her young life changed in an instant. Now she shares her story with the child she gave away.Adopted at birth, Marylee's parents told her she was a "chosen child." She tried her hardest to make them proud, but her parents' divorce sent her into the comforting arms of a handsome Catholic boy.Convinced that he was her Romeo and she a modern-day Juliet, she surrendered to passion. Unfortunately, it was 1961. Pregnant girls were sent away, and their babies given up for adoption.Nature vs. nurture:Which plays a greater role in who we become? The family we were raised in, or the parents we never knew?In telling her adult son the story of his birth, can the narrator find compassion for her own wounded inner child?If you like truthful accounts laced with the passion of youth and the wisdom of age, read Marylee MacDonald's funny and poignant memoir about how we grow up, grow old, and learn to accept ourselves.

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