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  Fool - In Search of Henry VIII's...

  Peter K. Andersson

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  In some portraits of Henry VIII there appears another figure—a gaunt and morose-looking man with a shaved head. This is William or "Will" Somer, the king's fool, a celebrated wit who reportedly could raise Henry's spirits and spent many hours with him. Was Somer an "artificial fool," a cunning comic who could speak freely in front of the king, or a "natural fool," someone with intellectual disabilities, like many other members of the profession? Fool is the first biography of Somer—and perhaps the first of a Renaissance fool. 
   
   
   
  After his death, Somer disappeared, and historians struggled to separate myth from reality. Unearthing as many facts as possible, Peter K. Andersson pieces together the fullest picture yet of an enigmatic and unusual man with a strange job. Somer's story provides new insights into how fools lived and what they did for a living, how monarchs and courtiers related to commoners and people with disabilities, and whether aspects of the Renaissance fool live on in the modern comedian. But most of all, we learn how a commoner without property or education managed to become the court's chief mascot and a continuous presence at the center of Tudor power. 
   
   
   
  Fool reveals a little-known world, surprising and disturbing, when comedy was something crueler and more unpleasant than we like to think.

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  Charles Manson Anarchy - Inside...

  Davis Truman

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  This audiobook is narrated by an AI Voice. What happens when a counterculture revolution collides with a psychopath’s thirst for control? 
   
  America in the 1960s was a powder keg of political unrest, psychedelic exploration, and generational rebellion. In the chaos, one man manipulated the confusion and turned it into a cult of violence that shocked the world. Charles Manson Anarchy uncovers the psychological, cultural, and social factors that allowed one of America’s most infamous serial killers to thrive in plain sight—and lead others to kill in his name. 
   
  This book doesn’t just ask how Charles Manson committed his crimes—it reveals why people followed him. 
   
  Through meticulous research and gripping narrative, this book unpacks the psychology of Manson’s control, the allure of his twisted charisma, and the radicalized backdrop of the 1960s that made his rise possible. You’ll explore how fringe beliefs, drug culture, anti-establishment fervor, and charismatic manipulation intersected to fuel a tragic chapter in American history. 
   
  Inside you’ll discover: 
   
  A breakdown of Manson’s early life and formative traumas—and how they shaped his worldview 
   
  How the 1960s counterculture, music scene, and political unrest created fertile ground for manipulation 
   
  The psychological techniques Manson used to recruit and control his followers 
   
  Detailed accounts of the infamous Tate-LaBianca murders and the trial that transfixed a nation 
   
  The legacy of the Manson Family—and what it teaches us about extremism, cult psychology, and the dark side of idealism 
   
  If you’re fascinated by true crime, cult psychology, or the turbulent history

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  A Warning to the Curious - From...

  M R James

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  Montague Rhodes James is cited as perhaps the greatest English writer of ghost stories, an opinion few would disagree with. 
  James was born on 1st August 1862 at Goodnestone Parsonage in Kent, where his father was Curate but at age 3 the family went to live at Livermere, near Bury St Edmunds in East Anglia.  
  From early childhood he had a passion for mediaeval books and antiques. He was educated initially as a boarder at Temple Grove School in East Sheen, west London, before gaining a scholarship to Eton and thence Cambridge where he gained a double first, becoming a distinguished linguist and mediaevalist.  
  Before the Great War vacations were usually spent touring Europe absorbing cultures and references for his later writing. 
  A man of enormous knowledge it was said he timed his breakfast egg whilst he completed the Times crossword.  
  Many of his elegant yet terrifying tales were created by discarding the prevailing gothic cliches and placing his characters and narrative in a realistic setting.  Thereby the stories gained atmosphere and menace on a grand scale and he was famed as the originator of the antiquarian ghost story. 
  Although story-telling and writing these 30 or so tales was a hobby, when published their effect transformed the genre and still chill the bones in our more modern times. 
  James was also a medievalist scholar and translator whose work remains highly respected. He was also Provost of Eton College between 1918 and 1936. 
  M R James died on 12th June 1936 at Eton in Buckinghamshire.  He was 73.

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  After the Funeral - From their...

  Mary Butts

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  Mary Frances Butts was born on 13th December 1890 in Poole, Dorset. 
  Her early years were spent at Salterns, an 18th-century house overlooking Poole Harbour.  Sadly in 1905 her father died, and she was sent for boarding at St Leonard's school for girls in St Andrews. 
  Her mother remarried and, from 1909, Mary studied at Westfield College in London, and here, first became aware of her bisexual feelings.  She was sent down for organising a trip to Epsom races and only completed her degree in 1914 when she graduated from the London School of Economics.  By then Mary had become an admirer of the occultist Aleister Crowley and she was given a co-authorship credit on his ‘Magick (Book 4)’. 
  In 1916, she began the diary which would now detail her future life and be a constant reference point for her observations and her absorbing experiences. 
  During World War I, she was doing social work for the London County Council in Hackney Wick, and involved in a lesbian relationship.  Life changed after meeting the modernist poet, John Rodker and they married in 1918. 
  In 1921 she spent 3 months at Aleister Crowley's Abbey of Thelema in Sicily; she found the practices dreadful and also acquired a drug habit.  Mary now spent time writing in Dorset, including her celebrated book of short stories ‘Speed the Plough’ which saw fully develop her unique Modernist prose style. 
  Europe now beckoned and several years were spent in Paris befriending many artists and writing further extraordinary stories.   
  She was continually sought after by literary magazines and also published several short story collections as books. Although a Modernist writer she worked in other genres but is essentially only known for her short stories.  Mary was deeply committed to nature conservation and wrote several pamphlets attacking the growing pollution of the countryside. 
  In 1927, she divorced and the following year her novel ‘Armed with Madness’ was published.  A further marriage followed in 1930 and time was spent attempting to settle in London and Newcastle before setting up home on the western tip of Cornwall.  By 1934 the marriage had failed. 
  Mary Butts died on 5th March 1937, at the West Cornwall Hospital, Penzance, after an operation for a perforated gastric ulcer. She was 46.

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  Tom Petty - A Life from...

  Hourly History

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  Tom Petty is one of the greatest icons of rock and roll music. He is known for his classic hit songs, such as “Free Fallin’,” “I Won’t Back Down,” and “Learning to Fly,” just as much as for his cool demeanor. Who could ever forget the image of Petty on the Heartbreakers’ debut album in a leather jacket adorned with bullets and a larger-than-life sneer? 
  Born in Gainesville, Florida, Tom Petty found his passion for music at a young age, inspired by the early rockstars of the 1950s and 1960s. His distinctive voice and knack for crafting deeply resonant songs quickly propelled him to stardom, and throughout his career, he sold more than 80 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. It was with much sadness that the world heard of Tom Petty’s passing in 2017, but nevertheless, the legacy of this icon lives on. This is his life—this is his story.

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  Truth is Not Sober - From their...

  Winifred Holtby

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  Winifred Holtby was born on 23rd June 1898 to a prosperous farming family in the village of Rudston in Yorkshire.  
  A governess provided her early education before she went to Queen Margaret's School in Scarborough.  After passing the entrance exam for Somerville College, Oxford in 1917, she decided to join the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps in early 1918.  However, soon after her arrival in France, the War ended. 
  She returned to study at Oxford and met fellow student Vera Brittain.  After graduating from Oxford, in 1921, Winifred and Vera moved to London, hoping to establish themselves as authors. 
  Her early novels met with only moderate success but as a journalist she was both prolific and increasingly well-known.  Her articles graced more than 20 newspapers and magazines, including the Manchester Guardian newspaper.   
  Winifred was a committed feminist, socialist and pacifist.  She gave many lectures for the League of Nations Union.  She was also active in the Independent Labour Party and was a campaigner for the unionisation of black workers in South Africa. 
  In 1931 the symptoms of high blood pressure, recurrent headaches and bouts of lassitude brought forth a diagnosis of Bright's disease.  She was given two years to live and now put all her efforts into what was to become her crowning achievement: South Riding.  Released posthumously it received lavish praise and enormous sales.  Her canon of works tackle difficult subjects head on, many in unusual ways, brimming with verve and usually strong female protagonists. 
  Winifred Holtby died on 29th September 1935 in London.  She was 37.

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