Eight of the twelve tales in this book are from the master hand of Charles Perrault (1628-1703). Although Perrault enjoyed much distinction in the French literary circle of the late seventeenth century his fame today rests upon his authorship of the traditional Tales of Mother Goose or Stories of Olden Times. & it is true to say that as long as there are children to listen spellbound to the adventures of Cinderella Red Riding Hood & that arch rogue Puss in Boots his memory will endure. Three of the tales The Ridiculous Wishes Donkey-Skin & Patient Griselda are seldom included in Perrault collections as they were written in a very florid verse form. Not only Perrault but Boccaccio Chaucer & others have used the story of Patient Griselda. The last story Beauty & the Beast again not by Perrault (it was penned by Mme. Leprince de Beaumont 1711-1781) has a similarity of style & celebrity which justifiably merits its inclusion. With the exception of the morals & the three tales taken from verse the translations are by A. E. Johnson. ...

As Persephone's mum encourages her to do she often goes along to get along" instead of doing what she really wants. But when she meets Mount Olympus Academy bad-boy Hades she finally feels she has found someone with whom she can be herself. He's the first person who actually listens to her & she finds herself liking him despite the fact that the other goddess girls think he's bad news. But if he makes her feel so special
- & she's so comfortable hanging around him
- can he really be all that bad? Authors Joan Holub & Suzanne Williams put a modern spin on classic myths with the Goddess Girls series. Follow the ins & outs of divine social life at Mount Olympus Academy where the most privileged godboys & goddessgirls in the Greek pantheon hone their mythical skills."

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Wise often funny sometimes heartbreaking Persepolis" tells the story of Marjane Satrapis life in Tehran from the ages of six to fourteen years that saw the overthrow of the Shahs regime the triumph of the Islamic Revolution & the devastating effects of war with Iraq. The intelligent & outspoken child of radical Marxists & the great-grandaughter of Irans last emperor Satrapi bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country. " Persepolis" paints an unforgettable portrait of daily life in Iran & of the bewildering contradictions between home life & public life. Amidst the tragedy Marjanes childs eye view adds immediacy & humour & her story of a childhood at once outrageous & ordinary beset by the unthinkable & yet buffered by an extraordinary & loving family is immensely moving. It is also very beautiful; Satrapis drawings have the power of the very best woodcuts." ...

The Story of a Childhood & The Story of a Return. The intelligent & outspoken child of radical Marxists & the great-grandaughter of Irans last emperor Satrapi bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country. Persepolis paints an unforgettable portrait of daily life in Iran & of the bewildering contradictions between home life & public life. This is a beautiful & intimate story full of tragedy & humour
- raw honest & incredibly illuminating.
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The son of Zeus Perseus belongs in the first rank of Greek heroes. Indeed to some he was a greater hero even than Heracles. With the help of Hermes & Athena he slew the Gorgon Medusa conquered a mighty sea monster & won the hand of the beautiful princess Andromeda. This volume tells of his enduring myth its rendering in art & literature & its reception through the Roman period & up to the modern day. This is the first scholarly book in English devoted to Perseus myth in its entirety for over a century. With information drawn from a diverse range of sources as well as varied illustrations the volume illuminates the importance of the Perseus myth throughout the ages. ...

When Lily Robinson sees the telegraph boy cycling down Perseverance Street she knows that he's coming to deliver bad news. Clutching the telegram in her trembling hands at eight months pregnant & mother to three-year-old Michael Lily learns that she must now face life as a widow. Fortuitously she is soon visited by acquaintances Bernard & Edith Oldroyd who hearing of her plight offer to take Michael home with them for the weekend & Lily gratefully accepts. But to her horror just days later the Oldroyds disappear along with her son. With the help of her redoubtable Auntie Dee & ex-Special Forces soldier Charlie Cleghorn Lily takes the investigation into their own hands scouring the country & ultimately war-torn Europe in search of Michael doing everything in her power to bring him home. ...

Persian art & architecture have a rich heritage that stretches far beyond the borders of modern-day Iran from the Abbasid monuments of Baghdad to the splendid Timurid buildings of Samarqand & Bukhara. This book follows a historical path across the Iranian world & examines the artistic legacies of great rulers & their dynasties from the rebirth of Persian art under the Seljuqs to the magnificent structures built by Timur-i Lang in Samarqand & the cultural flowering that occurred under the Safavid dynasty & beyond. Palaces mosques madrasas & mausoleums display a mesmerizing decorative complexity with form & ornament combining to create an indivisible whole. Spectacular polychrome tiles intricate brickwork curling arabesque motifs & calligraphic inscriptions attain a transcendent beauty designed to reflect both the temporal power of the rulers who commissioned them & the heavenly glory of creation. ...

The Persian Boy tells the story of the climactic last seven years of Alexander the Greats life through the eyes of his lover Bagoas. Abducted & gelded as a boy Bagoas was sold as a courtesan to King Darius of Persia but found freedom with Alexander after the Macedon army conquered his homel&. Taken as an attendant into Alexanders household the beautiful young eunuch becomes the great generals lover & their relationship sustains Alexander as he survives assassination plots the demands of two foreign wives a mutinous army & his own ferocious temper. ...

In The Persian Expedition" Xenophon a young Athenian noble who sought his destiny abroad provides an enthralling eyewitness account of the attempt by a Greek mercenary army
- the Ten Thousand
- to help Prince Cyrus overthrow his brother & take the Persian throne. When the Greeks were then betrayed by their Persian employers they were forced to march home through hundreds of miles of difficult terrain
- adrift in a hostile country & under constant attack from the unforgiving Persians & warlike tribes. In this outstanding description of endurance & individual bravery Xenophon one of those chosen to lead the retreating army provides a vivid narrative of the campaign & its aftermath & his account remains one of the best pictures we have of Greeks confronting a barbarian world."


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In 480 BC Xerxes the King of Persia led an invasion of mainland Greece. Its success should have been a formality. For seventy years victory
- rapid spectacular victory
- had seemed the birthright of the Persian Empire. In the space of a single generation they had swept across the Near East shattering ancient kingdoms storming famous cities putting together an empire which stretched from India to the shores of the Aegean. As a result of those conquests Xerxes ruled as the most powerful man on the planet. Yet somehow astonishingly against the largest expeditionary force ever assembled the Greeks of the mainland managed to hold out. The Persians were turned back. Greece remained free. Had the Greeks been defeated at Salamis not only would the West have lost its first struggle for independence & survival but it is unlikely that there would ever have been such & entity as the West at all. Tom Hollands brilliant new book describes the very first clash of Empires between East & West. Once again he has found extraordinary parallels between the ancient world & our own. There is no competing popular book describing these events.

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