Firma: Olibro

Taking the legends surrounding King Arthur and weaving in new psychological elements of personal desire and courtly manner, Chretien de Troyes fashioned a new form of medieval Romance. The Knight of the Cart is the first telling of the adulterous relationship between Lancelot and Arthur's Queen Guinevere, and in The Knight with the Lion Yvain neglects his bride in his quest for greater glory. Erec and Enide explores a knight's conflict between love and honour, Cliges exalts the possibility of pure love outside marriage, while the haunting The Story of the Grail chronicles the legendary quest. Rich in symbolism, these evocative tales combine closely observed detail with fantastic adventure to create a compelling world that profoundly influenced Malory, and are the basis of the Arthurian legends we know today.

Fallen Heir, the fourth in the #1 New York Times bestselling TikTok sensation The Royals series It's time to fight for what they want - each other. Easton Royal has it all: looks, money, intelligence. His goal in life is to have as much fun as possible.He never thinks about the consequences because he doesn't have to. Until Hartley Wright appears, shaking up his easy life. She's the one girl who's said no, despite being attracted to him.Easton can't figure her out and that makes her all the more irresistible. Hartley doesn't want him. She says he needs to grow up.She might be right. Rivals. Rules.Regrets. For the first time in Easton's life, wearing a Royal crown isn't enough. When you start high, do you fall harder?

This title enchants stories about the evolution of the universe, with characters that are fashioned from mathematical formulae and cellular structures. They disport themselves among galaxies, experience the solidification of planets, move from aquatic to terrestrial existence, play games with hydrogen atoms - and have time for a love life. 'Naturally, we were all there, - old Qfwfq said, - where else could we have been? Nobody knew then that there could be space. Or time either: what use did we have for time, packed in there like sardines?'

'This book is an action, a political action where revolution is the goal'Andrea Dworkin's blazing, prophetic debut argued that a deep-rooted hatred of women has been ingrained in society for centuries - and still governs us today. From fairy tales to erotic novels to witch-burnings, she uncovers the ways in which male violence and oppression have been normalized throughout history, and points the way to liberation.'To see where we are going we must understand where we have been. Woman Hating is a much needed and long overdue addition toward that understanding' Audre Lorde'A singularly powerful voice ... Dworkin [gave] definitive expression to the radical feminist tenet that sexual domination was the beating heart of patriarchy' Amia Srinivasan, LRB

Step into the unsettling world of Shirley Jackson this autumn with a collection of her finest, darkest short stories, revealing the queen of American gothic at her mesmerising best. There's something nasty in suburbia. In these deliciously dark tale

A brand new TV tie-in cookbook to accompany Nadiya's next BBC cookery series. Staying closer to home this time, she will explore how food fits, enriches, and defines our lives, offering fast, easy and delicious new ideas for whatever each day brings. Nadiya will meet and take inspiration from home cooks around the UK, discovering their family food stories and all-time favourite dishes. Warm, inclusive and celebratory, her new book and series will paint an intimate yet vibrant portrait of modern, busy British life and the food we all love to cook and eat.

Herzog is alone, now that Madeleine has left him for his best friend. Solitary, in a crumbling house which he shares with rats, he is buffeted by a whirlwind of mental activity. People rumoured that his mind had collapsed. But was it true? Locked for days in the custody of his rambling memories, Herzog scrawls frantic letters which he never mails. His mind buzzes with conundrums and polemics, writing in a spectacular intellectual labyrinth. Is he crazy, or is he a genius?..

Dazzling modern lyrical poems from Catullus - by turns smutty, abusive, romantic and deeply moving. Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguin's 80th birthday. Little Black Classics celebrate the huge range and diversity of Penguin Classics, with books from around the world and across many centuries. They take us from a balloon ride over Victorian London to a garden of blossom in Japan, from Tierra del Fuego to 16th-century California and the Russian steppe. Here are stories lyrical and savage; poems epic and intimate; essays satirical and inspirational; and ideas that have shaped the lives of millions. Catullus (c.84-54 BCE). Catullus' The Poems is available in Penguin Classics.

Winner of the Estoril Global Issues Distinguished Book Prize 2013 In 1412, Europe was a miserable backwater ravaged by plague, bad sanitation and incessant war, while the Orient was home to dazzling civilizations. Yet, somehow, the West came to dominate the Rest for most of the next half millennium. In this vital, brilliant book, Niall Ferguson reveals the six 'killer applications' that the Rest lacked: competition, science, property rights, medicine, consumerism and the work ethic. And he asks: do we still have these winning tools? Or is this the end of Western ascendancy?'Brilliantly written, full of wit and virtuosity, stuffed with memorable lines and gorgeous bits of information. A great read' The Times

People speak different languages, and always have. We all use translation to cope with the diversity of languages. This title ranges across the whole of human experience, from foreign films to philosophy, to show why translation is at the heart of what we do and who we are.

'Big Daddy' Pollitt, the richest cotton planter in the Mississippi Delta, is about to celebrate his sixty-fifth birthday. His two sons have returned home for the occasion: Gooper, his wife and children, Brick, an ageing football hero who has turned to drink, and his feisty wife Maggie. As the hot summer evening unfolds, the veneer of happy family life and Southern gentility gradually slips away as unpleasant truths emerge and greed, lies, jealousy and suppressed sexuality threaten to reach boiling point. Made into a film starring Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman, "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" is a masterly portrayal of family tensions and individuals trapped in prisons of their own making.

As private secretary to the Emperor Hadrian, the scholar Suetonius had access to the imperial archives and used them (along with eyewitness accounts) to produce one of the most colourful biographical works in history. "The Twelve Caesars" chronicles the public careers and private lives of the men who wielded absolute power over Rome, from the foundation of the empire under Julius Caesar and Augustus, to the decline into depravity and civil war under Nero and the recovery that came with his successors. A masterpiece of observation, anecdote and detailed physical description, "The Twelve Caesars" presents us with a gallery of vividly drawn - and all too human - individuals.

'You must be Odysseus, man of twists and turns...' The tales of Odysseus' struggle with a man-eating Cyclops and Circe, the beautiful enchantress who turns men into swine. Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguin's 80th birthday. Little Black Classics celebrate the huge range and diversity of Penguin Classics, with books from around the world and across many centuries. They take us from a balloon ride over Victorian London to a garden of blossom in Japan, from Tierra del Fuego to 16th-century California and the Russian steppe. Here are stories lyrical and savage; poems epic and intimate; essays satirical and inspirational; and ideas that have shaped the lives of millions. Next to nothing is known about Homer's life. His works available in Penguin Classics are The Homeric Hymns, The Iliad and The Odyssey.

We humans tend to believe that things are only real in as much as we perceive them, an idea reinforced by modern philosophy, which privileges us as special, radically different in kind from all other objects. But as Graham Harman, one of the theory's leading exponents, shows, Object-Oriented Ontology (OOO) rejects the idea of human specialness: the world, he states, is clearly not the world as manifest to humans. 'To think a reality beyond our thinking is not nonsense, but obligatory.'At OOO's heart is the idea that objects - whether real, fictional, natural, artificial, human or non-human - are mutually autonomous. This core idea has significance for nearly every field of inquiry which is concerned in some way with the systematic interaction of objects, and the degree to which individual objects resist full participation in such systems.In this brilliant new introduction, Graham Harman lays out OOO's history, ideas and impact, taking in art and literature, politics and natural science along the way.

Between his work for the King and Queen of Daxaria and a new (secret) relationship with Lady Annika Jenoure, Fin’s life is anything but tidy. Annika is being forced from the castle after there are threats to her safety. All the while tension is brewi

These two works on life's fleeting pleasures are by Buddhist monks from medieval Japan, but each shows a different world-view. In the short memoir Hojoki, Chomei recounts his decision to withdraw from worldly affairs and live as a hermit in a tiny hut in the mountains, contemplating the impermanence of human existence. Kenko, however, displays a fascination with more earthy matters in his collection of anecdotes, advice and observations. From ribald stories of drunken monks to aching nostalgia for the fading traditions of the Japanese court, Essays in Idleness is a constantly surprising work that ranges across the spectrum of human experience. Meredith McKinney's excellent new translation also includes notes and an introduction exploring the spiritual and historical background of the works. Chomei was born into a family of Shinto priests in around 1155, at at time when the stable world of the court was rapidly breaking up. He became an important though minor poet of his day, and at the age of fifty, withdrew from the world to become a tonsured monk. He died in around 1216. Kenko was born around 1283 in Kyoto.He probably became a monk in his late twenties, and was also noted as a calligrapher. Today he is remembered for his wise and witty aphorisms, 'Essays in Idleness'. Meredith McKinney, who has also translated Sei Shonagon's The Pillow Book for Penguin Classics, is a translator of both contemporary and classical Japanese literature. She lived in Japan for twenty years and is currently a visitng fellow at the Australian National University in Canberra. "[Essays in Idleness is] a most delightful book, and one that has served as a model of Japanese style and taste since the 17th century. These cameo-like vignettes reflect the importance of the little, fleeting futile things, and each essay is Kenko himself". (Asian Student).

In "The Book of the Courtier" (1528), Baldesar Castiglione, a diplomat and Papal Nuncio to Rome, sets out to define the essential virtues for those at Court. In a lively series of imaginary conversations between the real-life courtiers to the Duke of Urbino, his speakers discuss qualities of noble behaviour - chiefly discretion, decorum, nonchalance and gracefulness - as well as wider questions such as the duties of a good government and the true nature of love. Castiglione's narrative power and psychological perception make this guide both an entertaining comedy of manners and a revealing window onto the ideals and preoccupations of the Italian Renaissance at the moment of its greatest splendour.

'This is probably the best book ever written on the Habsburgs in any language, certainly the best I have ever read ... Students, scholars and the general reader will never find a better guide to Habsburg history' Alan Sked, Times Literary SupplementIn The Habsburgs, Martyn Rady tells the epic story of a dynasty and the world it built - and then lost - over nearly a millennium. From modest origins, the Habsburgs grew in power to gain control of the Holy Roman Empire in the fifteenth century.Then, in just a few decades, their possessions rapidly expanded to take in a large part of Europe stretching from Hungary to Spain, and from the Far East to the New World. The family continued to dominate Central Europe until the catastrophe of the First World War. With its seemingly disorganized mass of large and small territories, its tangle of laws and privileges and its medley of languages, the Habsburg Empire has always appeared haphazard and incomplete.But here Martyn Rady shows the reasons for the family's incredible endurance, driven by the belief that they were destined to rule the world as defenders of the Roman Catholic Church, guarantors of peace and patrons of learning. The Habsburg emperors were themselves absurdly varied in their characters - from warlords to contemplatives, from clever to stupid, from idle to frenzied - but all driven by the same sense of family mission. Scattered around the world, countless buildings, institutions and works of art continue to bear witness to their overwhelming impact.The Habsburgs is the definitive history of a remarkable dynasty that, for better or worse, shaped Europe and the world.

Eusebius' account is the only surviving historical record of the Church during its crucial first 300 years. Bishop Eusebius, a learned scholar who lived most of his life in Caesarea in Palestine, broke new ground in writing the History and provided a model for all later ecclesiastical historians. In tracing the history of the Church from the time of Christ to the Great Persecution at the beginning of the fourth century, and ending with the conversion of the Emperor Constantine, his aim was to show the purity and continuity of the doctrinal tradition of Christianity and its struggle against persecutors and heretics.

The highly anticipated follow-up to the sensational bestseller QUIET - empowering introverted children, teens and young adults. Focusing on the strengths and challenges of being introverted, QUIET POWER is full of examples from school, family life and friendship, applying the breakthrough discoveries of Quiet to readers that so badly need them.

In the foothills of the Himalayas sits a once grand, now crumbling house - home to three people and a dog. There is the retired judge dreaming of colonial yesterdays; his orphaned granddaughter Sai who has fallen for her clever maths tutor; the cook, whose son Biju writes untruthful letters home from New York City; and Mutt, the judge

'Ramstedt advises us to look away from social media to create the nurturing homes we need’ – The TimesAn essential guide to choosing furniture that works best for you, from the international bestselling author of The Interior Design Handbook. Award-winning blogger Frida Ramstedt is back with practical tips and insider secrets from the world of furniture design. In The Furnishing Handbook, she shares insights and advice on what to look out for to ensure the furniture we buy doesn’t just look good but is also well-made, long-lasting and, most importantly, comfortable to use every day.The Furnishing Handbook is an indispensable guide for anyone investing in new pieces for their home.

'I walk into the corner of my room, see my friends in high places I don't know which is which and whom is whom, they've stolen each other's faces' Spanning Nick Cave's entire career, from his writing for The Birthday Party, through highly acclaimed albums like Murder Ballads, Henry's Dream and DIG, LAZARUS, DIG!!! up to his latest release, Ghosteen, this is a must-have book for all fans of the dark, the beautiful and the defiant - for all fans of the songs of Nick Cave.

Today many of us live indoor lives, disconnected from the natural world as never before. And yet nature remains deeply ingrained in our language, culture and consciousness. For centuries, we have acted on an intuitive sense that we need communion wit

Collecting the most incisive and influential writings of one of Rome's finest orators, Cicero's "Selected Works" is translated with an introduction by Michael Grant in "Penguin Classics". Lawyer, philosopher, statesman and defender of Rome's Republic, Cicero was a master of eloquence, and his pure literary and oratorical style and strict sense of morality have been a powerful influence on European literature and thought for over two thousand years in matters of politics, philosophy, and faith. This selection demonstrates the diversity of his writings, and includes letters to friends and statesmen on Roman life and politics; the vitriolic Second Philippic Against Antony; and his two most famous philosophical treatises, "On Duties" and "On Old Age" - a celebration of his own declining years. Written at a time of brutal political and social change, Cicero's lucid ethical writings formed the foundation of the Western liberal tradition in political and moral thought that continues to this day. This translation by Michael Grant conveys the elegance of Cicero's writings.His introduction describes their social and political background, while maps, genealogical charts, timelines and a glossary place the works in context. Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC), Roman orator and statesman, was born at Arpinium to a wealthy local family. Having been educated in Rome, by 70 BC he had established himself as a leading barrister and was beginning a successful political career. Cicero received honours usually reserved only for the Roman aristocracy and was one of the greatest Roman orators. If you enjoyed "Selected Works", you might like Suetonius' "The Twelve Caesars", also available in "Penguin Classics".

Language: English, Binding: Paperback, Number of pages: 352, Publishers: Penguin Books, Author: Dick Davis,Dick Davis, ISBN-13: 9780143135616, Date of issue: 2021

Rome is in turmoil. With the Emperor dead, his two sons, Saturninus and Bassianus, quarrel over who should succeed him; but neither are as popular as the general Titus Andronicus, returned to Rome victorious after a ten-year campaign, with Tamora, Queen of the Goths, and her three sons as his prisoners.

Perhaps the single most influential work of English drama, William Shakespeares Hamlet is a timeless tragedy of the conflicted loyalties, madness, betrayal and terrible revenge. This Penguin Shakespeare edition is edited by TJB Spencer with an introduction by Alan Sinfield. 'To be or not to be - that is the question'. Something is rotten in the state of Denmark. When young prince Hamlet is confronted by his father's ghost on the battlements of Castle Elsinore, he is burdened with a terrible task: slay King Claudius, Hamlet's uncle, who the ghost alleges murdered him. Wrestling with his conscience, Hamlet feigns wild madness while plotting a brutal revenge, alienating his mother Queen Gertrude and spurning his lover Ophelia. But the act of insanity takes Hamlet perilously close to the reality, wreaking havoc on guilty and innocent alike. This book contains a general introduction to Shakespeares life and Elizabethan theatre, a separate introduction to Hamlet, a chronology, suggestions for further reading, an essay by Paul Prescott discussing performance options on both stage and screen, and a commentary.William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was born to John Shakespeare and Mary Arden some time in late April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon. He wrote about 38 plays (the precise number is uncertain), many of which are regarded as the most exceptional works of drama ever produced, including Romeo and Juliet (1595), Henry V (1599), Hamlet (1601), Othello (1604), King Lear (1606) and Macbeth (1606), as well as a collection of 154 sonnets, which number among the most profound and influential love-poetry in English. If you enjoyed Hamlet, you might like Shakespeares Macbeth, also available in Penguin Shakespeare. "It has everything - intrigue, romance, politics, violence, revenge, jealousy, wit. It plays itself out on such a grand scale." (Kenneth Branagh).

'A natural follow up to Susan Cain's Quiet' - The Sunday Times Style'The authors paint an illuminating portrait of highly sensitive people' - Financial Times*****Have you ever been told you're too sensitive? Welcome to the club. Nearly 1 in 3 people have the genes to be more sensitive than others. But what if we said it doesn't have to be the insult it's always been framed as?Highly sensitive people:· Have a heightened sense of empathy· Tune into subtle details and make connections that others miss· Are often wonderfully creativeThrough fascinating research, expert storytelling and practical insight, this book will teach you how to unlock the potential in this undervalued strength and leverage it in your relationships, your work and your life.Shattering the myth that being sensitive is a weakness, Sensitive will change - once and for all - how the world sees sensitive people, and how they see themselves.

A playful and accessible guide to fermenting at homeJames Read is on a mission to smuggle bacteria into our kitchens. In Of Cabbages & Kimchi, he takes the ten greatest 'living' ferments - fermented foods that are neither cooked nor pasteurized - and places them under the microscope, before cooking with them in all their delicious versatility. From the fiery funk of kimchi to the velvet tang of kefir, James describes the microbial process, then shares his recipes for recreating these wonders in your own kitchen - no specialist equipment required.Alongside his recipes, James investigates the extraordinary cultural and historic backgrounds of fermented foods, exploring how the microbes that bring them to life have developed alongside our culinary evolution. Featuring over fifty recipes - including Mushroom and Sauerkraut Pierogi, Chilled Radish Noodle Soup and Green Chilli Fermented Salsa - and packed to the brim with Marija Tiurina's gastro-surrealist watercolour illustrations, Of Cabbages and Kimchi will help you create, understand and appreciate fermentation's bubbling magic.

Language: English, Binding: Paperback, Number of pages: 352, Publishers: Penguin Books, Author: Cecil Scott Forester, ISBN-13: 9781405928304, Date of issue: 2017

This title features an extraordinary collection of thematically linked essays, including "The Uncanny", "Screen Memories" and "Family Romances". Leonardo da Vinci fascinated Freud primarily because he was keen to know why his personality was so incomprehensible to his contemporaries. In this probing biographical essay he deconstructs both da Vinci's character and the nature of his genius. As ever, many of his exploratory avenues lead to the subject's sexuality - why did da Vinci depict the naked human body the way he did? What of his tendency to surround himself with handsome young boys that he took on as his pupils? Intriguing, thought-provoking and often contentious, this volume contains some of Freud's best writing.

The Desert Fathers were the first Christian monks, living in solitude in the deserts of Egypt, Palestine, and Syria. In contrast to the formalised and official theology of the "founding fathers" of the church, the Desert Fathers were ordinary Christians who chose to renounce the world and live lives of celibacy, fasting, vigil, prayer and poverty in direct and simple response to the gospel. Their sayings were first recorded in the 4th century and consist of spiritual advice, anecdotes and parables. The Desert Fathers' teachings and lives have inspired poetry, opera and art, as well as providing spiritual nourishment and a template for monastic life.

Hailed by Salman Rushdie as a "brilliantly innovative thriller-writer," Philip Kerr is the creator of taut, gripping, noir-tinged mysteries that are nothing short of spellbinding. In this second book of the Berlin Noir trilogy, The Pale Criminal brings back Bernie Gunther, an ex-policeman who thought he'd seen everything on the streets of 1930s Berlin-until he turned freelance and each case he tackled sucked him further into the grisly excesses of Nazi subculture. Hard-hitting, fast-paced, and richly detailed, The Pale Criminal is noir writing at its blackest and best.

With a new introduction by Polly Samson, Sunday Times bestselling author of A THEATRE FOR DREAMERS 'Gorgeous... the written equivalent of lying in the sun eating figs' India Knight, Sunday Times'That summer we bought big straw hats. Maria's had cherries around the rim, Infanta's had forget-me-nots, and mine had poppies as red as fire. . .'Three Summers is a warm and tender tale of three sisters growing up in the countryside near Athens before the Second World War. Living in a ramshackle old house with their divorced mother are flirtatious, hot-headed Maria, beautiful but distant Infanta, and dreamy and rebellious Katerina, through whose eyes the story is mostly observed. Over three summers, the girls share and keep secrets, fall in and out of love, try to understand the strange ways of adults and decide what kind of adults they hope to become.'The sun has disappeared from books these days... You are one of those who pass it on' Albert Camus to Margarita Liberaki 'The literary equivalent of a sun-soaked holiday in Greece' Culture Whisper'A leisurely, large-hearted coming-of-age novel, earthy and innocent, nostalgic and beautifully rendered' Kirkus'A dreamy, cinematic tapestry of Greek village life' NPR

'Portrays the breakdown of a murderer in ways that recall Camus' The Stranger' The New York Times Joseph Bloch, a once-famous goalkeeper turned construction worker, commits a random murder without thought or regret. As he wanders the streets, from h

UNBREAKABLE BONDS OF FAMILY AND LOVE ARE EXPLORED IN THIS BRILLIANTLY TENDER STORY FROM THE AUTHOR OF GUY'S GIRL----On the day she arrives in Canada for her older brother's wedding, Eliot Beck hasn't seen her family in three years. Eliot adores her wacky collection of siblings and in-laws, but there's a reason she fled to Manhattan and buried herself in her work - and she's not ready to share it with anyone.Eliot thinks she's prepared to survive the four-day wedding extravaganza - until she sees her best friend, Manuel, looking as handsome as ever. When they met as children, she felt like she'd found the missing half of her soul. She tried so hard not to fall in love with him. . . but did anyway.Manuel's presence threatens to infiltrate the fortress Eliot has built around herself. If she isn't careful, by the end of this wedding, the whole castle might come crumbling down. . .----READERS ARE LOVING HOW TO HIDE IN PLAIN SIGHT 'Bring out your napkins and heavy weapons (hard drink, comfort food, cuddles, wishful thinking to relax) before starting and get ready to be shaken to the core!' 5 ***** Reader Review 'Broken and beautiful' 5 ***** Reader Review'This book boldly approaches many sensitive subjects that make your heart bleed' 5 ***** Reader Review'Incredibly raw and honest' 5 ***** Reader Review'A beautiful story about family and love and fighting a hidden battle inside your own head' 5 ***** Reader Review'I simply could not put this book down' 5 ***** Reader Review

'Feminism is hated because women are hated'Why do some women support Right-wing movements, even though they curtail their freedoms? Andrea Dworkin's timeless, visionary analysis goes to the heart of this contradiction, exploring the Right's positions on abortion, sexuality, racism and antifeminism, and showing how it attempts both to exploit and to quiet women's deepest fears of male violence. The Right-wing woman, Dworkin contends, acquiesces to male authority for protection and some semblance of power: because 'survival depends on it'.'Groundbreaking' Bella Abzug'Her razor-sharp analysis of why so many women are attracted to a politics that despises their rights is more relevant today than ever' Guardian

What makes you happy? This title features fables, decadence, heartbreak, tall tales, satire, ghosts, battles and elephants.

English crime novelist Charles Latimer is travelling in Istanbul when he makes the acquaintance of Turkish police inspector Colonel Haki. It is from him that he first hears of the mysterious Dimitrios - an infamous master criminal, long wanted by the law, whose body has just been fished out of the Bosphorus. Fascinated by the story, Latimer decides to retrace Dimitrios' steps across Europe to gather material for a new book. But, as he gradually discovers more about his subject's shadowy history, fascination tips over into obsession. And, in entering Dimitrios' criminal underworld, Latimer realizes that his own life may be on the line.

'Anger. Fear. Guilt. Denial. Silence. These are the ways in which ordinary white people react when it is pointed out to them that they have done or said something that has - unintentionally - caused racial offence or hurt. But these reactions only serve to silence people of colour, who cannot give honest feedback to 'liberal' white people lest they provoke a dangerous emotional reaction. Robin DiAngelo coined the term 'White Fragility' in 2011 to describe this process and is here to show us how it serves to uphold the system of white supremacy. Using knowledge and insight gained over decades of running racial awareness workshops and working on this idea as a Professor of Whiteness Studies, she shows us how we can start having more honest conversations, listen to each other better and react to feedback with grace and humility. It is not enough to simply hold abstract progressive views and condemn the obvious racists on social media - change starts with us all at a practical, granular level, and it is time for all white people to take responsibility for relinquishing their own racial supremacy.

Gives readers a taste of the Classics' huge range and diversity, with works from around the world and across the centuries - including fables, decadence, heartbreak, tall tales, satire, ghosts, battles and elephants.