In Irish mythology, the Badb, or in modern Irish Badhbh —also meaning "crow"—is a war goddess who takes the form of a crow, and is thus sometimes known as Badb Catha. She is known to cause fear and confusion among soldiers to move the tide of battle to her favoured side. Badb may also appear prior to a battle to foreshadow the extent of the carnage to come, or to predict the death of a notable person. She would sometimes do this through wailing cries, leading to comparisons with the bean-sídhe (banshee).
The Scarlet Letter: A Romance is a work of historical fiction by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in 1850. Set in the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony during the years 1642 to 1649, the novel tells the story of Hester Prynne, who conceives a daughter with a man to whom she is not married and then struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity. As punishment, she must wear a scarlet letter 'A'. Containing a number of religious and historic allusions, the book explores themes of legalism, sin and guilt.
The Blithedale Romance is a novel by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne published in 1852. It is the third major "romance", as he called the form. Its setting is a utopian socialist farming commune based on Brook Farm, of which Hawthorne was a founding member and where he lived in 1841. The novel dramatizes the conflict between the commune's ideals and the members' private desires and romantic rivalries.
Sylvia Nora Townsend Warner was an English novelist, poet and musicologist, known for works such as Lolly Willowes, The Corner That Held Them, and Kingdoms of Elfin. Her paternal grandfather, The Reverend George Townsend Warner was headmaster of Newton Abbot Proprietary College in Devon where he had taught Arthur Quiller Couch, Bertram Fletcher Robinson and Percy Fawcett.
The Truth About Cats & Dogs is a 1996 American romantic comedy film directed by Michael Lehmann and written by Audrey Wells. It stars Janeane Garofalo, Uma Thurman, Ben Chaplin and Jamie Foxx. The story is a modern reinterpretation of the 1897 Cyrano de Bergerac story and follows Abby, a veterinarian and radio talk show host who asks her model friend Noelle to impersonate her when a handsome man shows interest in her. The original music score was composed by Howard Shore. Upon its release, the film garnered positive reviews and was met with considerable box office success.
The Marble Faun: Or, The Romance of Monte Beni, also known by the British title Transformation, was the last of the four major romances by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and was published in 1860. The Marble Faun, written on the eve of the American Civil War, is set in a fantastical Italy. The romance mixes elements of a fable, pastoral, gothic novel, and travel guide.
Lives of the Mayfair Witches is a trilogy of supernatural horror/fantasy novels by American novelist Anne Rice. It centers on a family of witches whose fortunes have been guided for generations by a spirit named Lasher. The series began in 1990 with The Witching Hour, which was followed by the sequels Lasher (1993) and Taltos (1994). All three novels debuted at No. 2 on The New York Times Best Seller list.
The House of the Seven Gables: A Romance is a Gothic novel written beginning in mid-1850 by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne and published in April 1851 by Ticknor and Fields of Boston. The novel follows a New England family and their ancestral home. In the book, Hawthorne explores themes of guilt, retribution, and atonement, and colors the tale with suggestions of the supernatural and witchcraft. The setting for the book was inspired by the Turner-Ingersoll Mansion, a gabled house in Salem, Massachusetts, belonging to Hawthorne's cousin Susanna Ingersoll, as well as ancestors of Hawthorne who had played a part in the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. The book was well received upon publication and has been adapted several times to film and television.
Murgatroyd is a surname among the English nobility, originating in Yorkshire. Its etymology, according to one source, is as follows: in 1371, a constable was appointed for the district of Warley in Yorkshire. He adopted the name of Johanus de Morgateroyde, or literally: Johanus of Moor Gate Royde or 'the district leading to the moor'. Another source says the place name means Margaret's road. In Old Norse, royd means "clearing". Although Moorgate in London was a gate with the road to the moor passing through, in Yorkshire, gate means "street", so Moor Gate Royd would be 'a clearing in the forest on the road to the moor'.
The Magician: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel is a fantasy novel by Michael Scott. It is the sequel to The Alchemyst, and the second installment in the six part book series, The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel. It was released on 5 June 2008 in the United Kingdom, and 24 June 2008 in the United States. It was nominated for an Irish Book of the Year Award, The Dublin Airport Authority Irish Children's Book of the Year – Senior Category.
The Cat Who Talked Turkey is the 26th novel in The Cat Who series written by American writer Lilian Jackson Braun. The audiobook is narrated by George Guidall.
The South Australian Literary Awards, until 2024 known as the Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature, comprise a group of biennially-granted literary awards established in 1986 by the Government of South Australia. Formerly announced during Adelaide Writers' Week in March, as part of the Adelaide Festival, from 2024 the awards are announced in a dedicated ceremony in October. The awards include national as well as state-based prizes, and offer three fellowships for South Australian writers. Several categories have been added to the original four.
The Mark of Athena is an American fantasy-adventure novel written by Rick Riordan, based on Greek and Roman mythology. It was published on October 2, 2012, and is the third book in The Heroes of Olympus series, a sequel to the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series. It is preceded by The Son of Neptune and followed by The House of Hades. The novel is narrated in the third-person.
The Diviners is a 2012 young adult novel by Libba Bray. The book was published on September 18, 2012, by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers and is set in New York City during the 1920s. The plot follows seventeen-year-old Evie O'Neill as she helps her uncle Will—curator of the Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult—uncover the killer behind a mysterious series of murders.
Susan Hawthorne is an Australian writer, poet, political commentator and publisher. Together with Renate Klein, she is co-founder and director of Spinifex Press, a leading independent feminist publisher that celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2016 in Melbourne with a festival of radical feminism. She and Klein were named winners of the George Robertson Award, which recognises publishers with 30 years or more service to publishing.
The Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) are publishers' and literary awards held by the Australian Publishers Association annually in Sydney since 2006. The Lloyd O'Neil Award, now awarded as part of the awards, was established first, in 1992.
Jessica Townsend is an Australian author known for the children's fantasy novel series, The Nevermoor series.
Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow is an Australian fantasy novel written by Jessica Townsend as the second book in The Nevermoor series. The book was published by Lothian Books on October 30, 2018, in Australia and Orion Books in the United Kingdom, but Little, Brown on November 13, 2018, in the United States. Wundersmith follows young Morrigan Crow as she undergoes Nevermoorian schooling, becomes a part of the prestigious Wundrous Society, and deals with being a Wundersmith, a type of magician who can overtake the mysterious substance of Wunder.
The Nevermoor Series is a book series written by Australian author Jessica Townsend and published by Little, Brown and Company.
Hollowpox: The Hunt for Morrigan Crow is a 2020 novel written by Jessica Townsend and published by Little, Brown and Company. It is the third installment in The Nevermoor series and was released on September 29 in Australia, October 15 in the United Kingdom, and October 27 in the United States. The book will be followed by a sequel, entitled Silverborn: The Mystery of Morrigan Crow. The book follows Morrigan Crow, who was cursed after being born on Eventide day, and was supposed to die on her eleventh birthday, but is saved by the mysterious Jupiter North and taken to the wonderful city of Nevermoor. In Hollowpox, Morrigan continues her adventure and must control her Wundersmith powers that threaten to destroy her.
