At the Bottom of the Garden is a history of fairies from the ancient world to the present. Steeped in folklore and fantasy, it is a rich and diverse account of the part that fairies and fairy stories have played in culture and society. The pretty pastel world of gauzy-winged things who grant wishes and make dreams come true—as brought to you by Disney's fairies flitting across a woodland glade, or Tinkerbell’s magic wand—is predated by a darker, denser world of gorgons, goblins, and gellos; the ancient antecedents of Shakespeare's mischievous Puck or J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan. For, as Diane Purkiss explains in this engrossing history, ancient fairies were born of fear: fear of the dark, of death, and of other great rites of passage, birth and sex. To understand the importance of these early fairies to pre-industrial peoples, we need to recover that sense of dread. This book begins with the earliest manifestations of fairies in ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean. The child-killing demons and nymphs of these cultures are the joint ancestors of the medieval fairies of northern Europe, when fairy figures provided a bridge between the secular and the sacred. Fairies abducted babies and virgins, spirited away young men who were seduced by fairy queens and remained suspended in liminal states. Tamed by Shakespeare's view of the spirit world, Victorian fairies fluttered across the theater stage and the pages of children's books to reappear a century later as detergent trade marks and alien abductors. In learning about these often strange and mysterious creatures, we learn something about ourselves—our fears and our desires.

Provides a top-to-bottom look at the ocean, from birds and waves to thermal vents and ooze.

There Are Saxons at the Bottom of Our Garden by Mark L. Williams [--------------------------------------------]

“A beautifully patterned tapestry that sheds light on our own hidden fears and dreams, a light that nourishes the seeds of holiness in our souls. This whole creation will give courage and hope to so many people trying to recover from any of the many shades of darkness endured.” (From the foreword by Fr Daniel O’Leary) Here is a story of transformation lived out through the ordinary events of the everyday. From the peace of her poustinia (prayer place) Judy invites the reader to share an experience lived out through the twelve months of the year. The seasons of nature reflect those of the heart as we journey from darkness and pain to the light of the present. Poustinia is the Russian word for desert and a poustinia is a small sparsely furnished cabin, which is the perfect place for silence and listening, for communing with nature, and for developing a philosophy of life. Judy’s words and poetry, her experiences and insights, and most importantly her faith, have all been honed by the time she has spent here. The wisdom she has learnt here and the spirituality that infuses this place are described and explained in this book. It is this, combined with her understanding of Christian teaching, which is at the heart of her message.

Sulian ap Gwien was only 17 when the Jarnish raiders came. Had she been armed, she could have defeated them. It took six to subdue her--and she will never forgive them. Thus begins the tale of a woman who rises to become the strong right hand to the great king who will reunite his people. (August)