Needless to say, Susanna's plans don't always go as, well, planned. But nothing is going to stop this reporter from getting a great story for the London edition of Teen Scene- not Francesca, her snooty arch-nemesis, not her crush on the boy in the local chip shop, and definitely not the fact that the bright lights of the city seem very far away from the small Kent village where she's staying… Hilarious, heart-warming, and totally fabulous, dahling, Susanna is in London and loving it!

Shakespeare in Children's Literature looks at the genre of Shakespeare-for-children, considering both adaptations of his plays and children's novels in which he appears as a character. Drawing on feminist theory and sociology, Hateley demonstrates how Shakespeare for children utilizes the ongoing cultural capital of "Shakespeare," and the pedagogical aspects of children's literature, to perpetuate anachronistic forms of identity and authority.

Handel's Israelite oratorios are today little known among non-specialists, but in their own day they were unique, pioneering and extremely popular. Dating from the period 1732-1752, they combine the musical conventions of Italian opera with dramatic plots in English that are adaptations of Old Testament narratives. They constitute a form of biblical interpretation, but to date, there has been no thoroughgoing study of the theological ideas or the attitudes towards the biblical text that might be conveyed in the oratorios' libretti. This book aims to fill that gap from an interdisciplinary perspective. Combining the insights of present-day biblical studies with those of Handelian studies, Deborah W. Rooke examines the libretti of ten oratorios - Esther, Deborah, Athalia, Saul, Samson, Joseph and his Brethren, Judas Macchabaeus, Solomon, Susanna and Jephtha - and evaluates the relationship between each libretto and the biblical story on which it is based. Rooke comments on each biblical text from a modern scholarly perspective, and then compares the modern interpretation with the version of the biblical narrative that appears in the relevant libretto. Where the libretto is based on a prior dramatic or literary adaptation of the biblical narrative, she also discusses the prior adaptation and how it relates to both the biblical text and the corresponding oratorio libretto. In this way the distinctive nuances of the oratorio libretti are highlighted, and each libretto is then analysed and interpreted in the light of eighteenth-century religion, scholarship, culture and politics. The result is a fascinating exploration not only of the oratorio libretti but also of how culture and context determines the nature of biblical interpretation.

A Virtuous Woman The life of Susanna Wesley (1669-1742) is both intriguing and illuminating to explore. This book presents her life in ways that will astound the modern reader. Susanna and her husband, Samuel, had nineteen children, ten of whom survived to adulthood. Her son Charles became a well-known hymn writer and her son John became the founder of Methodism. Susanna was brought up in a Puritan home as the youngest of twenty-five children. As a teenager, she became a member of the Church of England. She became the wife of a chronically debt-ridden parish rector in an English village. She said, I have had a large experience of what the world calls adverse fortune. Nonetheless, Susanna managed to pass down to her children Christian principles that stayed with them. Ray Comfort and Trisha Ramos quote from Susannas many letters and other sources to reveal a true woman of faith, who strongly endured the trials of life. Susanna Wesley: Her Remarkable Life gives readers a generous glimpse into the life of this exemplary wife and mother. In addition, the authors provide us with contemporary illustrations and faith-building stories that parallel Susannas experiences of walking out her faith.