Forty, freckled and facing infertility, Megan Dunn hears the siren call that reawakens her lifelong obsession, and sets off in pursuit of mermaids. Real mermaids. From Coney Island and Copenhagen to Courtenay Place, Wellington, New Zealand, from the semiotics of 1984 romantic comedy Splash to meet-ups with top professional mermaids, her odyssey takes her fathoms deep, past the wreck and the boardwalk, as she asks the question that has plagued humans for millennia: What is it about mermaids? Diving into the caverns of her own life, Megan loses the plot but finds her voice and hears the mermaids singing. Shimmeringly intellectual and devastatingly deadpan, tragicomic and true, this is an off-the-hook tale about sex and death, mothers and daughters, women’s work and marriage, the stories we tell ourselves and the myths that define us all. ‘Her voice is so strong. It’s wonderful.’ — Lorde ‘A treasure of a memoir . . . funny, frank and moving.’ — Kim Hill ‘Observes the importance of fantasy with keen wit and an open heart’. — Pip Adam, author of Nothing to See ‘A fabulously witty adventure, written in deeply moving prose.’ — Philip Hoare, author of Leviathan or, The Whale

This is a different look at an age-old topic. I have gathered together bits and pieces of mermaid lore that is rarely heard in the happy arena where children play. This is a gritty, morbid look at some theories that revolve around the mermaid mythos that have come up in my studies and readings over the years.

Over the course of 80 years television has produced countless programs, many of which fit a particular profile. Did you know, for example, some programs are devoted to ghosts, genies, angels and even mermaids? Color broadcasting was first tested in 1941? Live models were used to advertise lingerie as early as 1950? Or that nudity (although accidental) occurred on TV long before cable was even thought possible? These are just a few of the many facts and firsts that can be found within the 145 entries included. Appropriate for fans and scholars, and bursting with obscure facts, this work traces the evolution of specific topics from 1925 through the 2005-2006 season. Entries include such diverse themes as adolescence, adult film actresses on TV, bars, espionage, gays, immigrants, lawyers, transsexuals and truckers, as well as locations like Canada, Hawaii, New York and Los Angeles. Each entry is arranged as a timeline, clearly displaying how television's treatment of the subject has changed through the years. Each entry is as complete as possible and contains series, pilot, special and experimental program information. Whether just a fan of television and eager to know more about the medium or a scholar seeking hard-to-find facts and information, this book traces the history of specific topics from television's infancy to its changes in the early twenty-first century.

A fun and accessible guide to foreign television series that were later broadcast in or adapted for the U.S., including popular favorites such as The Office and Doctor Who. In Broadcast in the U.S.: Foreign TV Series Brought to America, Vincent Terrace delivers a wonderful resource of over 400 foreign television shows broadcast in the United States, along with their American adaptations. From British comedies like Fawlty Towers and Keeping Up Appearances to the Australian fantasy series The Girl from Tomorrow and the Japanese cartoons Astro Boy and Kimba, the White Lion, this book explores an often-overlooked side of American television and popular culture. Each entry includes details regarding the cast, genre, episodes, U.S. and foreign networks, broadcast dates, storylines, and trivia. Containing information not easily found anywhere else, such as unsold script proposals, internet TV series, and unaired pilots, this first and only guide to foreign television series broadcast in the U.S. is a valuable reference for all fans of television history.

Horror and the supernatural have fascinated people for centuries, and many of the most central figures appear over and over again. These figures have gained iconic status and continue to hold sway over popular culture and the modern imagination. This book offers extended entries on 24 of the most enduring and significant figures of horror and the supernatural, including The Sea Creature, The Witch, The Alien, The Vampire, The Werewolf, The Sorcerer, The Ghost, The Siren, The Mummy, The Devil, and The Zombie. Each entry is written by a leading authority on the subject and discusses the topic's essential features and lasting influence, from the classical epics of Homer to the novels of Stephen King. Entries cite sources for further reading, and the Encyclopedia closes with a selected, general bibliography. Entries include illustrations, sidebars of interesting information, and excerpts from key texts. Horror and the supernatural have fascinated people for centuries, with many of the most central figures appearing over and over again across time and cultures. These figures have starred in the world's most widely read literary works, most popular films, and most captivating television series. Because of their popularity and influence, they have attained iconic status and a special place in the popular imagination. This book overviews 24 of the most significant icons of horror and the supernatural.

The little-known author Jan van Naaldwijk, whose two early sixteenth-century Dutch chronicles of Holland are preserved in autograph manuscripts in the British Library, wrote at a moment reputed to be the turning point between medieval and Renaissance modes of historical writing. While he primarily relied on the medieval historical tradition of Holland, he expanded it in ways that allow us to appreciate the broader impact of innovations occurring at the same time in more 'professional' scholarly circles. This is the first in-depth study of these chronicles and their relation to their sources, placed in the wider context of history writing running from the mid-fourteenth century into the eighteenth, providing new insights into the continuities and transitions that characterized the historical tradition of Holland from the late middle ages well into the early modern period. An accompanying cd-rom contains transcriptions of both Jan's chronicles. Winner of the Society for Renaissance Studies Book Prize 2012 Short-listed for the Royal Historical Society Gladstone Prize 2012.

This celebration of nine art dolls and the artists who made them offers a colourful look at an unusual project that spanned 19 months and took the dolls on a journey all over the United States. Each doll is a one-of-a-kind work of art, made by women who contributed something to each work-in-progress and offered unique perspectives on womanhood and images of dolls. Professional doll-makers as well as a quilt maker, a metalsmith, a woodcarver, and a sculptor created dolls that evolved into vivid characters as they travelled from artist to artist with handmade journals that served as a combination diary, travel log, and artist's canvas. From Joe the Wandering '60s Beatnik to a made-over Madeline sure to be kicked out of her French boarding school for her outrageous attire, each doll is accompanied by photographs, excerpts from the journals, and essays by the artists about the joys, challenges, and frustrations of working on the project.