Byrne, Wm. Pitt, Mrs. [Julia C.], Compiler. Curiosities of theSearch-Room: A Collection of Serious, and Whimsical Wills. London: Chapman and Hall, 1880. ix, 407 pp. Reprinted 2005 by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. ISBN-13: 978-1-58477-590-4. ISBN-10: 1-58477-590-4. Cloth. $95.* Byrne [1819-1894] describes this collection of colorful wills as "a series of romantic narratives." Some are so romantic, in fact, that "those who are at a loss for the plot of a new novel might dip into this collection for novel materials" (ii). Contents include "Excentric Wills," "Puzzling Wills," "Wills in Obsolete Language and and in Rime," "Vindictive Wills," "Bequests to Wives," "Wills in Favour of Dumb Animals," "Disputed Wills" and "Wills of Remarkable Persons."

One passage, two verses, four words.As a writer and an adjunct professor of psychology, Amy Hollingsworth is on her way to becoming an "expert" on creativity. But just days before delivering her first professional seminar on the topic, she has an unsettling dream. The dream awakens her to the fact that she has missed a crucial element in understanding what true creativity is. Trying to unravel the dream, she soon discovers its contents reflected in a single passage of ancient literature. In this passage she sees for the first time creativity's core, its spiritual roots, and as its meaning unfolds through months of spiritual reflection and study, it confirms the very scientific theories she's been teaching all along. In fact, she discovers the underpinnings of the whole body of creativity research tucked into four small words penned centuries ago, kernels of truth that explode with a new depth of meaning. As she digs deeper, she uncovers for the reader God's blueprint for cultivating the creative spirit in everyday life, through a practical outworking of her spiritual findings. In the end, both writer and reader come away with a new understanding of their own creative abilities--and a profound sense of what's truly holy about holy curiosity.