There had been two men so far in Madeline's life—her late husband, Joe, and her boss, Adrian. Both had been kind and uncomplicated, wanting only to cherish and look after her. But now another man had surged into her life—Nicholas Vitale. Handsome, dynamic, devastatingly attractive, he was utterly unlike anyone she had ever met before. But he certainly could not be described as gentle or kind, still less did he want to protect and cherish her. And Madeline could not resist him. In getting so far out of her depth with Nicholas, was Madeline doing anything but stirring up trouble for herself? And what about her duty to that other important person in her life—her young daughter Diana?

Bringing together heritage studies and literary studies, this book examines heritage as a ubiquitous trope in contemporary Britain, a seemingly inescapable figure for relations to the past. Inheritance has been an important metaphor for characterizing cultural and political traditions since the 1970s, but one criticized for its conservatism and apparent disinheritance of "new" Britons. Engaging with contemporary literary and cinematic texts, the book interrogates metaphoric resonances: that bestowing past, receiving present, and transmitted bounty are all singular and unified; that transmission between past and present is smooth, despite heritage depending on death; that the past enjoins the present to conserve its legacy into the future. However, heritage offers an alternative to modern market-driven relations, transactions stressing connection only through a momentary exchange, for bequest resembles gift-giving and connects past to present. Consequently, heritage contains competing impulses, subtexts largely unexplored given the trope’s lapse into cliché. The volume charts how these resonances developed, as well as charting more contemporary aspects of heritage: as postmodern image, tourist industry, historic environment, and metaculture. These dimensions develop the trope, moving it from singular focus on continuity with the past to one more oriented around different lines of relation between past, present, and future. Heritage as a trope is explored through a wide range of texts: core accounts of political theory (Locke and Burke); seminal documents within historic conservation; phenomenology and poststructuralism; film and television (Merchant-Ivory, Downton Abbey); and a broad range of contemporary fiction from novelists including Zadie Smith, Julian Barnes, Hilary Mantel, Sarah Waters, Alan Hollinghurst, Peter Ackroyd, and Helen Oyeyemi.

In this elegant book, the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer explores the manifold ways in which the Civil War changed the United States forever. He confronts its costs, not only human (six hundred thousand men killed) and economic (beyond reckoning) but social and psychological. He touches on popular misconceptions, including some concerning Abraham Lincoln and the issue of slavery. The war in all its facets "grows in our consciousness," arousing complex emotions and leaving "a gallery of great human images for our contemplation."

Third graders travel through time to keep history on track! Abigail loves Mondays, and so does the rest of class 305. That's the day Mr. Caruthers asks them cool questions about history. Today Mr. C asks, "What if Abraham Lincoln never freed the slaves?" Abigail and her friends are ready to put their thinking caps on. But this time Mr. C wants them to do more than put their heads together-he wants them to travel back in time! Turns out the "What If?" questions are real, and Mr. C has just come back from a visit to the past. He needs their help because it looks like President Lincoln might quit and never free the slaves! With a time-travel gadget and only two hours to spare, Abigail and her friends are going back to the past. But even though time traveling isn't hard, convincing Abraham Lincoln not to give up isn't going to be easy.... With a dollop of The Magic Tree House, a dash of Back to the Future, and pinch of Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Blast to the Past is a recipe for fun!

"Limerick is one of the most engaging historians writing today." --Richard White The "settling" of the American West has been perceived throughout the world as a series of quaint, violent, and romantic adventures. But in fact, Patricia Nelson Limerick argues, the West has a history grounded primarily in economic reality; in hardheaded questions of profit, loss, competition, and consolidation. Here she interprets the stories and the characters in a new way: the trappers, traders, Indians, farmers, oilmen, cowboys, and sheriffs of the Old West "meant business" in more ways than one, and their descendents mean business today.