Illusions of Camelot


Book Description

From the artistic director of the Pacific Northwest Ballet and former principal dancer for the New York City Ballet comes an unforgettable memoir about one artist's journey from boyhood to ballet. Peter's story starts in the pastoral and privileged town of Bedford, New York: a rare enclave 40 miles north of New York City where private schools, country clubs, and families hold their own rules and secrets. Within the town, views of race, morality, and sexuality are unspoken yet evident. Meanwhile, at home, Peter and his family are left to grapple with his father's alcoholism and untimely death. As a young boy finding his way, Peter soon turns to ballet. Ultimately his passion becomes a beacon, leading him to work at the New York City Ballet as a teenager, living on his own while discovering the pitfalls and pleasures Manhattan has to offer. Throughout Peter's deeply personal work, you'll meet Hattie Lindsay, Peter's caregiver, whose love for Peter matches her disdain for Henry, the family dog. You'll step onto the club house floor during ballroom dancing lessons in Bedford, into the studios of the School of American Ballet at Lincoln Center, and onto the stage in George Balanchine's The Nutcracker as Peter performs the title role of the Nutcracker Prince. For all the laughter these stories offer, gravity is everywhere. Moments by Balanchine's hospital bedside, or in the AIDS-ravaged ward at Columbia-Presbyterian hospital as a loved one's life passes away are told with painful honesty and raw hurt. Peter's journey takes us to the start of a storied career as a dancer with the New York City Ballet and leaves us with insights into the unique path of an artist and individual shaped by environment, circumstance, and family.




Twain and Freud on the Human Race


Book Description

This work explores the psychological insights and theories of Mark Twain and Sigmund Freud. Though at first glance these two men seem to constitute an unlikely pairing, each formulated a comprehensive theory of individual and group psychology and subsequently applied that understanding to the realms of religion, morality, patriotism and politics. After an extensive overview of each man's approach, the author examines the effect of this reading of Twain's understanding of human psychology on Twain studies and on our own sense of contemporary events.




The New Camelot


Book Description

Sayeth it ain't so! The finale to the epic Emry Merlin trilogy is here, with all the sorcery, snark, and high stakes that made The Other Merlin one of Publishers Weekly’s Best Books of the Year! Everything is finally going right for Emry Merlin. Now that Arthur is the king and her wayward magic is under control, she’s enjoying life as Camelot’s official court wizard—and as Arthur’s girlfriend. But when an unexpected visitor arrives at court, Emry finds her hard-won position threatened. And Arthur is torn between listening to his advisors and following his heart. Even more troubling, war is on the horizon, with King Yurien’s access to dark magic ensuring Camelot’s doom. That is, unless Emry, Arthur, and Lance can find a way to defeat the evil sorceress Bellicent with magic from her own world. But undertaking a quest to Anwen is perilous business, and our young heroes will face many obstacles on their journey—from dangerous beasts to suspicious nobles to cursed maidens determined to find someone to marry. Can Emry and Arthur save their kingdom and fix their relationship, or will they have to choose between their future and Camelot’s?




Illusion and Disillusionment


Book Description

Mourning the loss of core illusions and coping with the impact of disillusionment are critical issues in psychotherapy. In this informative and readable book, Teitelbaum explores this therapeutic issue in depth from a developmental, theoretical, and clinical perspective and emphasizes its particular importance in the treatment of depressed and narcissistic patients.




The Magic of Camelot


Book Description




Tennyson’s Camelot


Book Description

As the principal narrative poem of nineteenth-century England, Tennyson's Idylls of the King is an ambitious and widely influential reworking of the Arthurian legends of the Middle Ages, which have provided a great body of myth and symbol to writers, painters, and composers for the past hundred years. Tennyson's treatment of these legends is now valued as a deeply significant oblique commentary on cultural decadence and the precarious balance of civilization. Drawing upon published and unpublished materials, Tennyson's Camelot studies the Idylls of the King from the perspective of all its medieval sources. In noting the Arthurian literature Tennyson knew and paying special attention to the works that became central to his Arthurian creation, the volume reveals the poet's immense knowledge of the medieval legends and his varied approaches to his sources. The author follows the chronology of composition of the Idylls, allowing the reader to see Tennyson's evolving conception of his poem and his changing attitudes to the medieval accounts. The Idylls of the King stands, ultimately, as the poet's own Camelot, his legacy to his generation, an indictment of his society through a vindication of his idealism.




A Worldbuilder's Guide to Magic


Book Description

Constructing a functional system of magic that helps readers suspend disbelief is a crucial part of worldbuilding in the fantasy genres. Yet creating a believable, compelling and original fictional universe can be daunting. To help inspire writers, this guide provides an overview of how magic has been understood in history and used in myth, legend and modern fiction. Different forms of magic are explored and a broad range of stories--from Nordic myths to modern novels--are described and referenced. Discussion explores how magic as a concept shapes, and is shaped by, fictional worlds and societies.




By Camelot's Blood


Book Description

An evocative and highly engaging romantic fantasy set in the evocative time of King Arthur. Laurel Carnbrea, Queen of Cambryn, arrives at Camelot to marry a man she has never met - Sir Agravain, the brother of the renowned Sir Gawain. Laurel has heard that Agravain is a reserved and cold man, but marriage to King Arthur's nephew will give vital protection to her own lands. However, before the marriage can be consummated, Laurel's new huband receives news that his father, King Lot, is dying, and he must return to his homeland of Gododdin in the north. King Lot has been mad for many years - tormented by the sorceress Morgaine, Arthur's half-sister and deadliest enemy. Agravain and Laurel arrived to find the land of Gododdin in disarray and under threat of invasion from the Picts - led by Morgaine. Laurel has powers of her own, inherited from her grandmother, the Sea, and is prepared to use them to save the land of the new husband she is learning to love. By pitting herself against Morgaine she will face the gravest danger; and Agravain risks losing the woman who has finally managed to reach his heart!




The Lion of Camelot


Book Description

There is a newly crowned King of Camelot: grandson of Arthur, son of Mordred. Now that peace is possible, the dynasty must prove it can deliver the promise of ideal justice associated with the name of Camelot. Can the new king’s rule withstand the weight of his origin, and will his nascent reign be accepted as legitimate? Can Guinevere transition from the life of monarch to a role on the periphery? Sequel to The Aftermath of the King and written in high verse just the same, venture into the vortex in pursuit of the fabled Excalibur, possession of all rightful Pendragon Kings. The culmination of all civilization has arrived.




The Bright Sword


Book Description

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A New York Times Best Book of the Year (So Far) • A New York Times Editors’ Choice • The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Magicians trilogy returns with a triumphant reimagining of the King Arthur legend for the new millennium “Grossman, who is best known for his The Magicians series, is at the top of his game with The Bright Sword.” —The New York Times Book Review “A thrilling new take on Arthurian legend. . . . Marvelous.” —The Washington Post “If you love King Arthur as much as I do, you’ll love Lev Grossman’s The Bright Sword, a fresh and engrossing take on the Matter of Britain featuring a colorful cast of Round Table knights who don’t often get as much story time as they deserve. The creator of The Magicians has woven another spell.” —George R. R. Martin, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Game of Thrones A gifted young knight named Collum arrives at Camelot to compete for a place at the Round Table, only to find that he’s too late. King Arthur died two weeks ago at the Battle of Camlann, and only a handful of the knights of the Round Table are left. The survivors aren’t the heroes of legend like Lancelot or Gawain. They’re the oddballs of the Round Table, like Sir Palomides, the Saracen Knight, and Sir Dagonet, Arthur’s fool, who was knighted as a joke. They’re joined by Nimue, who was Merlin’s apprentice until she turned on him and buried him under a hill. But it's up to them to rebuild Camelot in a world that has lost its balance, even as God abandons Britain and the fairies and old gods return, led by Morgan le Fay. They must reclaim Excalibur and make this ruined world whole again—but first they'll have to solve the mystery of why the lonely, brilliant King Arthur fell. The first major Arthurian epic of the new millennium, The Bright Sword is steeped in tradition, complete with duels and quests, battles and tournaments, magic swords and Fisher Kings. It's also a story about imperfect men and women, full of strength and pain, trying to reforge a broken land in spite of being broken themselves.




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