Reay Tannahill was een auteur wiens werk zich verdiepte in fundamentele menselijke behoeften door de lens van de geschiedenis. Haar scherpe analyses verkenden thema's als voedsel en seks, waarbij ze hun diepgaande impact op de menselijke beschaving en ontwikkeling onthulden. Tannahill bezat een uniek vermogen om gedegen historisch onderzoek te combineren met meeslepende proza, waardoor complexe onderwerpen toegankelijk en boeiend werden. Haar bijdragen werden internationaal erkend vanwege hun intellectuele diepgang en verhalende vaardigheid.
Set between 1856 and 1898, this is the story of two women - rivals for the inheritance of a Scottish castle and the love of one man. The action takes place on both sides of the world, from eventful, bustling Hong Kong to the misty, mysterious Highlands of Scotland.
SEX IN HISTORY chronicles the pleasures- and perils- of the flesh from the time of mankind's distant ancestors to the modern day; from a sexual act which was bried, crude and purposeful, to the myriad varieties of contemporary sexual mores. Reay Tannahill's scholarly, yet accessible study ranges from the earliest form of contraception (one Egyptian concoction included crocodile dung) to some latter- day misconceptions about it- like the men who joined their lovers in taking the pill 'just to be on the safe side.' It surveys all manner of sexual practice, preference and position (the acrobatic 'wheelbarrow' position, the strenuous 'hovering butterflies' position...) and draws on souces as diverse as THE ADMIRABLE DISCOURSES OF THE PLAIN GIRL, the EXHIBTION OF FEMALE FLAGELLANTS, IMPORTANT MATTERS OF THE JADE CHAMBER and THE ROMANCE OF CHASTISEMENT. Whether writing on androgyny, courtly love, flagellation or zoophilia, Turkish eunuch's Greek dildoes, Taoist sex manuals or Japanses geisha girls, Reay Tannahill is consistently enlightening and entertaining.
An enthralling world history of food from prehistoric times to the present. A favorite of gastronomes and history buffs alike, Food in History is packed with intriguing information, lore, and startling insights--like what cinnamon had to do with the discovery of America, and how food has influenced population growth and urban expansion.
Brought up in France, Mary returned to Scotland as a widow at eighteen to take up her throne. Beautiful, clever, with immense personal charm, she was totally unprepared for the brutal realities of ruling a country just emerging from civil war. In an era when religion and politics were one and the same, the inevitable clash between Catholic queen and Protestant subjects was intensified by the most bitter personal rivalries, and Mary found herself in ever-increasing danger: from the fearsome John Knox, who preached damnation to queens and death to Catholics; from her sanctimonious and ambitious brother; from her brilliant secretary of state; and from Elizabeth I, dazzling and unscrupulous, who feared Mary as a threat to her own throne ...
"From the day she left in 1803, Vilia fought to repossess her birthright - whatever it cost. Reay Tannahill's full-blooded, sweeping story spans ninety years and myriad backdrops of the bustling, far-flung Victorian empire - at its heart the call of the mist-decked Scottish Highlands and the indomitable will of an unforgettable woman born long before her time." -back cover.
Království za koně... tímto výrokem, ostatně nikoli historicky podloženým, se proslavil hrdina románu Sedmý syn Richard, vévoda z Gloucesteru, pozdější anglický král Richard III. Reay Tannahillové se podařilo již mnohokrát zpracovaný námět uchopit z nečekaného úhlu; nepopisuje Richarda jako bezectného surovce, kráčejícího přes mrtvoly za svým cílem - anglickou korunou, ale jako muže, jemuž byl jeho osud do značné míry vnucen okolnostmi. Přisuzuje Richardovi i laskavost a lidskost; ukazuje nám jej nejen jako válečníka a chladnokrevného intrikána, ale také jako věrného manžela a milujícího otce, schopného politika... Jeden za druhým umírají následníci trůnu; až zbývá jen sedmý syn...
