Most Popular Books by Valerie Worth

In the follow-up to the well-received Animal Poems, Pug: And Other Animal Poems examines a wide range of animal behavior, from the fleetingness of a fly sipping spilled milk to the constant steely presence of a powerful bull; the greedy meal of a street rat to a cat''s quiet gift of a dead mouse on the doorstep. Steve Jenkins''s bright collage art brings these small moments to life. A Margaret Ferguson Book

For use in schools and libraries only. A collection of poems that deal with experiences of childhood.

Crone''s Book of Magical Words (previously published as The Crone''s Book of Words) by Valerie Worth is the book you''ve been waiting for! In its pages are over 125 spells, incantations, and charms. If you can think of a purpose for a spell, it''s probably in this book. Need a spell to summon a ghost? Or perhaps you want the opposite: a spell to free a house from being haunted. They''re both in this book. Do you need something to help you lose weight or have longevity? You''ll find them here. Or perhaps you want to pass through a locked door. It''s all in this book. Even if you don''t know a thing about magic, you can use this book. The spells are easy, poetic, and evocative. For example, to cure a wart the instructions are: "Stamp within a silver cup mullein and houseleek together. Stir them with a sparrow''s feather. Let it draw the juices up; Twenty times upon one day, brush them over the excrescence; Under sunlight dry the essence--Soon the wart must shrink away." The range in this book is phenomenal. You''ll find a simple fertility charm and a way to conjure with smoke. You''ll read about how to bring rain and how to stop rain from falling. You''ll learn how to tell fortunes with sand or with tea leaves. This is more than just a book about magic, it is a folklorist''s bonanza. If you''re ready to win another''s love or to sweeten someone''s disposition, if you want to turn hair long and golden or discover tree spirits, this is the book you must have. Whether you have been doing magic for a long time or are a beginner, this book is a must.

This work offers practical directions for carrying out numerous spells, charms, recipes and rituals. It teaches how to concoct herb brews for mental vigour and to strengthen passion as well as how to inscribe talismans and amulets to gain welath, happiness or relief from pain.

Translation was one important aspect of the concept of imitatio - the imitation of classical models - which dominated the literary scene in the Renaissance. This first-ever study of the practice, as opposed to the theory, of translation among French writers of that period, takes as its exemplar the humanist scholar and publisher Etienne Dolet (1509-46). Author of the first theoretical treatise on the subject, Dolet also undertook many translations himself, the last of which - the pseudo-Platonic Axiochus - was used against him as evidence of heterodox thought. Dolet''s death at the stake is a reminder that translation could be a dangerous occupation; in demonstrating its relation to the intellectual and political controversies of the time, this study is an original and significant contribution to sixteenth-century French studies.

The author has created from her studies these poems that are more than poems: instructions, incantations, and spells for every purpose. This is the magick incarnate in each of us who knows the power that is within.

La maternité, qu''il s''agisse de la génération, de la grossesse, de l''accouchement, de la stérilité ou des naissances " monstrueuses ", fascine la Renaissance. Aussi, à l''âge de l''imprimerie, les traités d''obstétrique en langue française connaissent un succès remarquable, accélérant la diffusion des connaissances scientifiques. Valérie Worth-Stylianou examine cette histoire du livre médical en recensant les éditions d''une trentaine d''ouvrages, depuis la première version française du manuel d''Euchaire Rösslin parue en 1536 jusqu''au pamphlet polémique de Louise Bourgeois - la première sage-femme à se faire imprimer - en 1627, en passant par des traités de chirurgiens ou de médecins célèbres tels Ambroise Paré, Laurent Joubert et Jacques Guillemeau. Quels sont les ouvrages qui bénéficient d''une circulation décisive ? Le choix de les publier en français, alors que le latin demeure le langage médical, n''implique-t-il pas une vulgarisation contestable de secrets réservés aux seuls hommes de l''art ? Qu''en est-il alors des querelles sur la double semence, la durée de la grossesse, et la génération des hermaphrodites ? Si ces textes réfléchissent les débats entre médecins et chirurgiens, hommes de l''art et sages-femmes, n''est-il pas remarquable qu''avant même l''ère des grands accoucheurs que seront Mauriceau et Portal, les auteurs les plus avisés s''acharnent surtout à enseigner le moyen de réduire le taux effrayant de la mortalité maternelle et enfantine ? Le corpus constitué comprend le texte annoté des préfaces, une bibliographie critique, la biographie et une analyse de l''apport de chaque auteur, ainsi qu''une centaine d''illustrations.

A collection of twenty-six poems includes works about pandas, steam engines, and icicles.

Titles include Dinosaurs, Fireworks, Haunted House, Lawnmowers, Safety Pin, Sidewalk, and Weeds.

Here is a charming collection of magical practices and rituals that serve as a bridge between the Craft of the Ancients and the needs of the modern Witch. Designed to sound as if it might have been written in an earlier century, it appeals to the imagination and gives practical directions for the application or performance of numerous spells, charms, recipes and rituals. These are easy to carry out and take their inspiration from nature and folklore.

A collection of poems that celebrate the whole Christmas season, from the first excitement of early December through New Year''s Day and the aftermath of the holiday.

Recently orphaned by the death of her mother, seventeen-year-old Lily goes to live with a grim aunt at an isolated country vicarage where she becomes increasingly obsessed by the ghostly presence of a mysterious young man.

A collection of short lyric poems which capture the particular nature of various creatures, places, and things.

Miranda''s unbearable home life causes her to run away to the gypsies where she finds a surprisingly satisfying life.