This book surveys the monastic community at Westminster from the time when Edward the Confessor 1042-1066] adopted it as his burial church down to the end of the reign of king John. Originating according to legend during the Roman occupation, the West Minster was converted from a little collegiate church into a Benedictine monastery around 970. However, the growth of its significance largely dates from its massive endowment by king Edward, who commissioned a lavish rebuilding of the abbey church, a focal point in his programme of monarchical propaganda. Dr Mason covers every aspect of the abbey community in detail examining the careers of the abbots and priors, whilst ensuring that lesser figures are not neglected: monks; craftsmen; lay servants; the personnel of the royal court who were closely associated with the abbey. The author also considers the community's dealings with the growing ecclesiastical bureaucracy; the management of its properties, including its parochial churches; and its relationship with other religious houses. Dr EMMA MASON teaches in the Department of History, Birkbeck College.

This text looks at the safety of drugs from the beginning of time until 1961, including six marker drugs and the problems of 50 drugs subsequently withdrawn or restricted.

This classic dictionary explains the origins of over 16,000 names in current English use. It will be a source of fascination to everyone with an interest in names and their history.This classic dictionary answers questions such as these and explains the origins of over 16,000 names in current English use. It will be a source of fascination to everyone with an interest in names and their history.

Written by award-winning African novelist Mariama Bâ and translated from the original French, So Long a Letter has been recognized as one of Africa’s 100 Best Books of the 20th Century. The brief narrative, written as an extended letter, is a sequence of reminiscences —some wistful, some bitter—recounted by recently widowed Senegalese schoolteacher Ramatoulaye Fall. Addressed to a lifelong friend, Aissatou, it is a record of Ramatoulaye’s emotional struggle for survival after her husband betrayed their marriage by taking a second wife. This semi-autobiographical account is a perceptive testimony to the plight of educated and articulate Muslim women. Angered by the traditions that allow polygyny, they inhabit a social milieu dominated by attitudes and values that deny them status equal to men. Ramatoulaye hopes for a world where the best of old customs and new freedom can be combined. Considered a classic of contemporary African women’s literature, So Long a Letter is a must-read for anyone interested in African literature and the passage from colonialism to modernism in a Muslim country. Winner of the prestigious Noma Award for Publishing in Africa.

THE A TO Z OF SPORT is unique: nothing as comprehensive has ever appeared before. It covers more than one hundred sports, with the treatment of some of the nation's favourites, such as football, rugby, cricket and athletics, almost meriting books in themselves. The sports covered include everything you can think of: from football to fencing, cricket to croquet, motor racing to marbles, all the way from adventure racing to wrestling - no sport is too big or small for inclusion. There is an introductory essay for each sport, explaining its history and rules. These are followed by the most comprehensive lists of tournaments, champions, cups, venues and participants ever assembled. And there are further sections on Sportspeople, the Television Sports Personality of the Year, Trophies, Sporting Quotations and Sporting Current Affairs. From remarkable facts to argument-settling information, the A TO Z OF SPORT is the indispensable reference book for every sports fan.