A collection of original essays, Saints, Sinners, and Sisters showcases the diverse questions currently being asked by gender scholars dealing with French, Netherlandish and German art from the medieval and early modern periods. Moving beyond the reclamation of personalities and oeuvres of 'lost' female artists, the contributors pose questions about gender and sex within specific historical contexts, addressing such issues as intended audience, use of the object, and patronage. These avenues of inquiry intersect with larger cultural questions concerning societal control of women. The book's three sections, 'Saints,' 'Sinners,' and 'Sisters, Wives, Poets' are each preceded by a concise introductory essay, detailing themes and offering reflective comparisons of theses and information. In 'Saints,' contributors look at women who were positive exemplar used by society to uphold standards. In the second section, the essays focus on the power of women's sexuality. The third section expands beyond the customary dichotomous division of the first two to examine women in diverse roles not widely studied as positions of women in those times. This final section expands our definitions of women's responsibilities and realigns them historically; it argues that women, and thus gender, need to be understood within a much broader historical context and beyond simplistic approaches sometimes superimposed by present-day readers on past times. This volume answers an acute need for research on the art of Northern Europe prior to the 20th century, and highlights the possibilities of new directions in the field. The effect of the new scholarship presented here is to broaden the discursive field, allowing fluidity of disciplinary boundaries, resulting in a volume that is illuminating to historians of more than art alone.

A collection of original essays, Saints, Sinners, and Sisters showcases the diverse questions currently being asked by gender scholars dealing with French, Netherlandish and German art from the medieval and early modern periods. Moving beyond the reclamation of personalities and oeuvres of 'lost' female artists, the contributors pose questions about gender and sex within specific historical contexts, addressing such issues as intended audience, use of the object, and patronage. These avenues of inquiry intersect with larger cultural questions concerning societal control of women. The book's three sections, 'Saints, ' 'Sinners, ' and 'Sisters, Wives, Poets' are each preceded by a concise introductory essay, detailing themes and offering reflective comparisons of theses and information. In 'Saints, ' contributors look at women who were positive exemplar used by society to uphold standards. In the second section, the essays focus on the power of women's sexuality. The third section expands beyond the customary dichotomous division of the first two to examine women in diverse roles not widely studied as positions of women in those times. This final section expands our definitions of women's responsibilities and realigns them historically; it argues that women, and thus gender, need to be understood within a much broader historical context and beyond simplistic approaches sometimes superimposed by present-day readers on past times. This volume answers an acute need for research on the art of Northern Europe prior to the 20th century, and highlights the possibilities of new directions in the field. The effect of the new scholarship presented here is to broaden the discursive field, allowing fluidity of disciplinary boundaries, resulting in a volume that is illuminating to historians of more than art alone.

Death, deception, and the surprise introduction of a long-lost family member keep the drama on full blast in the pages of The Banks Sisters Complete by urban fiction susperstar Nikki Turner. Meet the Banks sisters--Mona, Bunny, Tallhya, and Ginger. One of the only things they have in common is their love for their beloved grandmother, Me-Ma. When tragedy strikes and Me-Ma has a heart attack at church, the sisters are shocked to discover that she left the house and all her money to the church. Now the pastor wants them out, unless they can come up with the money to buy the house from him. To make matters worse, Bunny already owes over a hundred thousand dollars to a very dangerous man. The sisters devise a plan that could have them rolling in plenty of dough--as long as they can stay one step ahead of law enforcement that's on the lookout for a group of female bank robbers who have burst onto the scene. Things become even more complicated when their mother shows up, threatening to snitch them out if they don't give her a cut, and Pastor Cassius Street refuses to follow through on his promise to return the house to them. The situation becomes a bloody mess, and now the sisters must band together in ways they never thought possible as they deal with a growing mountain of problems. Only time will tell if these sisters can stay one step ahead of the circumstances they unwittingly create.

A “rich, varied, sensitive” biography of three nineteenth-century women: an educator, an early feminist, and the author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin (Publishers Weekly). Daughters of the famous evangelist Lyman Beecher, Catherine, Harriet, and Isabella could not follow their father and seven brothers into the ministry. Nonetheless, they carved out path-breaking careers for themselves. Catharine Beecher founded the Hartford Female Seminary and devoted her life to improving women’s education. Harriet Beecher Stowe became world famous as the author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. And Isabella Beecher Hooker was an outspoken advocate for women’s rights. This engrossing book is a joint biography of the sisters, whose lives spanned the full course of the nineteenth century. The life of Isabella Beecher—who has never been the subject of a biography—is examined in particular detail here, as Barbara White draws on little used sources to explore Isabella’s political development and her interactions with her sisters and with prominent people of the time—from Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton to Mark Twain.

Where most books dance around the distasteful details of the church's past, this one puts a spotlight on the negative and positive alike. With one ear attuned to the early church and another to contemporary culture, this book addresses the growing concerns both Christians and non-Christians have about how transparent the church has been about its roots. This book offers a forthright depiction of early Christianity, beginning with the apostles and ending after the time of Augustine. Sinners and Saints is the first of a four-volume series that humanizes the history of Christianity by honestly examining the actions, doctrines, decisions, groups, movements, and practices of past Christians. This book's assessment helps the reader accurately understand Christianity's background and recognize how it continues to shape the present.

In a novel based on true events, New York Times bestselling author Sandra Dallas delivers the story of four women---seeking the promise of salvation and prosperity in a new land---who come together on a harrowing journey. In 1856, Mormon converts, encouraged by Brigham Young himself, and outfitted with two-wheeled handcarts, set out on foot from Iowa City to Salt Lake City, the promised land. The Martin Handcart Company, a ragtag group of weary families headed for Zion, is the last to leave on this 1,300-mile journey. Three companies that left earlier in the year have completed their trek successfully, but for the Martin Company the trip proves disastrous. True Sisters tells the story of four women from the British Isles traveling in this group. Four women whose lives will become inextricably linked as they endure unimaginable hardships, each one testing the boundaries of her faith and learning the true meaning of survival and friendship along the way. There's Nannie, who is traveling with her sister and brother-in-law after being abandoned on her wedding day. There's Louisa, who's married to an overbearing church leader who she believes speaks for God. There's Jessie, who's traveling with her brothers, each one of them dreaming of the farm they will have in Zion. And finally, there's Anne, who hasn't converted to Mormonism but who has no choice but to follow her husband since he has sold everything to make the trek to Utah. Sandra Dallas has once again written a moving portrait of women surviving the unimaginable through the ties of female friendship. Her rich storytelling will leave you breathless as you take this trip with Nannie, Louisa, Jessie, and Anne. This is Sandra Dallas at her absolute best.

This volume proposes to cover a four-year period in the Butler's style. Pope John Paul II has proclaimed an unprecedented number of new saints and blesseds in the 25 years of his pontificate and shows few signs of slowing the process, despite the criticism from at least one cardinal that the altars are getting 'a little crowded'. The proclamations have been made in a large number of countries, from which the new saints and blesseds have come. This reflects a deliberate policy of strengthening the faith of local churches against the threats from totalitarianism, secularism, Pentecostalism, etc. (the Vatican tends to see most of the 'outside' world as a threat). There has also been a deliberate policy to seek more examples of holiness from outside the ranks of clergy and religious. The twentieth century has been seen as the century of martyrs, largely those of Nazism and Communism, and they feature prominently - those of nominally Catholic military regimes are less favoured. The Introduction will make such points. Blesseds appearing in the 1995-2000 volumes who have since been canonized will have their entries updated and expanded as necessary; new blesseds will be featured with the information that is available - which in the case of some Third-World figures is not very much. Entries will therefore range from around 3,000 words to 200, with an average of some 800. The number of entries will be approximately 80.