Ford Books

This is the guidebook to the next-door estates in Fort Myers, Florida, of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford, neighbors and friends, innovative men. You will want to visit their homes and Edison museum after you have read this lovely illustrated and informative book. Then you will want to move right in.

I look unfavorably upon books and screenplays rushed to the market to capitalize on recent sensational jury trials, confessions of serial murderers, and distasteful behavior by politicians and other celebrities. I would consider it unlikely that I would appreciate a play rapidly assembled by three playwrights on the recent execution of a notorious old woman condemned for practicing witchcraft. Surprisingly, I did enjoy such a play.

Admittedly, a few centuries have elapsed since Thomas Dekker and John Ford and William Rowley collaborated on The Witch of Edmonton. The Mother Sawyer subplot is apparently faithful to the actual event; Sawyer was hanged on April 19, 1621. Within days the chaplain of Newgate Gaol published a pamphlet titled The Wonderful Discoverie of Elizabeth Sawyer a Witch, late of Edmonton, her Conviction and Condemnation and Death. This document served as the primary source for Dekker, Ford, and Rowley. The first known performance was December 29, 1621 at the Court of King James, but earlier public performances are likely to have occurred.

Many books, plays, (and now screenplays) on topical events are quickly forgotten. Fortunately, after several centuries of neglect, The Witch of Edmonton was republished in the late 1800s, most importantly in the influential Mermaid Series. More recently several major production companies, including the Royal Shakespeare Company, have staged The Witch of Edmonton.

The short prologue to this play ends with the sentence: 'Here is mirth and matter.' However, most readers will agree that The Witch of Edmonton has only a few elements of comedy and that matter clearly overwhelms mirth.

The plot involves two intertwined themes, both stories of betrayal and deceit and misplaced loyalty: 1) To gain a dowry, the young Frank Thorney deceives all that trust him, commits bigamy, and even murder. 'Tis done, and I am in. Once past our height, we scorn the deepest abyss' 2) Living in isolation, feared and abused by her neighbors, Mother Sawyer pleads for help. 'Would some power, good or bad, instruct me which way I might be revenged.' The devil in the guise of a dog obliges Mother Sawyer in return for her soul.

The Witch of Edmonton is interesting, entertaining drama. The characters do not have the psychological depth found in Shakespeare's tragedies, but this play warrants reading by anyone that enjoys Elizabethan and Jacobean drama.

I highly recommend the Methuen Student Edition. The extensive commentary, plot analysis, and character reviews are excellent.

This novel takes place in 1890s Boston. Brice Stockton travels from Texas to pick up the body of Peter, his older brother, who has died in a suicide pact with Diane Cabel, of the wealthy Suffolk Cabels. It seems like a straightforward, but gruesome, task. When he gets there, not only is he denied entrance to the estate, but Brice is told that Peter has already been buried, contrary to the wishes of the Stockton family. He is also told of the Cabel curse. A curse can be something other than perpetual bad luck.

Once Brice practically forces himself onto the estate, he finds an eccentric family who have seen better days. Moorefield is the family patriarch, Wolf is his son and heir (along with being an arrogant you-know-what) and Maida is his daughter. Ainsley, another son, is a congenital imbecile. There are also a number of servants.

The police are not very helpful, because of the Cabel�s influence, but the coffins are dug up, only to find that they�re both empty. Brice begins to get the idea that Diane and Peter didn�t kill themselves. Suspicion falls on one of the servants, who is killed by Wolf just before he was going to confess. During a hunting trip, Wolf and several of his men attempt to kill Brice and make it look like an accident. He barely escapes by jumping into a nearby lake, where he finds the bodies of Peter and Diane. Suspicion then falls on Maida, who is being treated by a local doctor, who also happens to be a hypnotist. Not only is she being sexually assaulted while under hypnosis, but just enough of a post-hypnotic suggestion is planted in her mind to make Maida think that maybe she is actually guilty of murder. For a time, suspicion also falls on Ainsley. Brice also learns that Maida is holding a major secret over Wolf�s head concerning Ainsley. If Moorefield got even an inkling of this secret, Wolf would be disinherited so fast it would make his head spin. Just to make things more interesting, on more than one occasion, Brice sees Peter and Diane actually walking through the house. They aren�t some ghostly see-through apparition, but solid enough to reach out and touch. Through it all, Brice is drawn deeper and deeper into the depths of his own soul.

This book has it all. It�s got a mansion with secret passages and wings that have been closed for years, it�s got dark family secrets, several dead bodies, a bit of sex, strange goings-on and a really well done story. This fine piece of Victorian horror writing is very much worth reading.

Carol,
Thank you for writing this incredible book! As a child advocate for many years and a member of Courtwatch, I know that everything written in this book is the truth. I shared in the horror of so many mothers who tried desperately to protect their children from abusive fathers (mainly sexual abuse) by accompanying these mothers and children to the Harris County Family Courts for custody or visitation battles once the child made an outcry of abuse. I was horrified and befuddled as to how the system (Family Court judges, law enforcement, Children's Protective Services, court appointed mental health professionals, court appointed children's attorneys) could repeatedly ignore the cries and often physical evidence of very small children abused by their biological fathers. It seemed the courts would rather believe a mother was coaching her young child to make accusations against the child's father ('Parental Alienation Syndrome') than to do whatever is necessary to get to the truth of the accusation. Yes, back in the 1990's, when I was an active child advocate, if you were a perpetrator who could hire an often aggressive, cut throat attorney you could actually gain custody or have unsupervised visitation with the very child you were raping or molesting, despite hard core evidence of the crime committed. Oh the horror of it all. God bless the children who are still suffering as a result of not being properly protected by the system, who were repeatedly forced to spend unsupervised time with a rapist. The emotional damage is unspeakable, from what I personally witnessed. God bless you Carol for speaking the truth. Just a few months ago I gave a copy of this book to a mother whose children are suffering the same fate as those you describe in your book. Not only does this book validate mothers who are trying to protect their children from their abusive fathers, it helps the mother and children understand that they are not alone. This book also validates for me the work I did for 15 yrs trying to protect our precious children. Thank you Carol for bringing the truth to the public. You explain so beautifully that in order to change the system, there must be a politically active group who is dedicated and determined to rid the system of corruption, in addition to advocates who are actively involved in the day to day issues of the protective parent and the abused child. I am proud that I was a member of Courtwatch and will always be thankful that I was given the opportunity to take part in ridding our system of judges and others within the system who refused to listen to the children but instead chose to listen to and reward those with money, most often the perpetrators.

Judy Ford returns again to deliver more sound advice for being a a wonderful family. An experienced mother and a family therapist, she brings forth all her wisdom in this treasure of a book. Her suggestions are practical and simple, yet can make tremendous difference in your family lives.

In no way does she thrust her advice above the individuality of each family. This book is not a parenting guide for troubled families but rather some fresh ideas to bring into your home coming from years of experience.

"Wonderful Ways to Love a Grandchild," speaks to the heart and soul of a grandparent. It reminds those of us who ARE grandparents, what a special title this is. And to those of us who will one day be grandparents, it fills us with anticipation of this wonderful event. The perfect gift for a grandparent.

Stunningly illustrated with Anne Converse's full color photography throughout, Wood, Wind and Water: A Story of the Opera House Cup Race of Nantucket is a profoundly visual coffee table book filled with images of competing sailboats, and the racers aboard giving themselves entirely to the joy of the moment. The text by Carolyn M. Ford is sparse, offering a few descriptions of individual boats and brief anecdotes of the competition, yet the photographs of wood, sail, wind and water are largely left to speak for themselves. Wood, Wind and Water is an absorbing volume to simply page through, and surely the next best thing to witnessing the Opera House Cup Race in person.

Work (1852-65) is the title and theme of a highly detailed and conceptually ambitious realist painting by the British, nineteenth-century artist Ford Madox Brown. (There are two versions, one in Manchester City Art Gallery and one in Birmingham City Art Gallery). It is concerned with both manual and mental labour, and depicts as heroes a group of labourers - navvies - laying water pipes in Hampstead (the site still exists) observed by two intellectuals - Thomas Carlyle and the Rev. F.D. Maurice - whose philosophies inform the whole composition. The navvies are surrounded by a variety of picturesque characters representing the different occupations and classes of Victorian society.
In seeking to understand the iconography, narratives, symbolism and patronage of Work, the modern viewer is drawn inexorably into the complex world of mid-Victorian Britain, which then included the whole of Ireland, and which was riven by class conflict.
While the content and form of the painting is discussed in detail, and the question of its truth to reality considered, the book is not simply a contribution to the history of art but also to popular culture and social history. It considers the history of Hampstead and water supplies, the Industrial Revolution, images from the popular press, navvies, street traders, the gospel of work propounded by Carlyle, the reformist philosophy of the Christian Socialists, etc. There are parallels with our own day - for example, the issues of work and unemployment, wealth and poverty.
Arguably, Brown's painting is comparable to Gustave Courbet's realist canvases; consequently, it deserves an equivalent art-historical attention and depth of analysis. The book is intended as a significant contribution to the social history of art.
While several magazine articles have been published about Work and there are chapters in existing art-history books, Brown is an undervalued artist and no book-length study has been published about it. A thorough study of the painting and its accompanying scholarship is overdue.
Victorian paintings have become increasingly popular in recent decades; hence, the book should appeal to those who enjoy Victorian art, especially that by the Pre-Raphaelites, plus museum curators, art historians, fine art students, art-history students who are taking modules on subjects like `Realism', and art and public libraries. Because of its socio-historical content, the book should also be of interest to those studying British history and those interested in the history of London and Hampstead.

Bullet points:
The first book-length account of a major nineteenth-century painting - Ford Madox Brown's magnum opus: Work (1852-65).
A thorough study of the form, content, composition, iconography, meanings, characters and ideological message of Work.
An account of the historical and social context, and geographical location, especially that of Victorian London and Hampstead in the 1850s.
A summary of the artist's life, academic training and his political views.
A chronological record of the painting's production process from 1852 to 1865.
Discussion of fine art influences and popular culture sources, and the part played by Brown's northern patrons.
A summary and review of the painting's critical reception in 1865 and more recent scholarly articles about it.
A conclusion that includes twentieth-century paintings and advertisements inspired by Work.
Over 45 illustrations, many in colour.
Detailed notes, references and bibliography.

THE AUTHOR: John A. Walker (b. 1938) trained as a painter and so has practical knowledge of the medium. For many years, he taught art history in a number of British art schools. Until he retired in 1999, he was Reader in Art and Design History at Middlesex University. He has published 15 books and over 100 periodical articles about Van Gogh, John Latham, the fine arts and mass media. Reviewers have praised his writings for their scholarship and accessibility. His book Firefighters in Art and Media was published by Francis Boutle in 2005.

Following up on her magnificent first book, Ann Watters truly pulls through here. Her editing skills are unparalleled in the academic communities around the world. This is a fine college reader that was enjoyable from the start. Writing for Change does not disappoint

Practical, step-by-step procedures for writing lessons. The lessons help teachers with specific ideas and ways to help every student succeed. Excellent resource.