Richardson Books

One of the best sources for the amateur and professional alike, Douglas Richardson's books rank as the be all and end all along with John Dorman's Adventurers of Purse and Person for those wishing to tie their American genealogical lines with the petty nobility and royalty of Europe. A must-have for every genealogist. Extremely well sourced.

Exceptionally well-sourced and well-indexed. One can tell at a glance which immigrants are descendants of each person listed. Where possible, the author has listed both parents for each person, along with all possible siblings. A must-have for anyone doing research on American colonial ancestry.

Even though I do not, to my knowledge, have a single drop of royal blood in my veins, I have a longstanding interest in peerage genealogy -- if only because the earliest surviving records concern the lineages of European society's movers and shakers, not the yeoman farmers and small tradesmen whose genes I carry. Richardson is well known and widely respected in this field, having published numerous peerage articles in the most respected journals and having been a contributor to the last couple of editions of Weis. Those of us who hang out on the soc.genealogy.medieval newsgroup have watched for years as this massive work took shape (always keeping in mind that the level of discourse in that venue often verges on the sophomoric). The final result is close to being a masterpiece not only of genealogy of the traditional sort but of comparative historiography. His purpose is to document the lines of descent for about 190 individuals who immigrated to the North American colonies before 1700 from the Plantagenet dynasty who ruled England from 1154 (the accession of Henry II, Duke of Anjou) to 1485 (the defeat and death of Richard III at Bosworth Field at the hands of Henry Tudor). He notes that his work is an expansion and major revision of David Faris's _Plantagenet Ancestry of Seventeenth-Century Colonists,_ but the new work is so very extensive, this must really be regarded as an entirely new work; Faris considered only the descendants of Henry III (who died in 1272), where Richardson traces the progeny of all sixteen of Geoffrey's great-grandchildren who left descendants, both legitimate and illegitimate. Further volumes are planned to cover descents from Magna Carta sureties, the early feudal barons, and the Emperor Charlemagne. (Remember that anyone who descends from a single royal house in Britain or on the Continent will also have descents from most of the others.)

The plan of organization is reminiscent of that devised by Frederick Weis, with each family's listed lineage beginning at the point of bifurcation from the previous, earlier lines; all generations are numbered from Geoffrey, Count of Anjou, the first "Plantagenet." Citations are very, very full, which is sure to make this a heavily cited secondary source itself. In fact, Richardson seems to have read everything (the bibliography is the most complete I have ever seen, running to more than seventy-seven pages!) and obviously has thought very carefully about what he read. A number of important discoveries and changes to previous scholarship are included, such as the proven parentage of both Margery de Bohun and Joan Hastings (both major problems for decades), and the maiden name of Margaret de Mowbray (important for descendants of Mayflower passengers). Even more important is the discovery that the "Fair Rosamond" Clifford, mistress of Henry II, was not the mother of William Longspée (created Earl of Salisbury); that dubious honor now goes instead to "Countess Ida," wife of Roger Bigod, Earl of Norfolk. Nor does he consider his work to be complete: His snail-mail and e-mail addresses are included, as well as a website address, with the plea that new discoveries, additions, and corrections will be submitted by readers. This oversized volume was my birthday gift to myself this year and it already has two dozen bookmarks tucked into it.

This book is outstanding! It gives enormous recommendation for the contemporary inner-city family, and does it in a practical, self-explanatory way. The substance is serious, but the writer makes available information while providing a few funny stories along the way. This book provides complete Christian guiding standard on everything from dating to desire a mate, to marriage, to the appropriate way to take care of a household and raise a family.

Easy reading but indepth. Challenging..I have hope for the community because I see where we have failed but where we can pick the ball up and keep rolling to restore our community.

This book is superb! It gives great advice for the modern urban family, and does it in a down-to-earth, easy-to-understand way. The theme is serious, but the author provides information while providing a few jokes along the way. And just because it is easy to understand does not mean it lacks content. On the contrary, this book provides complete Christian guidelines on everything from dating to choosing a mate, to marriage, to the proper way to take care of a household and raise a family. This book was a blessing in more ways than one! What more can I say, if you are considering buying this book -- DO IT. On a personal note, this book helped me prepare for my marriage, organize my finances, buy my house, prepare for the birth of my child and I am STILL using this book as a reference. All Black churches should recommend this book to their congregations. This book was a fulfilling dose of Christian guidelines, peppered with loving wit and wrapped in practicality.

For those serious about growing in the spiritual life, Walter Hilton is a must. Not everything will speak to every person but there is much to be gained from a slow, careful, and prayerful reading.

Author Peter Ackroyd (The Life of Thomas More) says that Hitlton's "Scale of Perfection" and Kempas'"Imitation of Christ" are part of the broad tradition of late medieval Christian piety. Both books played a central part of Thomas More's life. Scale of Perfection is concerend with the active Chrictian life in the world. Hilton also wrote a volume entitled "The Mixed Life."

Walter Hilton's massive undertaking (the first thorough treatment of ascetic theology in the English language) is as rewarding for those today as in his own era - and a careful reading makes one realise that he was treating many of the same difficulties we would find in our own time. This is by no means light reading, but the lawyer's mind, theologian's precision, and pastoral father's homely charm are a winning combination. (How can anyone resist one who, after giving an explanation of sin so with the lawyer's accuracy that one nearly searches for the section on plea bargaining, then tenderly reassures his reader that God is most generous with forgiveness or "heaven would be much too empty?)I would recommend it (if not require it) of anyone with an interest either in ascetic theology or fourteenth century England.

This book should be required reading for anyone from Fountain City to Cherokee Blvd.

If you liked vol. 1, then here's more of the same great stories about that "scruffy little city" in the middle of East Tennessee. Neely not only knows his stuff, but he also has a great way with words.

Writing quality: 5 stars Entertainment value: 5 stars Historical accuracy: 5 stars Educational value masquerading as fun: 5 stars

Every city should have a Jack Neely. This book consists of 1 to 3 page vignettes of local, often-offbeat history of Knoxville, Tennessee. Most were originally published in MetroPulse, the town's alternative newspaper. (For a sample of his work, his latest column can usually be found on the newspaper's web site.)

Neely is insightful in his choice of topics and his historical accuracy is top-notch. While focused on Knoxville, Neely ties his stories into broader trends in Southern and US history. Reading this book, you get a feeling for what daily life was really like in small American cities at various times in the past.

Neely has two of these books, Secret History and Secret History II

Like the other reviewers, I read these as a young person many years ago and the stories really touch your heart. They sink down deep in the bones. Like Laura Ingalls Wilder stories, but closer and stronger even!

I won this collection of books at a raffle when I was in fourth grade (this was 20+ years ago). I began reading and just could not stop - I think I read through the whole 3-book series within 2 days. Now I'm going to buy the same set for my kids. I love it.

I don't know of anyone alive who can tell the stories Arleta Richerdson does! I am facinated with the stories of growing up at the turn of the century -- tales from one hundred years ago. Girls of ALL ages will enjoy this book!

The cover of this book is a pleasant green with a picture of the Elmwood Inn. I hope they will submit a picture as it is quite a beautiful cover.

The recipes are organized according to Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall. Within each season, you will find three teas for that season. In December an Angelic Tea, Fireside Tea or Tea for Lovers will warm your home. In the Spring, enjoy Irish Tea, Tea with Shakespeare or May Day Tea.

When Summer arrives, Tea in the Rose Garden, 1850's Summer Tea or Sunflower Tea sounds very appropriate. In the fall, Tea at the Ballet, Kentucky Harvest Tea and tea with Monet include recipes for Pavlova, Cream puff swans and Pear Tart. Music selections are also recommended, The Four Seasons being one of my favorites.

Drawing on an eclectic mix of culinary traditions, the tea menu for each season is based on a central idea and seasonal fruits and vegetables are used to their best advantage. Art is also exhibited in the tea room making each season an occasion for celebrating art. A picture of a painting sets the mood for the each season. The authors have a great love for the arts and tea and to them life is art. In each area of their lives, they try to be artists, even when preparing a pot of tea.

If you enjoy sipping tea in a serene setting surrounded by beautiful art, fresh flowers, delightful foods and great music, you will relate well to this cookbook. If you want to create this peaceful setting, your will find many ideas to inspire you.

An Angelic Tea features Cinnamon tea, Orange Tea Bread, Christmas Ribbon Sandwiches, Angel Biscuits with Country Ham Spread, Angels on Horseback, Cranberry Scones with Orange Date Spread, Angel Sugar Cookies and White Fruit Cake which can be served in the Winter. You could also select various favorite recipes like: Drop Scones (We called them crumpets in Africa for some reason and they looked like the same mini pancakes. They were served with butter, cream and jam just like scones.), Chocolate Tea Bread, Shrimp Boats, Blackberry Sorbet, Cherry tarts and Onion Tart.

Each recipes has a fun-to-read header and sets a mood for your own cooking adventure. When you drink a cup of tea, you may find yourself thinking about everything that is right with the world and find tea time a way to escape from the everyday world. If you are ever in Perryville, Kentucky, the Elmwood Inn serves tea with such flair and reservations are advised. It is one of the state's best-known landmarks.

~The Rebecca Review

This book, the second from Bruce & Shelly Richardson, owners of Kentucky's Elmwood Inn, offers much more than menus and recipes. It offers suggestions on how to plan a tea that mirrors the season and pleases all the senses. The book focuses primarily on menus and recipes, but also recommends specific teas and musical selections to accompany the dining experience. A feast for the eyes as well, the photographs profile not only the food, but the works of contemporary artists. The resource guide at the end of the book offers addresses at which the reader can buy tea, purchase music, or contact the artists whose works appear throughout the pages. If you're expecting difficult recipes using gourmet ingredients, you will be disappointed. The recipes are simple, well-written, and utilize ingredients anyone can find at their well-stocked local grocery. Having read this book and its predecessor (A Year of Teas at Elmwood Inn), I am now looking forward to visiting the Inn later this summer and sampling these delicacies for myself. I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves tea, loves to cook, or simply enjoys the pleasure of a well-written and informative cookbook!

Whether you're a tea connoisseur or just beginning to explore the wonderful world of tea, "A Tea For All Season's" is an excellent companion to have. Written by Bruce & Shelly Richardson, owners of the Elmwood Inn in Perryville, KY, they provide an informative, enjoyable guide to preparing and hosting a perfect tea, as they do at Kentucky's premeir tea room. Breaking the book down into seasonal & monthly themes, they provide recommendations of food, tea and music to accompany your celebration. The tea themes include angels, roses, sunflowers, Shakespeare, Monet, the Ballet, Kentucky Harvest, etc. The meal recipes are also included and some of them are largely synonymous with Kentucky's culture. They give an overview of each theme and share the historical significance of all involved. The Elmwood Inn, itself, has a rich history and is listed on the National Register for Historical Places and is designated as a Kentucky Landmark. It's probably better known for the role it played during the Civil War battle, that befell Perryville on October 8, 1862. The book is also filled with wonderful colored photograph's, including some lovely peices of artwork, which can be found hanging on the walls of the Inn throughout the year (featuring notably local artists). The art, too, is coordinated with the theme of each month's menu. The Richardson's create a warm rapport as they entice and educate the reader; Much like their genteel hospitality when greeting in person. At the end of the book you'll find a list of tea suppliers and featured artists, including Elmwood Inn. "A Tea For All Season's" would make a great gift for any tea lover, and is a must to add to your tea repertoire. At the least, this book will leave you with the desire for a delicious pot of steaming hot tea. Most likely, it will inspire you to plan a tea party of your own. The Richardson's have also written two other books, "A Year of Teas at the Elmwood Inn," and "The Great Tea Rooms of Britain." I am fortunate to call Perryville home and frequent Elmwood Inn often for my 'cup of serenity.' I also have the fortune of calling Bruce & Shelly Richardson, friends. The almost 160-year-old Inn is beautiful with elegance and charm, as are the grounds. May I reccommend, if you're ever in Central Kentucky, plan on visiting and having afternoon tea at the Elmwood Inn. You must make reservations, though. It will be one of the most pleasant experiences of your life!

Texas Sampler is a great cookbook filled with easy to prepare recipes that look like you really toiled over. The cookbook, produced by the Junior League of Richardson is a collection of the best recipes of a membership of over 500 members. The Texas Sampler won the Southwest Tabasco Cookbook award in its first year of publication and its recipes have been featured in Southern Living. A must for every kitchen. Try the Mushroom Baked Brie - a true crowd pleasing appetizer.

Texas Sampler is a great cookbook filled with easy to prepare recipes that look like you really toiled over. The cookbook, produced by the Junior League of Richardson is a collection of the best recipes of a membership of over 500 members. The Texas Sampler won the Southwest Tabasco Cookbook award in its first year of publication and its recipes have been featured in Southern Living. A must for every kitchen. Try the Mushroom Baked Brie - a true crowd pleasing appetizer.

Texas Sampler provides great recipes for the busy life in the 90s while still providing a "home cooked" feel. The recipes are easy to follow with bulleted directions, and many handy tips provided throughout. A great Kids section is provided in the back. Some of my favorites from Texas Sampler - Avocado Pico De Gallo, Fettucini with Grilled Chicken and Sun Dried Tomatoes, Ray's Poblano Shrimp, and Pecan Pie Squares. All simple, and everyone will love! Best of all, the proceeds benefit the community.

Unconventional Means: The Dream Down Under is a unique and moving work drawing upon Australian Aboriginal stories incorporated and integrated into her own original writing by Lorraine Mafi-Williams. The text is deftly presented and engaging. Williams prose stir is a singularly unforgettable read. Unconventional Means is highly recommended, entertaining, and thought-provoking reading.

Artist and writer Anne R. Williams' spiritual quest led her to Australia and to an Aboriginal elder, Lorraine Mafi-Williams, with whom Anne felt a soul link from half a world away. Her sometimes-surreal chronicle evokes both ancient and modern Australia and a serendipity signaling the intersection of both inner and outer journeying. Contains traditional tales told her by Mafi-Williams.

Unconventional Means: The Dream Down Under with Aboriginal Traditional Stories as Told by Lorraine Mafi-Williams by Anne Richardson Williams. Reviewed by Michael White In Australia there is a very famous rock known as Uluru, a monolithic red sandstone boulder of a mountain that shoots up out of the desert plain. In the evening as the sun is setting it glows radiant red, like an ember. It is one of the sacred sites of the Aboriginal peoples who still use it as a place of pilgrimage and ceremony. Unconventional Means is the story of a pilgrimage to that stone and, with that, a pilgrimage to the aboriginal places that lay veiled under the veneer of western, modern life in America. It is the real life adventures of a woman who is unafraid to explore the world, both externally and internally. Anne writes very much in the tradition of Alexandria David-Neel who published her travel accounts of her journeys into Tibet in the 1930's. Anne, like David-Neel, is no ordinary tourist and her account is both poetic and prophetic. She is using the teaching of the Aborginals and what she has gleaned from the esoteric traditions of the east and the west to lead her on her pilgrimage. She is moving by unconventional means, and when decisions are made about where to go she uses the visions she sees in her meditation, her dreams, and the signs that come to her in daily life to make the decisions. These are her portals into a reality very distinct from conventional western thinking. Anne is watching what happens in her perception of the world in a way that is focused differently than the typical modern American. She has learned and practiced the techniques of the sacred, she has studied meditation and yoga, and has reached deeply into the traditional ways of tribal people. In particular when she practices meditation she is aware in such a way that what she sees becomes vision and in that vision she can find the solution to situations in her life and answers about what she should do. But this is just one of the ports of entry into the aboriginal world. Her dreams are another and just as she watches in her mind's eye for visions, she watches in her sleep to see what transpires in her dreams. Finally, she also watches as the events of the day transpire to see in those events signs that can reveal openings that show the way. She has entered the magical universe and is giving us a report of what it looks like and how to navigate in that terrain. Her methods are very feminine, highly intuitive, and reflective of ways that can be used to reach conclusions without the deductive logic of western reason. In 1993 Anne saw a picture in a book of a Aboriginal woman in Australia, the woman was an elder and a storyteller. Anne felt an immediate kinship that acted like a magnet to draw her half way around the globe to seek out this person. In 1997 she went to Australia with no assurance that she could ever find this person, yet by her unconventional means, she not only finds her but travels around Australia visiting ceremonial sites, hearing traditional stories and participating in ancient ceremonies. In the course of this she tape records many of the conversations where Lorraine Mafi-Williams, who among her people is called Alinta, tells stories about the sites they visit. These stories are stories of initiation and transformation, used to hold people together and teach them who they are. Anne also gets to hear the life story of Alinta and we see that in Australia the elders among the Aboriginals grew up in the tribal culture only slightly removed from their ways before the invasion of the Europeans. Alinta had grown up in an Aboriginal hut, living on the earth in a nomadic lifestyle. She tells of the experience of being schooled by the whites and how the Aboriginals would sneak off to learn from their own elders after the school day was done. She teaches Anne the techniques of "spirit journeys" that take place in the dream world. She tells that her ways, her ceremonies, are not lost and are still alive in the elders. These elders are willing to share them, not only with their own peoples, but with the white and black cultures as well, knowing that someday we will all be one people. Anne is a harbinger of this awareness. Her book is a travel adventure in the life of the mind and a journey of transformation that has immense value as we move into the global consciousness that is now possible in the world. Her book, published by In Circle Press, is beautifully illustrated. It is available at Amazon.com or on the web at www.incirclepress.com.

Michael White has compiled and edited two books: Safe in Heaven Dead: INterviews with Jack Kerouac and Light of the Three Jewels by Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche. His stories, poems, essays, interviews and reviews have been published in the US, Canada, England, Italy, Japan and India.

Tracing the progression of images of women's bodies through nearly two centuries of literature, Fasick analyzes selected novels from Samuel Richardson to D. H. Lawrence to construct a historical overview of class and gender relations as reflected and refracted in the pages of the English novel. Though recent discussion and women's roles in literature and culture has centered on women's sexuality as the defining factor in the female character, Fasick focuses instead on ways that writers have depicted women as possessing nurturing qualities that distinguish them from men. Rigid adherence to this idealization of femininity constructs a standard difficult for women to achieve. Held to the ideal, Fasick asserts, women appear grossly culpable rather than simply human. Fasick begins with an analysis of Samuel Richardson's novels that examines three linked themes: sensibility, maternity, and anorexia. She continues with a discussion of Frances Burney's treatment of the expressive female body. She then analyzes novels by Charles Dickens, William Makepeace Thackeray, Elizabeth Gaskell, and Charlotte Bronte in light of Victorian attitudes toward women and food and toward female invalidism. In conclusion, she returns to Richardson, pairing his novel Pamela with Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover for an examination of cross-class romance and the resulting implications for class and gender. Throughout, references to conduct books and periodical literature of the time provide contexts that illuminate the primary texts. Fasick's insights will interest students of the novel, eighteenth- and nineteenth-century fiction, women's studies and gender studies, and class relations in literature.

The author traces the progression of images of women's bodies through two centuries of English literature to construct a historical overview of class and gender relations as reflected in the English novel. She focuses on ways women have been depicted as possessing nurturing qualities that distinguish them from men in work by authors including Samuel Richardson, Frances Burney, Charles Dickens, Charlotte Bront and others. For students of the novel, 18th-19th century fiction, and women's studies.

Tracing images of women's bodies through nearly two centuries of literature, Fasick analyzes selected novels from Samuel Richardson to D. H. Lawrence to construct a historical overview of class and gender relations as reflected and refracted in the pages of the English novel.

I used this book in a school secretrial training. They loved it. Several purchased copies of their own.

This book is a hilarious look at what school secretaries (you know, the ones who really run the school) do. From doling out milk money to fixing boo-boos on the playground, school secretaries answer the phone, sort the mail, and everything in between!

A great gift idea for that special school secretary (especially at the elementary level) that really deserves it!

Everyone knows the secretary runs the school. This is a wonderful book for any secretary for any occasion. It is honest and really shows how much a secretary does for the students, teachers, parents, and school.