A page-turner is what this turned out to be for me. I first read about Lady Mary while reading another book whose author described her as 'an intrepid 18th-century traveler'. That intrigued me. I meant to get Lady Mary's 'Travels' and found this delightful book instead. Her letters were so enjoyable it was hard for me to put this book aside. There's so much humor, wisdom and intelligence in her writing. She had a true spirit of adventure. I came away from this book admiring Lady Mary very much. It's a real shame her work is not more well known.

I stumbled upon this book while researching an essay on early modern women writers and quickly came to admire this wonderful woman. She has an intelligent and amusing way of describing and relating people and incidents. She has all the intelligence, brilliance and wit of Jane Austen. I highly recommend this for all those who love the lives of intelligent, spirited and talented women.

The first bilingual dictionary to be compiled entirely from electronic databases of current language, making it the most comprehensive, reliable, and up-to-date reference available. The new edition provides the most recent vocabulary for both French and English. Best for the beginner who want to learn french fast.

Perhaps because the author of this book is well-versed in history and early Teutonic myth and religion, the "world" the characters inhabit seems extremely real and believeable. The treatment of the religion and philosophical views of the characters is particularly strong.

I enjoyed the main character, Hagan, and wished the story would go on longer so we could learn more about him. It would have been nice to see more of his home life, as well.

The book reminded me of some of Heinlein's earlier works where a self-reliant man virtuously sticks to duty & uses his common sense, ultimately succeeding in life.

It is far, far better than most sword & hero books out there lately.

This is not just another "costume drama"; it's a fine example of how historical fiction should be written: entertaining but based on good historical scholarship. Equally satisfying to fans of romance and swashbuckling, Attila's Treasure also displays the author's insight into the restrictions that society, whether Pagan or Christian, puts on the individual's desires for self-fulfillment. The book's character development is such that readers can empathize with even the villains in this book. The clash between the dying Pagan culture and the rising Christian world are examined through the main characters. For example, the heathen Hagan disapproves his best friend Waldhari's betrayal of his lord for the love of Attila's woman, Hildegund. Conversely, Waldhari's strict Catholic upbringing undoubtedly must prevent him from accepting Hagan's homosexuality. Yet, unlike most of the other characters in the book, the two young princes' comradeship and mutual trust, forged in sharing the warrior's life, ultimately prove stronger than their differences in religious faith and culture.

This book is a companion to Rhinegold and details the events of the life of Hagan, who is sent to live with Atilla as a foster-hostage. Well written and researched like any of Grundy's novles, you find yourself transported into the time he writes of, and find yourself empathising with the charachters. Hagan, the ultimate introvert, is portraied in a sensitive and understanding way, showing the intense emotion which is felt by those who are often misunderstood, and thought to be without feeling and less than human.

The strong history in this book and wonderful descriptions of surroundings show the culture clashes experienced by the charachters within. It's a story of cross-culture friendships, and tolerance and understanding of your friends even when you don't understand or nesicarily agree with practices of your friends. It is also a story of dangerous forbidden love and longing.

As one who practices Asatru, norse religion, I was delighted at the realistic and true way in which the religions and magic are portraied. Those who enjoyed this may also be interrested to know that the author of these books is a scholar who has also writen books on Asatru under the penname 'Kveldulf Gundarsson' and his books are "Teutonic Magic" and "Teutonic Religion".

Dry, academic, and basically pointless. If the purpose of this book is to honor the fact that women wrote at all, mission accomplished. If the author was trying to clarify what it was women were trying to say or why they were trying to say it, one must read between the lines to find any interpretation at all. Perhaps that is the dauntless task set before the editor, devoid of bias, who attempts to document the writing of an oppressed class in an oppressed time. For a women writer to articulate anything publicly was considered unladylike, shameless, even promiscuous. Women driven to write in spite of such judgements were required to be surreptitious with their statements, subtle, endearing, even self-effacing. As painfully humiliating as it is to be made aware of the manipulation necessitated by the power of male writers, it is an important nuance to be aware of in honoring such women. After all, there are many women who would not have been published at all had they not masqueraded as men. What a loss that would have been! If you can get through the verbiage, and if you are looking specifically for this kind of documentation, an attempt to find this out of print book may be worth it to you. For me, it was painfully disheartening to realize how silenced women can be.

Brilliantly argued essays that discuss the nuances of women's writing in the early modern era. Not for anyone who, say, simplistically believes that "for a women writer to articulate anything publicly was considered unladylike, shameless, even promiscuous." Books like this are vital because they discard such old saws.

I got this book because it is by Stephan Grundy, and having read his two previous books 'Atilla's Treasure' and 'Rhinegold' I knew I would have a great book to read. I wasn't dissapointed, but was a bit surprised at parts of it. As the other reviws say, a main part of the plot is his relationship with Enkidu.

I felt totally drawn into the world of ancient Sumeria....the rich detailed descriptions of temples, cerimonies, sexuality, people interacting with each other are all so well done. The Ensi's journey from rash, impulsive youth in love with his power, to the man who has been through trials and peril is so thoroughly enchanting. If you're not squeamish about sexuality, and homosexuality, then you will likely love this book.

From the first few pages, I was transported to ancient Erech, involved in the lives of the characters, and hooked on this most ancient of epic stories. Grundy has a way of bringing larger-than-life characters forth in ways that make them immediately important to the reader as people, not merely as archetypes. Whether he is writing about fighting or love-making, he does it with an appreciation of the skills involved that make you pity his enemies and envy his lovers. He has the rare combination of excellent research and creative story-telling ability that marks the best keepers of legend. I recommend this book not just because the Gilgamesh story is culturally important, but because it is a GOOD story, and even better when told by a master.

Stephan Grundy's Gilgamesh is a magnificent piece of art. Brilliantly written and intensively researched, it translates the ancient Mesopotamian epic into a superbly readable novel without altering the essence of the original. The theme of an arrogant and powerful young man who must discover that no human heroism can overcome mortality is one that speaks as clearly to the modern age as to the era when the epic was composed; by fleshing out the lines of the poem with a wealth of physical and emotional detail, Grundy expands this fundamental theme to a veritable Wagnerian opera, producing a book which not only overwhelms in the reading, but provokes thoughts and feelings that will last long after the covers have been closed. Intense meditations upon mortality and the worth of human life are layered into an exciting plot that includes war (not invented to pad out the plot-line, but derived directly from another Mesopotamian poem, 'Gilgamesh and Agga'), hunting scenes worthy of Wilbur Smith at his best, and high intrigue within the temple walls, as well as the ongoing emotional combat between Gilgamesh and his city's patron goddess Inanna. This combination of thought and action shows an unusually skillful handling of timing and plot, while the characters, though many of their attitudes are foreign to the modern viewpoint, still manage to be highly sympathetic and interesting - particularly the young priestess who has the thankless task of trying to get the headstrong Gilgamesh to do his long-feared and potentially fatal duty to the goddess Inanna. The one caution readers should have is that the author's insistence on detailed historical accuracy includes a willingness to present a complete and unexpurgated view of the sexual emphasis of Sumerian religion and culture (and of the diverse forms of sexuality practiced and celebrated by the Sumerians) which may prove to be controversial among those who are familiar only with the more watered-down translations and interpretations of Gilgamesh. In particular, Grundy's straightforward acceptance of the repeated phrase in Gilgamesh's dreams about Enkidu, 'To me its (the meteor symbolizing Enkidu in the dream) attraction was like the love of woman...you were drawn to it as though to a woman...you will love him as a woman', etc. (the same phrase is also translated as 'I hugged him like a wife...You loved him and hugged him like a wife') may unsettle or even offend those who assume that ancient Sumerians lived by the same moral standards as fundamentalist Baptists - though conversely, readers looking for a gay love story (or political statement) may be unsettled by Enkidu's happy, if open, marriage, Gilgamesh's many experiences with priestesses and new brides, and the suggestion that the two heroes go out cruising for women together, among other things. However, those who appreciate historical authors who are willing to accurately portray the attitudes of the cultures in which their works are set will be grateful that Grundy did not choose to tone down the rich sensuality of the Sumerians (or dilute the intensity of the heroes' emotional union as the poem describes it) in order to avoid controversy. This book is destined to be a true classic among historical novels.

I am reading this book now for the third of forth time now. I think it is a nice book: a strong story and easy to read. However I miss the spark. Wagners telling of the same story grabs you and holds you. Even when the music stops after 15 hours. Grundy couldn't do that to me. I read this before I go to sleep, to relax. Some parts however are strong: I like the part about Runes very much, although I wanted something more than just the translations of the old Icelandic verses. And the again, sometimes the use of Runes is coming back in the story itself. I think the Gods are a little to human: more focused on women than on the education of mankind. Also Sigmund and Sinfjotli's life in the woods is a little disturbing (can't think of a correct describtion of the feeling) to me. All together: I like the book but I think it is not more than that; a likeable book.

I deeply enjoyed and appreciated "Rheingold" when I first read it. It's a well worded retelling of the myths, to be sure. But the main strength here is the sincerity and devotion to detail. Grundy writes as one who respects and knows the people and Gods that the myths deal with. One probably needs to be Forn Sidh/Asatru to fully sympathize with the spirit this book is writen in. True, the Gods are presented mythically as well as mystically, but the devout will approach this book with holy recognition. At the least, one should have a background in migration era Teutonic culture to see the well used details.

True, Grundy will probably never be as good a writer as Wagner was a musician. But Wagner's christianized, Romanticized, bowdlerized wanna-be Ring Cycle plot is far flatter than the mythic awe Grundy compells. (I love HEARING the Ring Cycle, but the libretto is egregious.) What Wagner treated with sublimated condescention, Grundy exposes and reverently handles. That alone is worth the ticket for those who see the greater truths in the stories.

If one is looking for a "sword and sorcery" romp, "Rheingold" is bound to be a disappointment. Many historical novel types will probably be neutral on it's metaphysical emphasis as well. It's a specific and special audience that will understand "Rheingold"'s importance.

I've read this story so many times and in so many forms since I was a child, it gets hard to tell which is my favorite. This book has a really good atmosphere, and the imagery it conjures up can't be beaten. BUT, as much as I would have liked to give it a full five stars, I believe four is more fitting. The book tends to divide its self into sections. I understand that this essentially a three-in-one book, and that the source material (the Volsunga Saga, the Nibelungenleid, the Eddas and to a lesser extent Richard Wagner's Ring Cycle) also shares this tendancy of "sectionism", I would have given it a five if this were three seperate books forming a trilogy. I really did enjoy it from start to finish, the portrayal of the heroes that I grew up with was PERFECT. I cannot say the same for Paxson's Wodan's Children trilogy. The supernatural events in the story are described in a very well thought out and believable manner which does justice to the original Norse and German sources. I enjoyed the first part of the book the most and I wish that the rest of the book as carefully woven into a whole, but the imagery and heroic spirit are consistent through out. Maybe one day I'll change my mind and adjust the rating.

I'm extremely disappointed with the dictionary. The main reason I ordered it was to get phonetic pronunciation with every word. I read a lot of historically based novels about Ireland and would like to know how to say the words in Irish that appear in the books. I returned it immediately (along with the Scottish/Gaelic dictionary that was equally lacking).

A difficult language to learn, and even worse to master. The letters have a different sound to them than any lanquage based on the Latin forms. However, it is helping a great deal in my quest to conquor this old, and very melodic tounge. Now I just need to work on my brogue.

As a learner of Irish I have purchased several Irish-English dictionaries. I was very pleased with my purchase of the Oxford Irish Pocket Irish Dictionary (which is a bit bigger than the Oxford Irish Minidictionary, and requires a fairly big pocket). This dictionary includes much more help for beginning learners of Irish going into a lot of detail about common multipurpose Irish words. It also includes entries for many irregular verbs in several tenses. These entries merely point you back to the main entry for the verb, but this is of great help when you don't recognize the main verb from the tense you are looking up. The complaint that it doesn't have pronunciation for the headwords is a fair one. I wrote the editors, and they told me that they had hoped to include it, but didn't get it into this edition. Pronunciation for Irish headwords can be found in two other Irish/English dictionaries: Foclóir Póca Gaeilge/Béarla and the larger version of it called Foclóir Scoile (which has larger print and more words than Foclóir Póca) both published by An Gúm the publishing arm of the Irish Government's Education Ministry. I would highly recommend this book to anyone serious about learning the Irish language in spite of the lack of pronunciation for headwords.

Phew! Thank your lucky stars if you are not Trevor Grundy for, if his autobiographical childhood memoirs are factual, this is one life you'd be forgiven for wishing to not live. Trevor was born into a family of avowed fascists and slavish followers of the dictats of one Oswald Mosely; a well-born boy wonder politician-turned-black sheep leader of the British Union of Fascists. Trevor Grundy himself was a boy wonder of the movement until he, like Mosley, changed his political stance and cut his former political ties. His life trajectory takes place in the context of a family dominated by his unstable, anti-semitic, horrifyingly fanatical mother whose love for "the Leader" shapes family destiny. What would otherwise be the account of a banal and pathetic existence becomes a story of unrequited love and tragedy when Grundy's political and social maturation causes him to break with the movement and ultimately to destroy his mother. What makes the description of this evolution painful is the puzzle piece facts the author gives of the circumstances of his mother's own peculiar upbringing and marriage which all but guarantee a short, unhappy life. This book helps to expose the ugliness of prejudice; the banality of hate movements; the crass manipulation of the members of the disgruntled lower class by members of the disgruntled upper class; the destruction one's family can wreak upon one's psyche; and finally how difficult it is to keep a good nature down. This would be a so-called uplifting story if only the author had glossed over the number of victims it left in its wake.

Using a few good maps, a star chart and a ruler, not to mention a carload of imagination, Grundy has reconstructed Neolithic society. He formulates a religion common to the peoples of western France and all the British Isles. Most scholars of the Neolithic age accept solar and lunar worship. Grundy outstrips them all with a concept of "elite" priests of Britain and France conferring on megalith locations and use. Not content with the sun and moon, Grundy has the stone and post monuments targeting a variety of stars and planets. In order to keep the alignments rigorously placed, his "priests" make incredible journeys - one lollops 130 kilometres in 24 hours! These are busy lads - no mention of priestesses nor goddesses occurs. They travel the length and breadth of the British Isles over five thousand years ago, making sightings, keeping records and prospecting for "the right rocks" to do the job.

Grundy has deduced all this from a close study of map locations of the various henge and menhir sites bracketing the English Channel. One can imagine him with his metre stick, finding henges and barrows, then swinging the stick over the map to see what can be made to intersect. His engineering background is manifest as he ties Carnac in France to Land's End and the Orkneys in Scotland. It's an ambitious effort, one worthy of a pope's division of the globe. One of the lines could be the Neolithic Prime Meridian, although lying a bit west of the current Greenwich line.

Not only does he manage to line up nearly every stone grouping in this cross-Channel exercise, he derives the rituals and records involved in this feat. He graphically describes where each priest, acolyte and tribal chieftain stands during the eremonies. The only thing missing are the hymns and sermons the stones and their target stars and planets evoked. He grants them immense engineering knowledge, insisting it was handed down over the generations until suborned by the Roman invaders. Unlike the Christians who tore down or farmed over the Neolithic sites, the more practical Romans conscripted the priests to design the British road system!

Grundy's writing reflects his engineering roots. It's solid and unequivocal. He "suggests" nothing, simply stating his points baldly, albeit clearly. Although he cites many of the prominent figures in Neolithic henges, few of their findings are accepted intact. Those with a solid astronomical background might find this book useful in some bizarre circumstance. Cartographers will blench at the way maps vary in quality and usefulness. Serious Neolithic scholars will wonder why trees were felled to make the paper for this book. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]