Anthologies

Samuel Johnson famously referred to his future biographer, the unsociable magistrate Sir John Hawkins, as “a most unclubbable man." Conversely, this celebratory volume gathers distinguished eighteenth-century studies scholars to honor the achievements, professional generosity, and sociability of Greg Clingham, taking as its theme textual and social group formations. Here, Philip Smallwood examines the “mirrored minds” of Johnson and Shakespeare, while David Hopkins parses intersections of the general and particular in three key eighteenth-century figures. Aaron Hanlon draws parallels between instances of physical rambling and rhetorical strategies in Johnson’s Rambler , while Cedric D. Reverand dissects the intertextual strands uniting Dryden and Pope. Contributors take up other topics significant to the field, including post-feminism, travel, and seismology. Whether discussing cultural exchange or textual reciprocities, each piece extends the theme, building on the trope of relationship to organize and express its findings. Rounding out this collection are tributes from Clingham’s former students and colleagues, including original poetry.

A USA Today Bestseller, a Vivian Winner, and a RITA Finalist met for lunch. In the course of the conversation, a new world was born: ELFSTONBRIDGE. Elfstonbridge nestles in the Cotswolds of England at the end of a road that goes nowhere else. It is difficult to find, and few have reason to do so. Locally, the village is suspect, for strange things are said to happen there. But in the early years of the 19th Century, three men do arrive. Two come with purpose, one by accident, but they all become entangled with women of a certain age. These are their stories— LADY ISABELLE'S RETICULE - Trying to outrun his nightmares, Major Pearce Ashton has become a rootless wanderer. When he misjudges a wayside tavern, he's beaten and left for dead in the mysterious Wytchfell Forest... to be found by the reclusive Lady Isabelle Walstead. She wants Major Ashton "gone," but first she must heal him, which she does with miraculous speed. To her chagrin, her unwanted guest feels that, with her, he's come home. SAVING SARGEANT FAIRWEATHER - Luke Fairweather, injured in the war with Napolean, arrives in Elfstonbridge hopeful that Dr. Shaw and his storied Knight's Spring can give him a chance at a normal life. Jane Madison has always had a soft spot for soldiers. Afterall, her resident ghost had been one. She thought Sargeant Fairweather a fine man when she accepted him as a boarder. She hardly expected him to be accused of murder and need her help to avoid the gallows. OF PEBBLES AND ROCKS - When Damian Hunt, Viscount Redleigh, brings his uncontrollable new stallion to Lucinda Jeffries for training, he begins to suspect her secretive training methods are something more sinister—perhaps supernatural—and they seem to be working on him as well as his horse. For her part, Lucinda is shocked by her reaction to the Viscount. Have they both found something they didn't want was what they really needed?