Helen Lane – författare

On December 12, 1794, Fray Servando Teresa de Mier preached a sermon in Mexico City that led to his arrest by the Inquisition. He was exiled to Spain--only to escape and spend ten years traveling throughout Europe, as none other than a French priest. So began the grand adventure of Fray Servando''s life, and of this gripping memoir. Here is an invitation hard for any reader to resist: a glimpse of the European "Age of Enlightenment" through the eyes of a fugitive Mexican friar. In this memoir, one sees a portrait of manners and morals that is a far cry from the "civilized" spirit that the Empire wanted to impose on its Colonies. This book takes a look at history from an upside down perspective, asking this question: who were the real savages, the colonizers themselves, or the supposed "savages" they were struggling to convert? After ten years, Fray Servando finally returned home to an independent Mexico, where he served the new government before his death. Heretic and rebel, fugitive and visionary, character in a novel and father of his country--Fray Servando Teresa de Mier was all of these things. Translated into English for the first time, this memoir truly captures the passionate spirit of a fantastic man.

Amalia is one of the most popular Latin American novels and, until recently, was required reading in Argentina''s schools. It was written to protest the dictatorship of Juan Manuel de Rosas and to provide a picture of the political events during his regime, but the book''s popularity stemmed from the love story that fuels the plot. Originally published in 1851 in serial form, Marmol''s novel recounts the story of Eduardo and Amalia, who fall in love while he is hiding in her home. Amalia and her cousin Daniel protect him from Rosist persecution, but before the couple and the cousin can escape to safety, they are discovered by the death squad and the young men die. Similar in style to the romantic novels of Walter Scott, Amalia provides a detailed picture of life under a dictatorship combined with lively dialogue, drama, and a tragic love story.

Cecilia Vald''es is arguably the most important novel of 19th century Cuba. Originally published in New York City in 1882, Cirilo Villaverde''s novel has fascinated readers inside and outside Cuba since the late 19th century. In this new English translation, a vast landscape emerges of the moral, political, and sexual depravity caused by slavery and colonialism. Set in the Havana of the 1830s, the novel introduces us to Cecilia, a beautiful light-skinned mulatta, who is being pursued by the son of a Spanish slave trader, named Leonardo. Unbeknownst to the two, they are the children of the same father. Eventually Cecilia gives in to Leonardo''s advances; she becomes pregnant and gives birth to a baby girl. When Leonardo, who gets bored with Cecilia after a while, agrees to marry a white upper class woman, Cecilia vows revenge. A mulatto friend and suitor of hers kills Leonardo, and Cecilia is thrown into prison as an accessory to the crime. For the contemporary reader Helen Lane''s masterful translation of Cecilia Vald''es opens a new window into the intricate problems of race relations in Cuba and the Caribbean. There are the elite social circles of European and New World Whites, the rich culture of the free people of color, the class to which Cecilia herself belonged, and then the slaves, divided among themselves between those who were born in Africa and those who were born in the New World, and those who worked on the sugar plantation and those who worked in the households of the rich people in Havana. Cecilia Vald''es thus presents a vast portrait of sexual, social, and racial oppression, and the lived experience of Spanish colonialism in Cuba.

Peruvian author Ricardo Palma (1838-1919) was one of the most popular and imitated writers in Latin America during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. As head of the National Library in Lima, Palma had access to a rich source of historical books and manuscripts. His historical miscellanies, which he called "traditions," are witty anecdotes about conquerors, viceroys, corrupt and lovelorn friars, tragic loves and notorious characters. Humor, irony and word play characterize his collection of over five hundred traditions written between 1872 and 1906, whether describing violent deeds or amorous misadventures. Unlike many of his contemporaries in the second half of the nineteenth century, Palma did not write transparent didactic fictions and defend elite cultural forms. Rather, he reveled in ironic approaches to written sources, political authorities and church institutions as well as popular speech and knowledge. Both fiction and history, Palma''s delightful Peruvian Traditions represents a hybrid literary form that constructs historical memory distinct from the dominant literary trends of the time.

Cecilia Vald''es is arguably the most important novel of 19th century Cuba. Originally published in New York City in 1882, Cirilo Villaverde''s novel has fascinated readers inside and outside Cuba since the late 19th century. In this new English translation, a vast landscape emerges of the moral, political, and sexual depravity caused by slavery and colonialism. Set in the Havana of the 1830s, the novel introduces us to Cecilia, a beautiful light-skinned mulatta, who is being pursued by the son of a Spanish slave trader, named Leonardo. Unbeknownst to the two, they are the children of the same father. Eventually Cecilia gives in to Leonardo''s advances; she becomes pregnant and gives birth to a baby girl. When Leonardo, who gets bored with Cecilia after a while, agrees to marry a white upper class woman, Cecilia vows revenge. A mulatto friend and suitor of hers kills Leonardo, and Cecilia is thrown into prison as an accessory to the crime. For the contemporary reader Helen Lane''s masterful translation of Cecilia Vald''es opens a new window into the intricate problems of race relations in Cuba and the Caribbean. There are the elite social circles of European and New World Whites, the rich culture of the free people of color, the class to which Cecilia herself belonged, and then the slaves, divided among themselves between those who were born in Africa and those who were born in the New World, and those who worked on the sugar plantation and those who worked in the households of the rich people in Havana. Cecilia Vald''es thus presents a vast portrait of sexual, social, and racial oppression, and the lived experience of Spanish colonialism in Cuba.

Peruvian author Ricardo Palma (1838-1919) was one of the most popular and imitated writers in Latin America during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. As head of the National Library in Lima, Palma had access to a rich source of historical books and manuscripts. His historical miscellanies, which he called "traditions," are witty anecdotes about conquerors, viceroys, corrupt and lovelorn friars, tragic loves and notorious characters. Humor, irony and word play characterize his collection of over five hundred traditions written between 1872 and 1906, whether describing violent deeds or amorous misadventures. Unlike many of his contemporaries in the second half of the nineteenth century, Palma did not write transparent didactic fictions and defend elite cultural forms. Rather, he reveled in ironic approaches to written sources, political authorities and church institutions as well as popular speech and knowledge. Both fiction and history, Palma''s delightful Peruvian Traditions represents a hybrid literary form that constructs historical memory distinct from the dominant literary trends of the time.

Amalia is one of the most popular Latin American novels and, until recently, was required reading in Argentina''s schools. It was written to protest the dictatorship of Juan Manuel de Rosas and to provide a picture of the political events during his regime, but the book''s popularity stemmed from the love story that fuels the plot. Originally published in 1851 in serial form, Marmol''s novel recounts the story of Eduardo and Amalia, who fall in love while he is hiding in her home. Amalia and her cousin Daniel protect him from Rosist persecution, but before the couple and the cousin can escape to safety, they are discovered by the death squad and the young men die. Similar in style to the romantic novels of Walter Scott, Amalia provides a detailed picture of life under a dictatorship combined with lively dialogue, drama, and a tragic love story.

On December 12, 1794, Fray Servando Teresa de Mier preached a sermon in Mexico City that led to his arrest by the Inquisition. He was exiled to Spain--only to escape and spend ten years traveling throughout Europe, as none other than a French priest. So began the grand adventure of Fray Servando''s life, and of this gripping memoir. Here is an invitation hard for any reader to resist: a glimpse of the European "Age of Enlightenment" through the eyes of a fugitive Mexican friar. In this memoir, one sees a portrait of manners and morals that is a far cry from the "civilized" spirit that the Empire wanted to impose on its Colonies. This book takes a look at history from an upside down perspective, asking this question: who were the real savages, the colonizers themselves, or the supposed "savages" they were struggling to convert? After ten years, Fray Servando finally returned home to an independent Mexico, where he served the new government before his death. Heretic and rebel, fugitive and visionary, character in a novel and father of his country--Fray Servando Teresa de Mier was all of these things. Translated into English for the first time, this memoir truly captures the passionate spirit of a fantastic man.

From light-up scarves to solar-powered backpacks to health monitoring fabric, innovative combinations of electronics and textiles are becoming more prevalent and impressive all the time, making appearances everywhere from the runway to medical settings. In the near future, these wearable technologies will be a standard part of daily life. E-textiles, including soft circuits, conductive fabrics, and sewable electronics, may not be familiar to all library patrons now, but the way that e-textile projects combine STEM topics with fun, familiar crafts make them popular for library programs, interesting to diverse groups, and a great tool for teaching new skills and techniques. Best of all, e-textile projects can be designed to fit into budgets of all sizes and to appeal to patrons of any age and level of technical proficiency. In this book, you’ll learn everything you need to know about the tools, supplies, techniques, and science behind e-textiles and find out how your library can design successful collections and programs around this hot new topic. The book features key information about the materials and techniques you’ll need to know, examples of libraries that have found success with e-textiles, step-by-step advice on program creation, and projects that can be used for fun and engaging library programs. By the time you finish reading, you will have everything you need to develop a program that will generate excitement within your community and introduce your patrons to new and useful skills. Keep your library on the cutting edge of technology with exciting and engaging e-textiles programming!