Julia Phillips – författare

This book presents an alternative argument to the established opinion that witchcraft began to decline in the eighteenth century and that by the early twentieth century at the latest, it had largely ceased to exist.The idea that witchcraft disappeared from society is partially based on a historical emphasis upon legal action concerning alleged witches. When viewed through that lens alone, the evidence for a decline appears to be persuasive. This book, however, is the first study to use a Digital Humanities methodology to examine witchcraft as represented in the Victorian press, which reveals new evidence about perceptions of witchcraft in nineteenth-century England. An examination of nineteenth-century newspapers and periodicals demonstrates that witches featured extensively in the Victorian press, appearing in articles, commentaries, reports of lectures and meetings, advertisements, book and theatrical reviews, literature, and poetry. As a result, witches were not simply participants in a courtroom drama (although they also continued to appear in that way), they had a vibrant and visible presence across a broad range of activities and were thoroughly entangled with everyday life in Victorian Britain.This broad range of topics makes the book useful to all levels of academics, as well as non-specialist readers who will find its remarkable discoveries to be of interest.

This book presents an alternative argument to the established opinion that witchcraft began to decline in the eighteenth century and that by the early twentieth century at the latest, it had largely ceased to exist.The idea that witchcraft disappeared from society is partially based on a historical emphasis upon legal action concerning alleged witches. When viewed through that lens alone, the evidence for a decline appears to be persuasive. This book, however, is the first study to use a Digital Humanities methodology to examine witchcraft as represented in the Victorian press, which reveals new evidence about perceptions of witchcraft in 19th century England. An examination of nineteenth century newspapers and periodicals demonstrates that witches featured extensively in the Victorian press, appearing in articles, commentaries, reports of lectures and meetings, advertisements, book and theatrical reviews, literature, and poetry. As a result, witches were not simply participants in a court room drama (although they also continued to appear in that way), they had a vibrant and visible presence across a broad range of activities and were thoroughly entangled with everyday life in Victorian Britain.This broad range of topics makes the book useful to all levels of academics, as well as non-specialist readers who will find its remarkable discoveries to be of interest.

'Thrilling and propulsive, glorious and terrifying. Julia Phillips is a brilliant writer' Ann Patchett'Wondrous ... a fairy tale for the strange times in which we live' Rumaan AlamThey were sisters and they would last past the end of time.Sam and Elena dream of another life. On the island off the coast of Washington where they were born and raised, they and their mother struggle to survive. Sam works on the ferry that delivers wealthy mainlanders to their vacation homes while Elena does bar work at the local golf club, but even together they can't earn enough to get by, stirring their frustration about the limits that shape their existence.Then one night on the boat, Sam spots a bear swimming the dark waters of the channel. Where is it going? What does it want? When the bear turns up by their home, Sam, terrified, is more convinced than ever that it's time to leave the island. But Elena responds differently to the massive beast. Enchanted by its presence, she throws into doubt the desire to escape and puts their long-held dream in danger.A story about the bonds of sisterhood and the mysteries of the animals that live among us - and within us - Bear is a propulsive, mythical, richly imagined novel from one of the most acclaimed young writers at work today.

'Thrilling and propulsive, glorious and terrifying. Julia Phillips is a brilliant writer' Ann PatchettThey were sisters and they would last past the end of time.Sam and Elena dream of another life. On the island off the coast of Washington where they were born and raised, they and their mother struggle to survive. Sam works on the ferry that delivers wealthy mainlanders to their vacation homes while Elena does bar work at the local golf club, but even together they can't earn enough to get by, stirring their frustration about the limits that shape their existence.Then one night on the boat, Sam spots a bear swimming the dark waters of the channel. Where is it going? What does it want? When the bear turns up by their home, Sam, terrified, is more convinced than ever that it's time to leave the island. But Elena responds differently to the massive beast. Enchanted by its presence, she throws into doubt the desire to escape and puts their long-held dream in danger.A story about the bonds of sisterhood and the mysteries of the animals that live among us - and within us - Bear is a propulsive, mythical, richly imagined novel from one of the most acclaimed young writers at work today.

Beautifully written, thought-provoking, intense and cleverly wrought, this is the most extraordinary first novel from a mesmerising new talent.One August afternoon, on the shoreline of the north-eastern edge of Russia, two sisters are abducted. In the ensuing weeks, then months, the police investigation turns up nothing. Echoes of the disappearance reverberate across a tightly woven community, with the fear and loss felt most deeply among its women.Set on the remote Siberian peninsula of Kamchatka, Disappearing Earth draws us into the world of an astonishing cast of characters, all connected by an unfathomable crime. We are transported to vistas of rugged beauty – densely wooded forests, open expanses of tundra, soaring volcanoes and the glassy seas that border Japan and Alaska – and into a region as complex as it is alluring, where social and ethnic tensions have long simmered, and where outsiders are often the first to be accused. In a story as propulsive as it is emotionally engaging, and through a young writer's virtuosic feat of empathy and imagination, this powerful novel provides a new understanding of the intricate bonds of family and community, in a Russia unlike any we have seen before.  Praise for Disappearing Earth"A genuine masterpiece, but one that is easily consumed in a feverish stay-up-all-night bout of reading pleasure." Gary Shteyngart“Suspenseful, original and compelling,  Disappearing Earth is a strange and haunting voyage into a strange and haunting world.'Simon Sebag-Montefiore, author of The Romanovs “Julia Phillips is at once a careful cartographer and gorgeous storyteller... . A mystery of two missing girls burns at the center of this astonishing debut, and the complexity of ethnicity, gender, hearth and kin illuminates this question and many more.”Tayari Jones, author of An American Marriage ‘A most extraordinarily beautiful and haunting first novel, and the unveiling of a rare and special talent’ New Statesman'A knock-out... .The stitches of Phillips’s language make you go, Damn, that’s good.'   The Los Angeles Review of Books'A superb debut.' New York Times'Phillips explores the devastation in this complex, imaginative and beautifully written crime novel, which is as beautiful as the scenery it depicts.' Woman's Weekly'I was so absorbed I forgot to take notes...each new domestic world was deftly conjured and fresh.' Sarah Moss, The Guardian'This book takes the 'missing girl' trope and turns it on its head' Elle'Intriguing, tantalising, perfectly executed.' Spectator