Madeleine Gray – författare

'MADELEINE GRAY IS A DAZZLING WRITER - A HUGE TALENT' GILLIAN ANDERSON'BEAUTIFUL, DEVASTATING, HILARIOUS AND FULL OF LIFE' JESSICA STANLEY'ALL KINDS OF GORGEOUSNESS' JENNIE GODFREY'GRAY WRITES SO ACUTELY ABOUT THE MESS OF DESIRE AND THE HUMAN CONDITION' NIGELLA LAWSONBooks about friendship are not often described as love stories, but this is one. At the age of twelve, Nell has accepted that hers will likely be a friendless existence. She's not interested in boys or makeup or competing to see who can eat the least - so fitting in at her all-girls' school feels impossible.But then, a new girl arrives at school.Eve has short hair like a boy's, a wicked sense of humour and an unshakable confidence that she will find her place in the world. And the moment they meet, Nell begins to rethink the whole friendless existence thing.As they grow into themselves, Nell and Eve will love each other and hurt each other - through the chlorine-scented savagery of adolescence; long, drunken nights in share houses and gay bars; the highs and lows of parenthood.And always, despite unspoken feelings and sexual confusion, they will choose each other. Again, and again. As friends, as lovers, as family.

A BEST BOOK OF 2024 IN STYLIST, DAILY MAIL, THE i PAPER, IRISH TIMES, SUNDAY TIMES AND RED SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2025 BRITISH BOOK AWARDS DEBUT FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR 'ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS YOU WILL READ ALL YEAR' ELIZABETH DAY'BRILLIANT. WHAT A WRITER' NIGELLA LAWSON'INCREDIBLY FUNNY' CAITLIN MORAN'WONDERFUL' GILLIAN ANDERSON'THIS YEAR'S SORROW AND BLISS' DAILY MAILHera is in her mid-twenties, which seems young to everyone except people in their mid-twenties.Since leaving school, she has been trying to kick and scream into existence a life she cares about, but with little success so far.Until she meets Arthur.He works with her, he is older than her, he is also married. But in her soulless office - the large cold room she feels destined to spend her life in - he is a source of much-needed sustenance.And though Hera has previously dated women, she soon falls headlong into a workplace romance that will quickly consume her life.Laugh-out-loud funny, deeply moving and whip smart, Green Dot is a story about the terrible allure of wanting something that promises nothing and the winding, torturous, often hilarious journey we take in deciding who we are and who we want to be.'IF YOU LIKED FLEABAG YOU WILL LOVE GREEN DOT' PANDORA SYKES'YOU'LL TEAR THROUGH THE PAGES' HEAT MAGAZINE'STAGGERINGLY GOOD AND WICKEDLY FUNNY' THE SATURDAY PAPER'THE DEBUT OF THE YEAR' i PAPER

A study of the early modern period, from the creation of Monmouthshire by the Act of Union in 1536 to the beginnings of industrialization in the later eighteenth century. It explores the social concerns of this period, including the growth of urbanity and the commercial world, education, poverty and civil war, as well as religion and politics.

Ranging from Ireland to India and from the first to the third millennium, this collection brings together essays written from the perspective of gender, politics and national and cultural identities as well as the sociology of religion.Saints are more than distant figures from legends and wall paintings. Their lives and cults have been rewritten over and over again to suit changing cultural preconceptions and social and political agendas. The obscure Cambro-Breton saint Armel became a badge of loyalty to the Tudor dynasty; Eastern European countries have competed to lay claim to Cyril and Methodius, founding fathers of eastern Christianity; the Indian mystic and poet Kabir came from a Muslim background but was appropriated by both Hindus and Sikhs. And perhaps most bizarrely, right-wing groups in England march under the badge of the Middle Eastern saint George.While these ideas are familiar to historians of"popular" religion (that slippery term) in western Europe, they have a clear relevance to the study of religion in other continents and other faith traditions. Ranging from Ireland to India and from the first to the third millennium, this collection brings together essays written from the perspective of gender, politics and national and cultural identities as well as the sociology of religion. The main thrust is medieval and Christian but it also considers more recent developments in Sikh, Hindu and Muslim cults and in the heritagisation of religion. A substantial introduction offers an overview of the literature, sets out theoretical frameworks and suggests further avenues for exploration.Madeleine Gray is Professor of Ecclesiastical History at the University of South Wales.Contributors: Diane Auslander, Slavia Barlieva, Karen Casebier, Adam Coward, James M. Hegarty, Kate Helsen, Andrew Hughes, John R. Black, Madeleine Gray, Svitlana Kobets, Samantha Riches, Anne Schuchman, Jayita Sinha,

A BEST BOOK OF 2024 IN STYLIST, DAILY MAIL, THE i PAPER, IRISH TIMES, SUNDAY TIMES AND RED SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2025 BRITISH BOOK AWARDS DEBUT FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR 'ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS YOU WILL READ ALL YEAR' ELIZABETH DAY'BRILLIANT. WHAT A WRITER' NIGELLA LAWSON'INCREDIBLY FUNNY' CAITLIN MORAN'WONDERFUL' GILLIAN ANDERSON'THIS YEAR'S SORROW AND BLISS' DAILY MAILHera is in her mid-twenties, which seems young to everyone except people in their mid-twenties.Since leaving school, she has been trying to kick and scream into existence a life she cares about, but with little success so far.Until she meets Arthur.He works with her, he is older than her, he is also married. But in her soulless office - the large cold room she feels destined to spend her life in - he is a source of much-needed sustenance.And though Hera has previously dated women, she soon falls headlong into a workplace romance that will quickly consume her life.Laugh-out-loud funny, deeply moving and whip smart, Green Dot is a story about the terrible allure of wanting something that promises nothing and the winding, torturous, often hilarious journey we take in deciding who we are and who we want to be.'IF YOU LIKED FLEABAG YOU WILL LOVE GREEN DOT' PANDORA SYKES'YOU'LL TEAR THROUGH THE PAGES' HEAT MAGAZINE'STAGGERINGLY GOOD AND WICKEDLY FUNNY' THE SATURDAY PAPER'THE DEBUT OF THE YEAR' i PAPER

'MADELEINE GRAY IS A DAZZLING WRITER - A HUGE TALENT' GILLIAN ANDERSON 'BEAUTIFUL, DEVASTATING, HILARIOUS AND FULL OF LIFE' JESSICA STANLEY'ALL KINDS OF GORGEOUSNESS' JENNIE GODFREY'GRAY WRITES SO ACUTELY ABOUT THE MESS OF DESIRE AND THE HUMAN CONDITION' NIGELLA LAWSONBooks about friendship are not often described as love stories, but this is one. At the age of twelve, Nell has accepted that hers will likely be a friendless existence. She's not interested in boys or makeup or competing to see who can eat the least - so fitting in at her all-girls' school feels impossible. But then, a new girl arrives at school.Eve has short hair like a boy, a wicked sense of humour and an unshakable confidence that she will find her place in the world. The moment they meet, Nell begins to rethink the whole friendless existence thing. As they grow into themselves, Nell and Eve will love each other and hurt each other - through the chlorine-scented savagery of adolescence; long, drunken nights in share houses and gay bars; and the highs and lows of parenthood. And always, despite unspoken feelings and sexual confusion, they will choose each other. Again, and again. As friends, as lovers, as family.

Christianity, in its Catholic, Protestant and Nonconformist forms, has played an enormous role in the history of Wales and in the defining and shaping of Welsh identity over the past two thousand years. Biblical place names, an urban and rural landscape littered with churches, chapels, crosses and sacred sites, a bardic and literary tradition deeply imbued with Christian themes in both the Welsh and English languages, and the songs sung by tens of thousands of rugby supporters at the national stadium in Cardiff, all hint at a Christian presence that was once universal. Yet for many in contemporary Wales, the story of the development of Christianity in their country remains little known. While the history of Christianity in Wales has been a subject of perennial interest for Welsh historians, much of their work has been highly specialised and not always accessible to a general audience. Standing on the shoulders of some of Wales’s finest historians, this is the first single-volume history of Welsh Christianity from its origins in Roman Britain to the present day. Drawing on the expertise of four leading historians of the Welsh Christian tradition, this volume is specifically designed for the general reader, and those beginning their exploration of Wales’s Christian past.

The Protestant Reformation has been the subject of much recent debate among theologians and church historians. Controversy still rages over the state of the late medieval church, the extent to which the Reformation was driven by theological or political concerns, and the impact which it had on the lives and beliefs of ordinary people. This Student Introduction provides an overview of some of the main themes of religious thinking in this period while giving weight to the multifaceted nature of belief. Particular attention is paid to developments in the practice of worship, and to the impact of the Reformation on ideas of the relationship between the church and secular society. Recent research on the social anthropology of the Reformation is discussed in the context of the extent to which the beliefs and practices of ordinary people were affected by the changing perspectives of theologians and rulers. The present text is written with the modern undergraduate in mind, and is the direct result of teaching experience. This is a market which is not always addressed by existing books, many of which assume a background in Christian thought which few undergraduates now possess. While not for the complete novice, this book assumes very little previous knowledge. Important concepts are explained in simple terms at the outset and glossaries and biographical guides are provided for further reference. Topics include: sin and salvation; sacrament and ritual; authority and interpretation; the theory and organization of the True Church in the Protestant tradition; the Protestant churches and secular authority; literacy, education and the popular response to the Reformation; liturgy and the articulation of belief; popular belief and folk culture.