Medieval Narratives of Accused Queens

This study of medieval stories of accused queens--noble and hapless victims whose suffering becomes a metaphor of larger social injustice--identifies the types of this fictional narrative and explores their popularity from the 13th to the 15th centuries. Offering evidence of lively debate in the Middle Ages about the nature of women, the book considers such topics as the perpetual lustiness of men, the powerlessness of women, the nature of "good" women, slander as evidence of legal failure, the purifying value of affliction, and economic discrepancies between the rich and the poor.

The Night Church

An ancient Satanic cult takes over a neighborhood church in Queens each evening with the goal of breeding monstrously evil creatures.
Some years back, Strieber (The Wolfen) seemed to be one of the more distinctive, promising horror/occult talents--but this new folderol ia as dumb and tasteless as the work of all those other Satan-pulpers. Out in Queens, N.Y., a secret 1900-year-old cult takes over the local Catholic church at night

Think of anything bad, from art heists to Genghis Kahn, and it's likely to be included in this wickedly smart and humorous guide to the seedy underbelly of basically everything. The brainiac team at "mental_floss", creators of the hit magazine and last year's Condensed Knowledge, have scoured the darkest, dirtiest corners of history and the globe to gather this ultimate collection of the bad stuff you're not supposed to know and you certainly never learned in school.

Organized by theme, with chapters for each of the seven deadly sins, the book includes feuds, plagiarists, hoaxes, lies, schemes, scandals, evil dictators, mob bosses, acts of revenge, angry queens, cannibals and much more, all organized into bite-sized—albeit foul-tasting—lists. It's the perfect way to add some spice to a dull conversation and proves that learning can be not only easy, but exquisitely sinful.