Now, in this collection of interconnected short stories, Jennifer Haigh returns to the vividly imagined world of Bakerton, Pennsylvania, a coal mining town rocked by decades of painful transition. From its heyday during two World Wars through its slow decline, Bakerton is a town that refuses to give up gracefully, binding--sometimes cruelly - succeeding generations to the place that made them.

Persephone Alcmedi's beloved foster daughter, Beverley, has been playing with a magical artifact that's far more dangerous than she realizes. Now Persephone must summon help from a mystical being so potent that even vampires fear him ... and the cost of his aid may be more than she's willing to pay. Seph, Johnny, and Menessos face threats from all side -- and a few from within.

In this Very Short Introduction, Jacqueline Stedall explores the rich historical and cultural diversity of mathematical endeavour from the distant past to the present day, using illustrative case studies drawn from a range of times and places; including early imperial China, the medieval Islamic world, and nineteenth-century Britain--