Child emperors needing naps, sacred bathrooms, and the latest instalment of Clotho Unbound. Plus one small suggestion for your month.
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June arrives, and so do toilet demons and reluctant emperors
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Dear readers,
June has arrived in Melbourne with its usual theatrical flair consisting of warm light, determined pollen, and the distinct feeling that the season is just showing off. One finds oneself pondering the wisdom of the ancients one moment, and quietly cursing hay fever the next.
As always, I’ve been burrowing through stranger corners of history. The verdict remains unchanged: people (and gods) have always been wonderfully ridiculous. Here is your monthly collection of discoveries from the archives.
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What’s emerging this month
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3 June: The Regency Problem – When the Emperor Needs a Nap
Because few things say “perfectly stable empire” quite like placing a small child on the throne and hoping for the best.
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10 June: The Good, the Bad and the Deadly: Ancient Symbolism of the Owl
It turns out everyone’s favourite wise bird has spent centuries moonlighting as a death omen. An impressive range.
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17 June: Sacred Waters and Toilet Demons – The Ancient Magic of Cleanliness
Yes, we are devoting an entire episode to holy bathrooms. You’re most welcome.
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24 June: Melusine, or Why Medieval Men Kept Marrying Monsters
When your wife becomes a serpent every Saturday but the castle is excellent, one must weigh one’s options carefully.
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PUBLIC WRITING (FREE TO READ)
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5 June: The Laughing Monk: Zen, Excess, and the Politics of Joy
12 June: Immortality Was for Misfits: The Secret of the Eight Immortals
19 June: The Old Mother of the Waters and the Lost City Below
26 June: Jayabaya Prophecies Explained: The Javanese King Who “Predicted” Colonization
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IN THE PRIVATE COLLECTION
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Blame Her If You Must
The First Women and the Art of Upending Worlds
A lush meditation on the original troublemakers. Because someone had to invent civilisation… and then dramatically improve it by setting parts of it on fire.
If these pieces appeal to you, the Private Collection is where the deeper, longer, and more personal explorations live. You can join by pressing the button and read them immediately.
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My debut novel — a sapphic retelling of the Fates. What happens when Clotho, the spinner of all threads, falls in love with the one goddess who could unravel the entire cosmic order? Forbidden desire, divine politics, and the slow discovery that some bonds are worth breaking the universe for.
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A SMALL SUGGESTION FOR JUNE
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Take one gloriously unnecessary nap this month, purely in the spirit of good governance. Report back if you wish — dignified successes and comic disasters both cheerfully accepted.
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Until next month, may your reading be rich and your sense of the absurd well-fed.
Warmly,
Marianne
Domina Tempora
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