Angela Ndalianis

Charlotte Henry

The media star has become a powerful, almost unparalleled, cultural sign, even as the star system has undergone radical transformation since the era of the Hollywood studio system. Today's film industry continues to market and promote its products through actors in ways that seek to capture the often elusive quality that a star can embody. Using contemporary stars such as Robert De Niro, Keanu Reeves, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Dennis Hopper, this anthology of essays applies a variety of theoretical tools in its attempt to understand how we interpret stars, and how we can begin to understand their cultural significance. Likewise, the study explores how the star system has become an increasingly complex phenomenon within society at large, extending its impact beyond the cinema into music, sports, and fashion. Many of the essays collected here consider this shift and examine how personae including the director (Sam Peckinpah), the royalty (Princess Diana) and even the digital star (Lara Croft) have captured the cultural imagination and have come to attain qualities as star-like as those of the silver screen.

The Star Phenomenon in the Contemporary Era

Stars in Our Eyes

He is a penniless baronet. She is the wealthy great-granddaughter of a tradesman. Can these childhood friends find their way back to each other when scandal strikes them both? Sir Perran Geoffrey needs a wealthy bride to repair his family estate and to bring his sister out in Society. But what woman with money and standing will accept him as a husband—practically penniless, his title under a cloud thanks to his ne’er-do-well father, and an estate far away in Cornwall? Alwyn Penrose and her two sisters are in London for their first Season. Imagine their surprise when they meet the heirs of the neighboring estates—gentlemen whom they are barely allowed to acknowledge. For to be seen with the Rogues of St. Just means the death of one’s reputation. Except that Alwyn is seen. More than once. And the gossip spreads all the way to the sacred portals of Almack’s, which close in her face and end her hopes for a good marriage forever. The ruin of her Season is Perran Geoffrey’s fault. And when they are both forced to return to Cornwall, only one thing is clear: One good ruination deserves another. The Rogues of St. Just. They may be the most shocking men in Mayfair, but their hearts are all too vulnerable at home.

The Rogue to Ruin

Nicholas J. O'Shaughnessy

Nicholas O. O'Shaughnessy

Stephan C. M. Henneberg

Stephan Henneberg

Examines how the theory and practice of marketing has been and can be applied to politics.

The Idea of Political Marketing

Can beauty tame the beast when they both face disgrace? Jago Tremayne feels responsible for his part in ruining the debut of the lovely Rowena Penrose. He wants nothing more than to make it up to her—by offering her his heart. But then disaster strikes—his father demands that Jago marry a girl he has not seen since they were children. If he refuses, he will be disinherited … and who will look twice at a penniless Rogue? After enduring disgrace that she did not deserve, Rowena Penrose has returned to Cornwall. Far from the ballrooms of the ton, suitable men are scarce, except for Jago Tremayne. He’s called the rudest man in London, but here at home, he’s beginning to grow on her. He is blunt and graceless, but also kind, attentive, and … on the point of announcing his engagement to someone else. Rowena would never stand in the way of another young lady’s happiness. Jago can’t imagine courting anyone but Rowena. Can the rudest man in London fight his way out of this coil before he finds himself waiting at the altar for the wrong woman? The Rogues of St. Just. They may be the most shocking men in Mayfair, but their hearts are all too vulnerable at home. “Charlotte Henry is solidly on my keeper shelf with her first book. Delightful and sparkling!” —Jenny Andersen, author of the Western Heroes series

Charlotte Henry

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