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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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The Scapegoat
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(1854–5, Lady Lever Art Gallery) Painting by Holman *Hunt, widely remembered for its surreal strangeness. It shows in immaculate detail a long-haired white goat staggering across a parched and salt-caked landscape, empty except for the bones of the animal's predecessors. The scene illustrates Leviticus 16, in which a goat is sent to die in the wilderness bearing the sins of mankind. To achieve an authentic effect, Hunt spent several months painting near the Dead Sea. A smaller version, in more lurid colours, is in the Manchester City Art Gallery.
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