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I.B.Tauris
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Luck, Fate and Fortune: Antiquity and Its Legacy
Автор: Eidinow Esther Жанр: I.B.Tauris Издательство: I.B.Tauris Год: 2011 Страниц: 224 Дата загрузки: 11 октрября 20142012-12-30
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The cultural impulse to try to anticipate the future, and make sense of apparently random events, is irrepressible. Perhaps the most famous of all sites of prediction is the Oracle at Delphi. And how the world of antiquity, and particularly the ancient Greeks, tried to foretell the outcome of the present, serves as Esther Eidinow's starting-point for an appraisal of that legacy of forecasting in our own era. Delphi is still invoked when business people discuss future strategy and risk; there is even a strategic planning technique called the 'Delphi Method'. But the Delphic Oracle is only the best known example of a physical landscape covered by oracular sanctuaries; while across classical literary genres, there are myriad tales — such as that of doomed Oedipus — which wrestle with the cruel vicissitudes of fate and fortune. Exploring notions of destiny related by writers like Homer, Herodotus and Sophocles, Esther Eidinow discusses ancient augurial theories and methods, including sacrifice, cleromancy (dicing) and astromancy (telling of the stars). She then turns to ideas about moral luck and later Roman use of prophecy for maintenance of the 'pax deorum'. Drawing on modern texts as diverse as the Terminator films and Solitaire's tarot reading in Live and Let Die, the author shows how the recurring questions 'what if?' and 'why me?' are a fundamental part of what it means to be human, whether in the ancient past or the present day.
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Modern Afghanistan: History of Struggle and Survival
Автор: Saikal Amin Жанр: I.B.Tauris Издательство: I.B.Tauris Год: 2010 Страниц: 352 Дата загрузки: 24 июля 20112012-07-18
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The treacherous mountain passes and blasted desert plains of Afghanistan have been the graveyard of every would-be conquering army since the days of Alexander the Great. With America, Britain and NATO committed to a long-term political and military engagement there, it is imperative to understand the country's complex and bloody history. Afghanistan emerged in the mid-eighteenth century from the collapse of the Persian Safavid Empire and the decline of the Mughal dynasty in India. The nineteenth century saw the country ravaged by the rivalry of warring elites, and their great power supporters. In recent times, Afghanistan has experienced the Soviet invasion of 1979, the Pakistan-backed internal conflict of the 1990s, the Taliban regime and then the US invasion after the catastrophe of 9/11. Today, whilst the US-backed government is struggling to expand its control beyond Kabul, narco-warlords, jihadists and Western troops fight out the battle for control of this strategically vital country. Why has Afghanistan's course of development been so turbulent? Why does it remain so vulnerable to domestic instability, foreign intervention and ideological extremism? In reconstructing the tempestuous narrative of modern Afghanistan, Amin Saikal provides a sweeping new understanding of its troubled past. He identifies the country's inability to develop stable political structures as stemming from the inter-dynastic rivalry (exacerbated by polygamy) that scarred successive royal families from the end of the eighteenth century until the pro-Communist coup of April 1978. Outside interventions further weakened the country internally, preventing socio-economic development and leaving the country ripe for the politics of ideological extremism. Modern Afghanistan: A History of Struggle and Survival is the definitive study of Afghanistan and its troubles. It will be vital reading for all those who are interested in the changing politics of the Middle East and Central Asia.
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Queen Victoria and the Discovery of the Riviera
Автор: Nelson Michael Жанр: I.B.Tauris Издательство: I.B.Tauris Год: 2007 Страниц: 224 Дата загрузки: 10 декабря 20092011-03-29
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Queen Victoria fell in love with the Riviera when she discovered it on her first visit to Menton in 1882 and her enchantment with this 'paradise of nature' endured for almost twenty years. Victoria's visits helped to transform the French Riviera by paving the way for other European royalty, the aristocracy and the very rich, who were to turn it into their pleasure garden. Michael Nelson paints a fascinating portrait of Victoria and her dealings with local people of all classes, statesmen and the constant stream of visiting crown heads. In the process, we see an unexpected side to Victoria: not the imperious, petulant, mourning widow but rather an exuberant girlish old lady thrilled by her surroundings. Queen Victoria and the Discovery of the Riviera is an absorbing and revealing account that makes an important contribution to both our understanding of Victoria's character and personality and our view of the late Victorian period.
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Slavery: Antiquity and its Legacy
Автор: DuBois Page Жанр: I.B.Tauris Издательство: I.B.Tauris Год: 2009 Страниц: 168 Дата загрузки: 08 марта 20122011-10-13
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'Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness' is perhaps the most famous phrase of all in the American Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson's momentous words are closely related to the French concept of 'liberte, egalite, fraternite'; and both ideas incarnate a notion of freedom as inalienable human right that in the modern world we expect to take for granted. In the ancient world, by contrast, the concepts of freedom and equality had little purchase. Athenians, Spartans and Romans all possessed slaves or helots (unfree bondsmen), and society was unequal at every stratum. Why, then, if modern society abominates slavery, does what antiquity thought about serfdom matter today? Page DuBois shows that slavery, far from being extinct, is alive and well in the contemporary era. Slaves are associated not just with the Colosseum of ancient Rome but also with Californian labour factories and south Asian sweatshops, while young women and children appear increasingly vulnerable to sexual trafficking. Applying such modern experiences of bondage (economic or sexual) to slavery in antiquity, the author explores the writings on the subject of Aristotle, Plautus, Terence and Aristophanes. She also examines the case of Spartacus, famous leader of a Roman slave rebellion, and relates ancient notions of liberation to the all-too-common immigrant experience of enslavement to a globalized world of rampant corporatism and exploitative capitalism.
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Terrible Exile: Last Days of Napoleon on St Helena
Автор: Unwin Brian Жанр: I.B.Tauris Издательство: I.B.Tauris Год: 2013 Страниц: 256 Дата загрузки: 28 марта 20162016-09-10
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At its height, the Napoleonic Empire spanned much of mainland Europe. Feted and feared by millions of citizens, Napoleon was the most powerful and famous man of his age. But following his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo the future of the one-time Emperor of France and master of Europe seemed irredeemably bleak. How did the brilliant tactician cope with being at the mercy of his captors? How did he react to a life in exile on St Helena — and how did the other inhabitants of that isolated and impregnable island respond to his presence there? And what tactics did he develop to preserve his legacy in such drastically reduced circumstances? Tracing events from the dramatic defeat at Waterloo to his death six years later, this is the first modern comprehensive account of the last phase of Napoleon's life. Drawing on many previously overlooked journals and letters, Brian Unwin has pieced together a remarkably vivid account of Napoleon's final years which also offers fresh insights into the character of this giant of European history. Terrible Exile brilliantly evokes the claustrophobic atmosphere of life on St Helena, offering a colourful and original history of the period as well as a persuasive psychological portrait of a great man in reduced circumstances. It will be essential reading for anyone with an interest in Napoleonic history and is an important addition to our understanding of the subject.
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Strongman: Vladimir Putin and the Struggle for Russia
Автор: Roxburgh Angus Жанр: I.B.Tauris Издательство: I.B.Tauris Год: 2013 Страниц: 368 Дата загрузки: 11 июля 20142017-03-28
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Russia under Vladimir Putin has proved a prickly partner for the West, a far cry from the democratic ally many hoped for when the Soviet Union collapsed. Abroad, he has used Russia's energy might as a foreign policy weapon, while at home he has cracked down on opponents, adamant that only he has the right vision for his country's future. Former BBC Moscow correspondent Angus Roxburgh charts the dramatic fight for Russia's future under Vladimir Putin — how the former KGB man changed from reformer to autocrat, how he sought the West's respect but earned its fear, how he cracked down on his rivals at home and burnished a flamboyant personality cult, one day saving snow leopards or horse-back riding bare-chested, the next tongue-lashing Western audiences. Drawing on dozens of exclusive interviews in Russia, where he worked for a time as a Kremlin insider advising Putin on press relations, as well as in the US and Europe, Roxburgh also argues that the West threw away chances to bring Russia in from the cold, by failing to understand its fears and aspirations following the collapse of communism.
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One Hundred Years of Socialism: West European Left in Twentieth Century
Автор: Sassoon Donald Жанр: I.B.Tauris Издательство: I.B.Tauris Год: 2013 Страниц: 1008 Дата загрузки: 18 мая 20162016-02-19
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A unique and comprehensive study, One Hundred Years of Socialism traces the fortunes of the political parties on the left in Western Europe through the 20th century. From the Second International to the birth of the welfare state to the student uprisings of the 1960s and beyond, acclaimed historian Donald Sassoon charts the course of socialism across 14 countries, showing us both the origins of Western socialism and its considerable accomplishments, particularly since 1945. One Hundred Years of Socialism is an essential account of the love/hate relationship between capitalism and socialism in twentieth century Western Europe.
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The Europe Dilemma: Britain and the Drama of EU Integration
Автор: Liddle Roger Жанр: I.B.Tauris Издательство: I.B.Tauris Год: 2013 Страниц: 256 Дата загрузки: 28 марта 20162016-09-10
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What is Britain's future in Europe? This book revisits an old argument but for dramatically new times. The old argument is about Britain's 'semi-detachedness' from Europe and whether that posture could ever change. The new times are the crisis in the Eurozone and its wider impact on the European Union's future. While logic may point to deeper integration, the politics associated with the EU's problems make this a significant and possibly insurmountable challenge. Where should Britain stand? What future should Britain want for the EU? And, how important is continued membership of the EU for Britain's future? This book offers new answers to these questions from the perspective of an author who has combined experience both at the heart of the British Government, as Tony Blair's European adviser and with years of understanding Europe from the inside — working at a senior level in the European Commission. This book will be essential reading for anyone interested in the future of British and European politics.
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A Short History of American Revolutionary War
Автор: Conway Stephen Жанр: I.B.Tauris Издательство: I.B.Tauris Год: 2013 Страниц: 256 Дата загрузки: 28 марта 20162016-09-10
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The American war against British imperial rule (1775-1783) was the world's first great popular revolution. Ideologically defined by the colonists' formal Declaration of Independence in 1776, the struggle has taken on something a mythic character, especially in the United States. From the Boston Tea Party to Paul Revere's ride to raise the countryside of New England against the march of the Redcoats; from the heroic resistance of the militia Minutemen at the battles of Lexington and Concord to the famous crossing of the Delaware by General George Washington; and from the American travails of Bunker Hill (1775) to the final humiliation of the British at Yorktown (1781), the entire contest is now emblematic of American national identity. Stephen Conway shows that, beyond mythology, this was more than just a local conflict: rather a titanic struggle between France and Britain. The thirteen colonies were merely one frontline of an extended theatre of operations, with each superpower aiming to deliver the knockout blow. This bold new history recognizes the war as the Revolution but situates it on the wider, global canvas of European warfare.
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Churchill and Company: Allies and Rivals in War and Peace
Автор: Dilks David Жанр: I.B.Tauris Издательство: I.B.Tauris Год: 2012 Страниц: 352 Дата загрузки: 25 мая 20152014-05-18
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Churchill continues to dominate the history of the 20th century and this stimulating and original new work by David Dilks, the eminent historian of modern Britain and Churchill scholar, is a fascinating source of new discoveries and insights. Dilks shows Churchill, not only as a war leader and international statesman, but also as a private person — with a rich variety of interests, enthusiasms, friendships and rivalries. New and penetrating light is directed on Churchill in the lead-up to World War, his relations with Ramsey MacDonald and Neville Chamberlain's appeasement policy. There is the dramatic and troubled relationship with de Gaulle — but here political problems are softened by Churchill's 'love affair' with France. The aftermath of World War II, relations with Stalin, the Soviet Union and the Cold War all dominated Churchill's post-war career. Whether in or out of office, Churchill's influence was felt in all areas of British politics and national life and his imperial enthusiasm, never dimmed, found expression as a British Commonwealth elder statesman. David Dilks brings Churchill to life for all those interested modern British and international history whether student, specialist or general reader.
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The Face of the Third Reich: Portraits of the Nazi Leadership
Автор: Joachim C. Fest Жанр: I.B.Tauris Издательство: I.B.Tauris Год: 2011 Страниц: 416 Дата загрузки: 07 апреля 20152015-03-12
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Who were the men who helped Hitler establish the Third Reich and then carry out some of the worst atrocities in modern history? In fifteen chilling profiles, Joachim Fest examines the lives of the most infamous Nazi leaders. They include Hermann Goering: the self-styled 'Iron Man', who directly issued orders for the Final Solution; Joseph Goebbels: the mastermind behind Kristallnacht; Heinrich Himmler: Reichsfuhrer of the SS, responsible for the deaths of over six million Jews and the most powerful man in Nazi Germany after Hitler; Martin Bormann: Hitler's private secretary, who wielded power by controlling access to the Fuhrer; Rudolph Hess: Deputy of the Nazi Party who was tried at Nuremberg; Albert Speer: 'the Nazi who said sorry', and of course Hitler himself. In this compelling account, Joachim Fest — one of the greatest authorities on the Third Reich and an icon of post-war Germany — shows how it was these individual personalities and their vicious power struggles that combined to give form to Hitler's terrifying vision.
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A History of the Squares and Palaces of London
Автор: Chancellor Edwin Beresford Жанр: I.B.Tauris Издательство: I.B.Tauris Год: 2012 Страниц: 864 Дата загрузки: 10 сентября 20172013-12-20
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The squares of London are amongst its most famous and best loved features. Berkeley Square, Eaton Square, St James' Square — the names are inextricably linked with the history of London itself. And the great houses of the capital — Buckingham House, Apsley House, Spencer House, to mention but a few — are intimately bound with the story not just of London but of the great families of the land. Edwin Beresford Chancellor's two volumes form an absorbing and informative account of the history of two of London's defining features. First published almost a century ago, these rare volumes still provide the most comprehensive accounts of their subject in a single volume. Attractively illustrated, with a new Introduction by Simon Jenkins, and handsomely produced in large format, they will be welcomed by all those with an interest in London's architectural and cultural history.
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A History of the Royal Navy: World War II
Автор: Redford Duncan Жанр: I.B.Tauris Издательство: I.B.Tauris Год: 2014 Страниц: 256 Дата загрузки: 28 марта 20172019-08-11
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The Royal Navy's operations in World War II started on 3 September 1939 and continued until the surrender of Japan in August 1945 — there was no 'phoney war' at sea. The navy played a central role in the evacuation of the retreating British army at Dunkirk, and later orchestrated the sinking of Germany's mighty battleship and Hitler's pride, the Bismarck. Without the Royal Navy's attention to the defence of Britain's seaborne trade — especially in the struggle against German U-boats in the Battle of the Atlantic — there would not have been food for the country, fuel for the RAF's operations or supplies to keep the army fighting in Europe, North Africa and the Far East. Yet the outstanding naval contribution to Britain's survival and eventual victory came at a heavy cost in terms of ships and to the men who had to face not just the violence of the enemy, but also the violence of the sea. This book argues that World War II was, effectively, a maritime war; it was the Royal Navy's war.
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A History of the Royal Navy: Napoleonic Wars
Автор: Robson Martin Жанр: I.B.Tauris Издательство: I.B.Tauris Год: 2014 Страниц: 256 Дата загрузки: 28 марта 20172019-08-11
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The Napoleonic Wars were the first truly global conflict. The Royal Navy was a key player in the wars and, at the cessation of hostilities, Britain emerged as the only naval power capable of sustained global hegemony. Many of the most iconic battles of this era were fought at sea — from the Battle of the Nile in 1798 to Nelson's momentous victory at Trafalgar in October 1805. This book looks at the history of the Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from a wide perspective, examining the strategy, operations and tactics that led to Britain ending the wars in 1815 as the dominant naval force. It examines the logistics of war across a range of operations: battle, blockade, commerce protection and exploration and, by picking out key figures in the narrative, provides a unique view of the 'experience' of conflict across all decks. Through an exploration of the relationship between the Navy, trade and empire, Martin Robson shows the Royal Navy made to Britain's rise to global hegemony through the nineteenth century Pax Britannica.
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Elizabeth and Essex
Автор: Strachey Lytton Жанр: I.B.Tauris Издательство: I.B.Tauris Год: 2012 Страниц: 304 Дата загрузки: 02 сентября 20172014-07-14
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One of the most famous and tortured romances in history — between Elizabeth I, Queen of England, and Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex — began in 1587, when she was 53 and he was 19. Their passionate affair continued for five years, until Essex was beheaded for treason in 1601. In a fast-paced succession of brilliantly-rendered scenes, Lytton Strachey portrays Elizabeth and Essex's compelling attraction for each other, their impassioned disagreements, and their mutual struggle for power, which culminated so tragically — for both of them. Alongside the doomed love affair, Strachey pins colorful portraits of the leading characters and influential figures of the time: Francis Bacon, Walter Raleigh, Robert Cecil, and other members of her glittering court who fought to assert themselves in a kingdom and a country defined by Elizabeth's incomparable reign. Strachey here illuminates, in spellbinding prose, one of the most poignant affairs in history alongside the glamor and intrigue of the Elizabethan era.
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The Grand Delusion: Britain After Sixty Years of Elizabeth II
Автор: Haseler Stephen Жанр: I.B.Tauris Издательство: I.B.Tauris Год: 2012 Страниц: 304 Дата загрузки: 02 сентября 20172014-07-14
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In 2012, Britain and the Commonwealth celebrate the 60th anniversary of Elizabeth II's accession to the throne. The royal family have overcome a number of obstacles in its recent history, yet today it appears to be riding on a wave of popular affection. But has Elizabeth II's reign been a good thing for the UK? Or have the style, rituals and underlying culture of the modern monarchy held Britain back from its potential in the 21st century world? In this groundbreaking and thought-provoking new book, Stephen Haseler argues that the class structure which the monarchy has continued to encourage has retained outdated, yet seemingly entrenched, attitudes which have negatively affected Britain's economy, capacity to innovate and international stature. He provides an alternative political and social history of modern Britain which will be a provocative yet entertaining and informative read in the Queen's anniversary year.
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Hitler's Vienna: A Portrait of the Tyrant as a Young Man
Автор: Hamann Brigitte Жанр: I.B.Tauris Издательство: I.B.Tauris Год: 2010 Страниц: 496 Дата загрузки: 16 мая 20132012-10-30
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What turned Adolf Hitler, a relatively normal and apparently unexceptional young man, into the very personification of evil? To answer this question, acclaimed historian Brigitte Hamann has turned to the critical, formative, years that the young Hitler spent in Vienna. As a failing, bitter, and desperately poor artist, Hitler experienced only the dark underbelly of Vienna, which was seething with fear, racial prejudice, anti-Semitism and conservatism. Drawing on previously untapped sources — from personal reminiscences to the records of shelters where Hitler slept — Hamann vividly recreates the dark side of fin de siecle Vienna and paints the fullest and most disturbing portrait of the young Hitler to date.
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Philip of Spain, King of England: The Forgotten Sovereign
Автор: Kelsey Harry Жанр: I.B.Tauris Издательство: I.B.Tauris Год: 2011 Страниц: 256 Дата загрузки: 27 апреля 20152013-10-31
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The Spanish Armada conjures up images of age-old rivalries, bravery and treachery. However the same Spanish monarch who sent the Armada to invade England in 1588 was, just a few years previously, the King of England and husband of Mary Tudor. This important new book sheds new light on Philip II of Spain, England's forgotten sovereign. Previous accounts of Mary's brief reign have focused on the martyrdom of Protestant dissenters, the loss of English territory, as well as Mary's infamous personality, meaning that her husband Philip has remained in the shadows. In this book, Harry Kelsey uncovers Philip's life — from his childhood and education in Spain, to his marriage to Mary and the political manoeuvrings involved in the marriage contract, to the tumultuous aftermath of Mary's death which ultimately led to hostile relations between Queen Elizabeth and Philip, culminating in the Armada. Focusing especially on the period of Philip's marriage to Mary, Kelsey shows that Philip was, in fact, an active King of England and took a keen interest in the rule of his wife's kingdom. Casting fresh light on both Mary and Philip, as well as European history more generally, this book will be essential reading for anyone interested in the Tudor era.
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A Short History of English Renaissance Drama
Автор: Hackett Helen Жанр: I.B.Tauris Издательство: I.B.Tauris Год: 2012 Страниц: 272 Дата загрузки: 28 мая 20152015-09-02
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Shakespeare is a towering presence in English and indeed global culture. Most readers in the English-speaking world, and many beyond, know his name and have at least a passing familiarity with his work. Yet considered alongside his contemporaries he was not an isolated phenomenon, but the product of a period of astonishing creative fertility. This was an age when new media — popular drama, and print — were seized upon avidly and inventively by a generation of exceptionally talented writers. In her sparkling new book, Helen Hackett explores the historical contexts of English Renaissance drama by situating it in the wider history of ideas. She traces the origins of Renaissance theatre in communal religious drama, civil pageantry and court entertainment and vividly describes the playing conditions of Elizabethan and Jacobean playhouses. Examining Shakespeare, Marlowe and Jonson in turn, the author assesses the distinctive contribution made by each playwright to the creation of English drama. She then turns to revenge tragedy, with its gothic poetry of sex and death; city comedy, domestic tragedy and tragicomedy; and gender and drama, with female roles played by boy actors. The book places Renaissance drama in the exciting and vibrant cosmopolitanism of sixteenth-century London.
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A Short History of the Wars of the Roses
Автор: Grummitt David Жанр: I.B.Tauris Издательство: I.B.Tauris Год: 2012 Страниц: 256 Дата загрузки: 28 марта 20152015-09-10
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The Wars of the Roses (c. 1450-85) are renowned as an infamously savage and tangled slice of English history. A bloody thirty-year struggle between the dynastic houses of Lancaster and York, they embraced localised vendetta (such as the bitter northern feud between the Percies and Nevilles) as well as the formal clash of royalist and rebel armies at St Albans, Ludford Bridge, Mortimer's Cross, Towton, Tewkesbury and finally Bosworth, when the usurping Yorkist king Richard was crushed by Henry Tudor. Powerful personalities dominate the period: the charismatic and enigmatic Richard III, immortalized by Shakespeare; the slippery Warwick, 'the kingmaker', who finally over-reached ambition to be cut down at the battle of Barnet; and guileful women like Elizabeth Woodville and Margaret of Anjou, who for a time ruled the kingdom in her husband's stead. David Grummitt places the violent events of this complex time in the wider context of fifteenth-century kingship and the development of English political culture. Never losing sight of the traumatic impact of war on the lives of those who either fought in or were touched by battle, this captivating new history will make compelling reading for students of the late medieval period and Tudor England, as well as for general readers.
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