This book provides an introduction to the work of Norbert Elias. It is the first systematic appraisal of two central themes of his thought - violence and civilization. Although Elias is best known for his theory of civilizing processes, this study highlights the crucial importance of the concept of decivilizing processes. Fletcher argues that while Elias did not develop a theory of decivilizing processes, such a theory is logically implied in his perspective and is highly pertinent to an u...

February 1974. Football manager Charlie Gordon is struggling, and with each defeat the sack gets closer. His greatness as a player counts for nothing with directors or fans, or the Number 2 who is after his job. Things are no better off the field, and after a failed marriage and the loss of a child, he is taking more and more consolation in alcohol.Only a decent Cup run is keeping him in work. But how to turn things around with the same players who got him here in the first place? ...

This widely-studied play is one of the best sellers of the Shakespeare canon. This production is the seventh Shakespeare play in the series undertaken by Naxos AudioBooks in conjunction with Cambridge University Press.

Palamon and Arcite, cousins and bosom friends, are taken prisoner by Duke Theseus of Athens. While in captivity, they spy the beautiful Emilia. Both fall instantly in love with her, and their attachment to each other turns to hate.This dark-edged tragicomedy is now widely regarded as having been written by Shakespeare in collaboration with John Fletcher. Composed sometime in 1613–14, The Two Noble Kinsmen is the final play in Shakespeare's dramatic career.Jonathan ...

Twelfth Night, first performed around 1600, probably at the court of Queen Elizabeth I, is the tale of separated brother and sister twins Sebastian and Viola and their love entanglements. It also offers the rich comic colours of Sir Toby Belch, Malvolio and Sir Andrew Aguecheek. Twelfth Night is part of Naxos AudioBooks’ exciting new series of complete dramatisations of the works of Shakespeare, in conjunction with Cambridge University Press. It uses the New Cambridge Shakespeare text, as ...

Kenneth Branagh heads an outstanding cast in playing one of Shakespeare’s strongest characters. The eighth production in the widely admired series of Shakespeare plays presented by Naxos AudioBooks in association with Cambridge University Press.

""Our revels now are ended... this rough magic I here abjure...""In Shakespeare hinting at the end of his own magnificent career in these and others lines spoken by the great magician, Prospero? The Tempest was the last of Shakespeare's comedies, completed just before he retired to his native Stratford-upon-Avon; perhaps this delightful comedy was intended to signal the playwright's farewell to his beloved theater. The Tempest reflects Shakespeare...

Two couples—Benedick and Beatrice, and Hero and Claudio—must overcome deception, gossip, and, occasionally, their own misplaced pride if their love is to persevere. Aided by military commander Don Pedro and impeded by his brother Don John, the friends go to great lengths in the pursuit of marriage.

...if you prick us do we not bleed? - Shylock. A Shakespeare Recording Society Production. The complete play in five acts.The beautiful Portia has many suitors within Venetian society, among them the young nobleman Bassanio, who has squandered his fortune. Desperate to win Portia’s heart, Bassanio borrows money from Shylock, the Jewish moneylender, and turns to Antonio, a wealthy merchant who has helped him in the past, to guarantee the loan. Shylock agree...

King John of England is pitted against the united powers of France, Brittany, Austria, and the papacy. Will England be destroyed by his fatal indecision?As alliances are made, broken, and remade, the paranoid and erratic John reveals his weakness and reliance on those around him—including his powerful mother Queen Elinor and Faulconbridge, the cynical and witty bastard son of the dead King Richard I.In this early history play, King John is played by Michael Feast, the Basta...

Kiss me, Kate, we will be married o'Sunday - Petruchio A Shakespeare Society Production.The complete play in five acts.

He after honor hunts, I after love. He leaves his friends to dignify them more, I leave myself, my friends and all, for love. Proteus - Act I, Scene IA Shakespeare Society Production.The complete play in four acts.