Sir William Davenant (1606-1668) was in his time widely known as 'Davenant the Poet'. The son of an Oxford vintner (or quite possibly the natural son of his godfather, William Shakespeare), he wrote poems for and about the Court of Charles I, and, despite losing his nose to mercury treatment for the clap, which other people thought funny, went on to replace Ben Jonson as Poet Laureate and collaborate with Inigo Jones in composing spectacular Court masques, as well as writing many successfu...

The romantic and practical entanglements practiced by the working class, gentry, nobility, and even the Queen—from the author of Scandalous Liaisons.Most people have always been interested in sex, love and marriage. Now, this entertaining and informative book explores the surprisingly varied and energetic sex and love lives of the women and men of Queen Elizabeth's England. A range of writers, from the famous, such as Shakespeare, John Donne and Ben Jonson...

Sir William Davenant (1606-1668) was in his time widely known as 'Davenant the Poet'. The son of an Oxford vintner (or quite possibly the natural son of his godfather, William Shakespeare), he wrote poems for and about the Court of Charles I, and, despite losing his nose to mercury treatment for the clap, which other people thought funny, went on to replace Ben Jonson as Poet Laureate and collaborate with Inigo Jones in composing spectacular Court masques, as well as writing many successfu...

The swashbuckling life of the Elizabethan explorer and colonial governor is vividly recounted in this historical biography.Captain John Smith is best remembered for his association with Pocahontas, but this was only a small part of an extraordinary life filled with danger and adventure. As a soldier, he fought the Turks in Eastern Europe, where he beheaded three Turkish adversaries in duels. He was sold into slavery, then murdered his master to escape. He sailed und...

Thomas Coryate (1576-1617) was one of the great early travellers, opening up Europe, the eastern Mediterranean, the Holy Land and Mogul India to his amazed - and sometimes disgusted - readers. In 1608 he set out to travel - mostly on foot - through France and Italy to Venice, returning through Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands. His book reporting on what he had seen and experienced, Coryats Crudites, was published in 1611 and was a huge success, providing both useful information and...

This is an intriguing and fascinating collection of excerpts from some of the best, wittiest and most unusual sixteenth and seventeenth century writing. Shakespeare's England brings to life the variety, the energy and the harsh reality of England at this time. Providing a fascinating picture of the age, it includes extracts from a wide range of writing, taken from books, plays, poems, letters, diaries and pamphlets by and about Shakespeare's contemporaries. These include William Harrison a...

Dickens's England was a time of unprecedented energy and change which laid the foundations of our own modern society. There was a new world coming into being: new towns, new machines, new and revolutionary ideas, new songs and dances, music-halls and popular novels, as well as new wealth for the smug middle classes. For others, however, there was poverty, struggle and hard labour. Dickens's characters with whom we are so familiar - orphan Oliver and cunning Fagin,...

A detailed account of the sensational murder trial that shocked Victorian Scotland and ended in Glasgow's last public hanging.In July of 1865, Dr. Edward William Pritchard was put on trial for the murder of his wife and mother-in-law. He slowly poisoned his wife, Mary Jane, while pretending to treat her for a mysterious illness. When her mother came to help care for her, Pritchard poisoned her, as well. He then falsified both women's death certificates.Over...

Thomas Coryate (1576-1617) was one of the great early travellers, opening up Europe, the eastern Mediterranean, the Holy Land and Mogul India to his amazed - and sometimes disgusted - readers. In 1608 he set out to travel - mostly on foot - through France and Italy to Venice, returning through Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands. His book reporting on what he had seen and experienced, Coryats Crudites, was published in 1611 and was a huge success, providing both usefu...

This is an intriguing and fascinating collection of excerpts from some of the best, wittiest and most unusual sixteenth and seventeenth century writing.Shakespeare's England brings to life the variety, the energy and the harsh reality of England at this time. Providing a fascinating picture of the age, it includes extracts from a wide range of writing, taken from books, plays, poems, letters, diaries and pamphlets by and about Shakespeare's contemporaries....

Dickens's England was a time of unprecedented energy and change which laid the foundations of our own modern society. There was a new world coming into being: new towns, new machines, new and revolutionary ideas, new songs and dances, music-halls and popular novels, as well as new wealth for the smug middle classes. For others, however, there was poverty, struggle and hard labour. Dickens's characters with whom we are so familiar - orphan Oliver and cunning Fagin,...

Scandalous Liaisons tells the story of the most hedonistic, loose-living court in English history, from Charles II’s youthful years and mistresses in France, to his tempestuous relationship with the hot-tempered, sexually and financially voracious Barbara Villiers. Of Charles’s mistresses, everybody’s favourite was the perky Cockney actress, Nell Gwyn. Nell and the French aristocrat (and not-sovery secret agent) Louise de Keroualle were the two women he would remember on his deathbed. The ...