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The Pirate Queen

Queen Elizabeth I, Her Pirate Adventurers, and the Dawn of Empire

by Susan Ronald ...

“A highly colorful, swashbuckling read, one that will give you new respect for Britain’s first Elizabeth.” —Seattle TimesAn illuminating revisionist biography about Queen Elizabeth I and her merchant-adventurers who terrorized the seas, extended the Empire, and amassed great wealth for the throne.Extravagant, whimsical, and hot-tempered, Elizabeth was the epitome of power, both feared and admired ... Read more

$13.99 USD

“A highly colorful, swashbuckling read, one that will give you new respect for Britain’s first Elizabeth.” —Seattle TimesAn illuminating revisionist biography about Queen Elizabeth I and her merchant-adventurers who terrorized the seas, extended the Empire, and amassed great wealth for the throne.Extravagant, whimsical, and hot-tempered, Elizabeth was the epitome of power, both feared and admired
... Read more
The Transformations of Magic

Illicit Learned Magic in the Later Middle Ages and Renaissance

by Frank Klaassen ...

Series series Magic in History
In this original, provocative, well-reasoned, and thoroughly documented book, Frank Klaassen proposes that two principal genres of illicit learned magic occur in late medieval manuscripts: image magic, which could be interpreted and justified in scholastic terms, and ritual magic (in its extreme form, overt necromancy), which could not. Image magic tended to be recopied faithfully; ritual magic ... Read more

$25.91 USD

In this original, provocative, well-reasoned, and thoroughly documented book, Frank Klaassen proposes that two principal genres of illicit learned magic occur in late medieval manuscripts: image magic, which could be interpreted and justified in scholastic terms, and ritual magic (in its extreme form, overt necromancy), which could not. Image magic tended to be recopied faithfully; ritual magic
... Read more
Galileo's Mistake

A New Look at the Epic Confrontation between Galileo and the Church

by Wade Rowland ...

A provocative reexamination of Galileo’s prosecution by the Catholic Church—one of the great turning points in the history of science.The modern understanding of the notorious 1633 trial of Galileo Galilei is that of Science and Reason persecuted by Ignorance and Superstition—of Galileo as a lonely, courageous freethinker oppressed by an anti-intellectual institution fearful of losing its power ... Read more

$11.69 USD or Free with Kobo Plus

A provocative reexamination of Galileo’s prosecution by the Catholic Church—one of the great turning points in the history of science.The modern understanding of the notorious 1633 trial of Galileo Galilei is that of Science and Reason persecuted by Ignorance and Superstition—of Galileo as a lonely, courageous freethinker oppressed by an anti-intellectual institution fearful of losing its power
... Read more
Courtesans (Text Only)

by Katie Hickman ...

This edition does not include illustrations.‘Irresistible…history at its most human. Elegant and addictively readable.’ William DalrympleDuring the course of the 18th- and 19th-century a small group of women rose from impoverished obscurity to positions of great power, independence and wealth. In doing so they took control of their lives – and those of other people – and made the world do their ... Read more

$10.99 USD

This edition does not include illustrations.‘Irresistible…history at its most human. Elegant and addictively readable.’ William DalrympleDuring the course of the 18th- and 19th-century a small group of women rose from impoverished obscurity to positions of great power, independence and wealth. In doing so they took control of their lives – and those of other people – and made the world do their
... Read more
The Borgias

The Hidden History

by G. J. Meyer ...

An unprecedented portrait of the Renaissance-era Borgia family and their storied milieu, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Tudors“A vivid and at times startling reappraisal of one of the most notorious dynasties in history . . . If you thought you knew the Borgias, this book will surprise you.”—Tracy Borman, author of Queen of the Conqueror and Elizabeth’s Women“Fascinating . . . a ... Read more

$4.99 USD

An unprecedented portrait of the Renaissance-era Borgia family and their storied milieu, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Tudors“A vivid and at times startling reappraisal of one of the most notorious dynasties in history . . . If you thought you knew the Borgias, this book will surprise you.”—Tracy Borman, author of Queen of the Conqueror and Elizabeth’s Women“Fascinating . . . a
... Read more
The Conquistadors: A Very Short Introduction

A Very Short Introduction

by Matthew Restall, Felipe Fernandez-Armesto ...

Series series Very Short Introductions
With startling speed, Spanish conquistadors invaded hundreds of Native American kingdoms, took over the mighty empires of the Aztecs and Incas, and initiated an unprecedented redistribution of the world's resources and balance of power. They changed the course of history, but the myth they established was even stranger than their real achievements. This Very Short Introduction deploys the latest ... Read more

$7.19 USD

With startling speed, Spanish conquistadors invaded hundreds of Native American kingdoms, took over the mighty empires of the Aztecs and Incas, and initiated an unprecedented redistribution of the world's resources and balance of power. They changed the course of history, but the myth they established was even stranger than their real achievements. This Very Short Introduction deploys the latest
... Read more
Venice's Secret Service

Organizing Intelligence in the Renaissance

by Ioanna Iordanou ...

Venice's Secret Service is the untold and arresting story of the world's earliest centrally-organised state intelligence service. Long before the inception of SIS and the CIA, in the period of the Renaissance, the Republic of Venice had masterminded a remarkable centrally-organised state intelligence organisation that played a pivotal role in the defence of the Venetian empire. Housed in the ... Read more

$29.15 USD

Venice's Secret Service is the untold and arresting story of the world's earliest centrally-organised state intelligence service. Long before the inception of SIS and the CIA, in the period of the Renaissance, the Republic of Venice had masterminded a remarkable centrally-organised state intelligence organisation that played a pivotal role in the defence of the Venetian empire. Housed in the
... Read more
A People’s Tragedy

Studies in Reformation

by Professor Eamon Duffy ...

As an authority on the religion of medieval and early modern England, Professor Eamon Duffy is preeminent.In his revisionist masterpiece The Stripping of the Altars, Duffy opened up new areas of research and entirely fresh perspectives on the origin and progress of the English Reformation. Duffy's focus has always been on the practices and institutions through which ordinary people lived and ... Read more

$14.48 USD

As an authority on the religion of medieval and early modern England, Professor Eamon Duffy is preeminent.In his revisionist masterpiece The Stripping of the Altars, Duffy opened up new areas of research and entirely fresh perspectives on the origin and progress of the English Reformation. Duffy's focus has always been on the practices and institutions through which ordinary people lived and
... Read more
The Renaissance

A Short History

by Paul Johnson ...

Series Book 1 - Modern Library Chronicles
The Renaissance holds an undying place in the human imagination, and its great heroes remain our own, from Michelangelo and Leonardo to Dante and Montaigne. This period of profound evolution in European thought is credited with transforming the West from medieval to modern; reviving the city as the center of human activity and the acme of civilization; and, of course, producing the most ... Read more

$4.99 USD

The Renaissance holds an undying place in the human imagination, and its great heroes remain our own, from Michelangelo and Leonardo to Dante and Montaigne. This period of profound evolution in European thought is credited with transforming the West from medieval to modern; reviving the city as the center of human activity and the acme of civilization; and, of course, producing the most
... Read more
Rosicrucian Magic

A Reader on Becoming Alike to the Angelic Mind

by Frater Acher ...

***Rosicrucian Magic***is a book of magical reformation that lays a path of contact with spirits and beings through a lens of integrity. Drawing upon wisdom and knowledge from the ancient world through to eighteenth century influences and beyond, Frater Acher takes us on a journey of discovery on Becoming Alike to the Angelic Mind as originally articulated by Johannes Trithemius.Frater Acher draws ... Read more

$8.99 USD

***Rosicrucian Magic***is a book of magical reformation that lays a path of contact with spirits and beings through a lens of integrity. Drawing upon wisdom and knowledge from the ancient world through to eighteenth century influences and beyond, Frater Acher takes us on a journey of discovery on Becoming Alike to the Angelic Mind as originally articulated by Johannes Trithemius.Frater Acher draws
... Read more
Basilica

The Splendor and the Scandal: Building St. Peter's

by R. A. Scotti ...

In this dramatic journey through religious and artistic history, R. A. Scotti traces the defining event of a glorious epoch: the building of St. Peter's Basilica. Begun by the ferociously ambitious Pope Julius II in 1506, the endeavor would span two tumultuous centuries, challenge the greatest Renaissance masters—Michelangelo, Raphael, and Bramante—and enrage Martin Luther. By the time it was ... Read more

$13.99 USD

In this dramatic journey through religious and artistic history, R. A. Scotti traces the defining event of a glorious epoch: the building of St. Peter's Basilica. Begun by the ferociously ambitious Pope Julius II in 1506, the endeavor would span two tumultuous centuries, challenge the greatest Renaissance masters—Michelangelo, Raphael, and Bramante—and enrage Martin Luther. By the time it was
... Read more
Mary Queen of Scots

by Retha M. Warnicke ...

Series series Routledge Historical Biographies
"Scholars now have Warnicke to use as their chief one volume study of Mary"Julian Goodare, University of EdinburghIn this biography of one of the most intriguing figures of early modern European history, Retha Warnicke, widely regarded as a leading historian on Tudor queenship, offers a fresh interpretation of the life of Mary Stuart, popularly known as Mary Queen of Scots.Setting Mary's life ... Read more

$54.89 USD

"Scholars now have Warnicke to use as their chief one volume study of Mary"Julian Goodare, University of EdinburghIn this biography of one of the most intriguing figures of early modern European history, Retha Warnicke, widely regarded as a leading historian on Tudor queenship, offers a fresh interpretation of the life of Mary Stuart, popularly known as Mary Queen of Scots.Setting Mary's life
... Read more
The Professor of Secrets

Mystery, Medicine, and Alchemy in Renaissance Italy

by William Eamon ...

In the tradition of Galileo's Daughter and Brunelleschi's Dome, this exciting story illuminates the captivating world of the late Renaissance—in this case its plagues, remedies, and alchemy—through the life of Leonardo Fioravanti, a brilliant, remarkably forward-thinking, and utterly unconventional doctor. Fioravanti's marvelous cures and talent for self-aggrandizement earned him the adoration of ... Read more

$12.99 USD

In the tradition of Galileo's Daughter and Brunelleschi's Dome, this exciting story illuminates the captivating world of the late Renaissance—in this case its plagues, remedies, and alchemy—through the life of Leonardo Fioravanti, a brilliant, remarkably forward-thinking, and utterly unconventional doctor. Fioravanti's marvelous cures and talent for self-aggrandizement earned him the adoration of
... Read more
Learning to Curse

Essays in Early Modern Culture

by Stephen Greenblatt ...

Series series Routledge Classics
Stephen Greenblatt argued in these celebrated essays that the art of the Renaissance could only be understood in the context of the society from which it sprang. His approach - 'New Historicism' - drew from history, anthropology, Marxist theory, post-structuralism, and psychoanalysis and in the process, blew apart the academic boundaries insul ... Read more

$26.09 USD

Stephen Greenblatt argued in these celebrated essays that the art of the Renaissance could only be understood in the context of the society from which it sprang. His approach - 'New Historicism' - drew from history, anthropology, Marxist theory, post-structuralism, and psychoanalysis and in the process, blew apart the academic boundaries insul
... Read more
The Field of Cloth of Gold

by Glenn Richardson ...

"Pomp, pageantry and epic showing-off: a vivid re-creation of the 1520 peace-promoting rally between the kings of England and France."— The Sunday TimesGlenn Richardson provides the first history in more than four decades of a major Tudor event: an extraordinary international gathering of Renaissance rulers unparalleled in its opulence, pageantry, controversy, and mystery.Throughout most of the ... Read more

$2.69 USD or Free with Kobo Plus

"Pomp, pageantry and epic showing-off: a vivid re-creation of the 1520 peace-promoting rally between the kings of England and France."— The Sunday TimesGlenn Richardson provides the first history in more than four decades of a major Tudor event: an extraordinary international gathering of Renaissance rulers unparalleled in its opulence, pageantry, controversy, and mystery.Throughout most of the
... Read more
Cesare Borgia

by Sarah Bradford ...

THE FULL STORY BEHIND THE BORGIAS, NOW A MAJOR TV DRAMA STARRING JEREMY IRONS'Either Caesar or nothing' was the motto of Cesare Borgia, whose name has long been synonymous with evil. Almost five centuries have passed since his death, yet his reputation still casts a sinister shadow. He stands accused of treachery, cruelty, rape, incest and, especially, murder - assassination by poison, the deadly ... Read more

$10.34 USD

THE FULL STORY BEHIND THE BORGIAS, NOW A MAJOR TV DRAMA STARRING JEREMY IRONS'Either Caesar or nothing' was the motto of Cesare Borgia, whose name has long been synonymous with evil. Almost five centuries have passed since his death, yet his reputation still casts a sinister shadow. He stands accused of treachery, cruelty, rape, incest and, especially, murder - assassination by poison, the deadly
... Read more
The Founding Fathers Reconsidered

by R.B. Bernstein ...

Here is a concise scholarly yet accessible overview of the brilliant flawed and quarrelsome group of lawyers politicians merchants military men and clergy known as "the Founding Fathers"--who got as close to the ideal of the Platonic "philosopher-kings" as American or world history has ever seen. In The Founding Fathers Reconsidered R. B. Bernstein reveals Washington Franklin Jefferson Adams ... Read more

$16.28 USD

Here is a concise scholarly yet accessible overview of the brilliant flawed and quarrelsome group of lawyers politicians merchants military men and clergy known as "the Founding Fathers"--who got as close to the ideal of the Platonic "philosopher-kings" as American or world history has ever seen. In The Founding Fathers Reconsidered R. B. Bernstein reveals Washington Franklin Jefferson Adams
... Read more
Galileo

by John L. Heilbron ...

Just over four hundred years ago, in 1610, Galileo published the Siderius nuncius, or Starry Messenger, a 'hurried little masterpiece' in John Heilbron's words. Presenting to the world his remarkable observations using the recently invented telescope - of the craters of the moon, and the satellites of Jupiter, observations that forced changes to perceptions of the perfection of the heavens and the ... Read more

$16.28 USD

Just over four hundred years ago, in 1610, Galileo published the Siderius nuncius, or Starry Messenger, a 'hurried little masterpiece' in John Heilbron's words. Presenting to the world his remarkable observations using the recently invented telescope - of the craters of the moon, and the satellites of Jupiter, observations that forced changes to perceptions of the perfection of the heavens and the
... Read more
The Animal in Ottoman Egypt

by Alan Mikhail ...

Since humans first emerged as a distinct species, they have eaten, fought, prayed, and moved with other animals. In this stunningly original and conceptually rich book, historian Alan Mikhail puts the history of human-animal relations at the center of transformations in the Ottoman Empire from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. Mikhail uses the history of the empire's most important ... Read more

$33.20 USD

Since humans first emerged as a distinct species, they have eaten, fought, prayed, and moved with other animals. In this stunningly original and conceptually rich book, historian Alan Mikhail puts the history of human-animal relations at the center of transformations in the Ottoman Empire from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. Mikhail uses the history of the empire's most important
... Read more
Inventing the Renaissance

The Myth of a Golden Age

by Ada Palmer ...

WINNER OF THE HUGO AWARDA New Yorker Best Book of 2025An irreverent new take on the Renaissance, which reveals it as anything but Europe’s golden age.From the darkness of a plagued and war-torn Middle Ages, the Renaissance (we’re told) heralds the dawning of a new world—a halcyon age of art, prosperity, and rebirth. Hogwash! or so says award-winning novelist and historian A... ... Read more

$7.82 USD

WINNER OF THE HUGO AWARDA New Yorker Best Book of 2025An irreverent new take on the Renaissance, which reveals it as anything but Europe’s golden age.From the darkness of a plagued and war-torn Middle Ages, the Renaissance (we’re told) heralds the dawning of a new world—a halcyon age of art, prosperity, and rebirth. Hogwash! or so says award-winning novelist and historian A...
... Read more
The Federalist Papers

by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay, Lawrence Goldman ...

Series series Oxford World's Classics
'A nation without a national government is an awful spectacle.' In the winter of 1787-8 a series of eighty-five essays appeared in the New York press; the purpose of the essays was to persuade the citizens of New York State to ratify the Constitution of the United States. The three authors - Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay - were respectively the first Secretary of the Treasury, ... Read more

$9.44 USD

'A nation without a national government is an awful spectacle.' In the winter of 1787-8 a series of eighty-five essays appeared in the New York press; the purpose of the essays was to persuade the citizens of New York State to ratify the Constitution of the United States. The three authors - Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay - were respectively the first Secretary of the Treasury,
... Read more
Montaigne

by Stefan Zweig ...

Translated by Will Stone ...

Series series Pushkin Collection
**“One of my favorite books.” —Ryan Holiday, *New York Times-*bestselling author and podcaster of The Daily StoicThis classic biography of Michel de Montaigne—the Renaissance philosopher and a founding father of humanism—is a heartfelt argument for the importance of intellectual freedom and tolerance.**Written by one of the 20th century’s most popular authors during WWII, Montaigne is a passionate ... Read more

$11.99 USD

**“One of my favorite books.” —Ryan Holiday, *New York Times-*bestselling author and podcaster of The Daily StoicThis classic biography of Michel de Montaigne—the Renaissance philosopher and a founding father of humanism—is a heartfelt argument for the importance of intellectual freedom and tolerance.**Written by one of the 20th century’s most popular authors during WWII, Montaigne is a passionate
... Read more
Four Princes

Henry VIII, Francis I, Charles V, Suleiman the Magnificent and the Obsessions that Forged Modern Europe

by John Julius Norwich ...

"Bad behavior makes for entertaining history" in this bold history of Europe, the Middle East, and the men who ruled them in the early sixteenth century ( Kirkus Reviews).John Julius Norwich—"the very model of a popular historian"—is acclaimed for his distinctive ability to weave together a fascinating narrative through vivid detail, colorful anecdotes, and captivating characters. Here, he ... Read more

$12.95 USD or Free with Kobo Plus

"Bad behavior makes for entertaining history" in this bold history of Europe, the Middle East, and the men who ruled them in the early sixteenth century ( Kirkus Reviews).John Julius Norwich—"the very model of a popular historian"—is acclaimed for his distinctive ability to weave together a fascinating narrative through vivid detail, colorful anecdotes, and captivating characters. Here, he
... Read more
Henry VII (Penguin Monarchs)

Treason and Trust

by Sean Cunningham ...

Series series Penguin Monarchs
Part of the Penguin Monarchs series: short, fresh, expert accounts of England's rulers in a collectible format'A scholarly and highly readable account of the king who traditionally has been overshadowed by the dynasty that he founded. Henry VII emerges as a wily, skilful and often ruthless monarch who secured a precarious throne for his Tudor successors' - Tracy BormanHenry VII was one of England ... Read more

$16.01 USD

Part of the Penguin Monarchs series: short, fresh, expert accounts of England's rulers in a collectible format'A scholarly and highly readable account of the king who traditionally has been overshadowed by the dynasty that he founded. Henry VII emerges as a wily, skilful and often ruthless monarch who secured a precarious throne for his Tudor successors' - Tracy BormanHenry VII was one of England
... Read more

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