English Renaissance

Age of Discovery explores a world on the brink of a new Renaissance and asks: how do we share more widely the benefits of unprecedented progress? How do we endure the inevitable tumult generated by accelerating change? How do we each thrive through this tangled, uncertain time? From gains in health, education, wealth and technology to crises of conflict, disease and mass migration, the similarities between today's world and that of the 15th century are both striking and prophetic: we have been here before.

If ever a catharsis in Western European Civilization occurred, it had to have been the period we refer to as the Renaissance. After a thousand years of theocracy, manorialism, feudalism and narrow economic development, Europe was ripe for change. She got it with a vengeance.

May 1536: Queen Anne Boleyn has fallen and Jane Seymour is about to become Queen, yet the King's new love is troubled not only by the fall and execution of his last wife and Queen, but by the creeping feeling that she knows not the man she has promised to marry. As Jane steps into the palaces of the King, emerging quietly as England's Queen, she finds herself haunted by thoughts of Anne Boleyn, Katherine of Aragon and what the past means for her own fate. And Jane is not the only one troubled by the actions of King Henry VIII.

From the fall of Constantinople in 1453 until the 18th century, many Western European writers viewed the Ottoman Empire with almost obsessive interest. In this path-breaking audiobook, Noel Malcolm ranges through these vital centuries of East-West interaction, studying all the ways in which thinkers in the West interpreted the Ottoman Empire as a political phenomenon - and Islam as a political religion.

New Caelum is virus-free, and its citizens are eager to venture outside for the first time in nearly seven years. But when an outsider shows up with a near-fatal dog bite along with a harsh message from Governor Jackson, it becomes clear: the elite people of New Caelum are not welcome outside the gates of New Caelum and new dangers lurk in the outside world.

Richard Fitzwarren is a Tudor nobleman with a dubious past who takes risks for a living. His close friendship with Princess Elizabeth leads to his banishment to France, but when he returns, he remains loyal to her. At his side is Jack, his bastard sibling, and their relationship is a troubled one due to a family secret and their opposite personalities. Will he keep the future queen safe?

Following a traumatic event, a young woman with undiscovered extrasensory perception finds herself battling sinister forces determined to stop her from uncovering a long-buried and mysterious family secret. Barbara Roselia Vance excelled in high school, earned a BS degree in math, and a master's in computer science from the University of Chicago. She turned down scholarship offers to Ivy League schools to stay in Chicago to look after her cancer-stricken mother. She worked for a successful company.

In the best-selling Warriors of God and Dogs of God, James Reston Jr. limned two epochal conflicts between Islam and Christendom. Here he examines the ultimate battle in that centuries-long war, which found Europe at its most vulnerable and Islam on the attack. This drama was propelled by two astonishing young sovereigns: Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and Turkish sultan Suleyman the Magnificent. Though they represented two colliding worlds, they were remarkably similar.

“Can you recommend fiction that has main characters who are like us?” This is a question we who are disabled, Deaf, neurodiverse, Spoonie, and/or who manage mental illness ask way too often. Typically, we’re faced with stories about us crafted by people who really don’t get us. We’re turned into pathetic, tragic souls; we merely exist to inspire the abled main characters to thrive; or even worse, we’re to overcome “what’s wrong with us” and be cured.

The renaissance was a time for change, renewal, rebirth. That’s what we were taught in school, but few of us really understand the complexities of the era. Generations of people don’t understand the bold moves that were made. The risks that were taken by ordinary people who created exceptional art, music, movements, and change are like none the world has yet seen.

The fifth in the new Naxos Audiobooks series "In a Nutshell", The Renaissance is a short and accessible introduction to the era that gave us Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Palestrina. The Renaissance swept across Europe between the 14th and 17th centuries, heralding intellectual revolutions in science, art, philosophy and politics, and marking a decisive shift towards modern thinking.

In a rapidly evolving digital age, two giants emerge from the shadows: Bitcoin and Ethereum. But what makes them distinct? And why is understanding them crucial for our digital future? "Mastering Blockchain" delves deep into the intricate world of decentralized systems. Journey from the birth of cryptocurrency, understand the genius of Ethereum's smart contracts, and explore the potential and challenges that lie ahead.

Federico doesn’t mind being a political hostage in the Pope’s palace, especially now that he has a cat as a friend. But he must admit that a kitten walking into a wardrobe and returning full-grown a moment later is quite odd. Even stranger is Herbert, apparently an art collector from the future, who emerges from the wardrobe the next night. Herbert barters with Federico to get a sketch signed by the famous painter Raphael, but his plans take a dangerous turn when he hurries back to his era, desperate to save a dying girl.

Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) was recognized in his lifetime as the greatest living artist, creator of a succession of masterpieces in sculpture, fresco painting, and architecture. In all his work, Michelangelo impressed his contemporaries as a forceful personality, a divine genius endowed with terribilita, or intense emotional power.

In 1612, William Shakespeare gave evidence in a court case at Westminster; it is the only occasion on which his actual spoken words were recorded. The case seems routine - a dispute over an unpaid marriage dowry - but it opens an unexpected window into the dramatist's famously obscure life. Using the court testimony as a springboard, acclaimed nonfiction writer Charles Nicholl examines this fascinating period in Shakespeare's life.

Neva Friezland is born into a world of trickery and illusion, where fortunes can be won and lost on the turn of a card. She is also born with an extraordinary gift. She can predict the weather. In Regency England, where the proper goal for a gentlewoman is marriage and only God knows the weather this is dangerous. It is also potentially very lucrative.

A concise, star-studded retelling of Italy's past, from Caesar and Augustus to da Vinci and Michelangelo, tracing the story of a country with prodigious global influence—from a foremost author of historic Italy.

It's safe to say there have been countless prophets and seers throughout history, but only one Nostradamus (1503-1566). Nostradamus has become a pop-culture fixture even among those who find nothing of note in his work. He is a cult figure among those who pore through his prophecies to look for proof that he foresaw major world events centuries ahead of time.

When we think of the Renaissance, we often think of paintings. And indeed, many painters and sculptors were part of the artistic transformation the Renaissance caused. But there was more. The Renaissance basically formed a period of collective enlightenment and freedoms that put an end to certain tyrannies and false notions from the Middle Ages. Advocates of a "long Renaissance" might put its start in the 14th century and its end in the 17th century. Let’s take a look at what the extensive time period of the Renaissance provided, and what it leaves us with today.

So the vampire Queen was behind all the disappearances after all. Will swears to me he had no idea what his mother was doing? But how can I trust him? How am I to believe anything he says after being confronted by...his fiancé? Apparently, just because he loves me doesn’t mean he feels the need to tell me the truth. His endless secrets have my head spinning.The only question is: when I kill the Queen with my newfound powers, will he be my side? ...Or hers?