Renaissance

A lively and fascinating narrative history about the birth of the modern world....

This deeply textured dual biography and fascinating intellectual history examines two of the greatest minds of European history - Desiderius Erasmus and Martin Luther - and their heated rivalry....

Acclaimed historian Paul Strathern tells the vivid story of The Age of Reason, while also exploring the painful cost of creating the progress and modernity upon which the Western world was built.

The rise and fall of the Venetian empire stands unrivaled for drama, intrigue, and sheer opulent majesty....

Leonardo da Vinci, Niccolò Machiavelli, and Cesare Borgia - three iconic figures whose intersecting lives provide the basis for this astonishing work of narrative history....

Mary Boleyn was the mistress of two kings, Francois I of France and Henry VIII of England, and sister to Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII’s second wife....

History is rarely kind to women of power, but few have had their reputations quite so brutally shredded as Catherine de’ Medici, Italian-born queen of France and influential mother of three successive French kings.

Eduard Habsburg, a member of the family and archduke of Austria, shares insights about the Seven Principles (maxims) at the root of Habsburg thought, action, politics, and family life....

Imagine: it’s the year 1600 and you’ve lost your precious silver spoons, or maybe they’ve been stolen. Perhaps your child has a fever. Or you’re facing a trial. Maybe you’re looking for love or escaping a husband. What do you do?

Ocean is a story that begins with the formation of the mid-Atlantic ridge some 200 million years ago and ends with the Castilian conquest of the Canary Islands in the fifteenth century, providing a template for the methods used by the Spanish in their colonization of the New World.

In a life of extraordinary drama, Jane Boleyn was catapulted from relative obscurity to the inner circle of King Henry VIII....

In this engaging, accessible account, Nadine Akkerman and Pete Langman explore the methods spies actually used in the period, including disguises, invisible inks, and even poisons....

The creator of the hit podcast series Tides of History and Fall of Rome explores the four explosive decades between 1490 and 1530, bringing to life the dramatic and deeply human story of how the West was reborn....

Samuel Rawson Gardiner remains a respected source on the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), which began as a civil conflict between Protestant princes and the Catholic Holy Roman Emperor, Ferdinand II. Lack of unity on both sides soon drew in outside powers....

Following the intertwined stories of Catherine de’ Medici, Elisabeth de Valois, and Mary Queen of Scots from girlhood through young adulthood, Young Queens paints a picture of a world in which a woman could wield power at the highest level yet remain at the mercy of the state....

From the death of Richard III on Bosworth Field in 1485 to the execution of Charles I....

Whether you’re a student of Italian history looking for a refresher or a brand-new learner looking for an introduction, this book is a concise, easy-to-follow overview of the major players, events, and forces in Italian history, from antiquity to today....

From the inimitable bestselling author Thomas Cahill, another popular history - this one focusing on how the innovations of the Renaissance and the Reformation changed the Western world....

A fascinating and counterintuitive portrait of the sordid, hidden world behind the dazzling artwork of Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, and more....

Galileo Galilei was the foremost scientist of his day. Though he never left Italy, his inventions and discoveries were heralded around the world.....

After the long period of cultural decline known as the Dark Ages, Europe experienced a rebirth of scholarship, art, literature, philosophy, and science....

From Henry VIII's cataclysmic break with Rome to the epic rule of Elizabeth I, the age of the Tudors comes to vivid life in audio....

The startling truth behind one of the most notorious dynasties in history is revealed in a remarkable new account by the acclaimed author of The Tudors and A World Undone....

A beautifully thorough examination into the complicated relationship between Elizabeth I and Catherine de Medici, two of the most powerful women in Renaissance Europe who shaped each other as well as the course of history.

Henry IV is not famous except for the plays that bear his name: He is not even a "much-maligned" king. He is normally overshadowed by his far more famous son, Henry V, despite his many achievements....