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Frederich Engels (1820 1895) was a German businessman and political
theorist renowned as one of the intellectual founders of communism.
In 1842 Engels was sent to Manchester to oversee his father's
textile business, and he lived in the city until 1844. This volume,
first published in German in 1845, contains his classic and highly
influential account of working-class life in Manchester at the
height of its industrial supremacy. Engels' highly detailed
descriptions of urban conditions and contrasts between the
different classes in Manchester were informed from both his own
observations and his contacts with local labour activists and
Chartists. Extensively researched and written with sympathy for the
working class, this volume is one Engels' best known works and
remains a vivid portrait of contemporary urban England. This volume
is reissued from the English edition of 1892, which was translated
by noted social activist Florence Kelley Wischnewetzky (1859 1932).
'This book rests on a lifetime's thinking about history. It helps
us see Shakespeare in "a more realistic light".' Times Literary
Supplement The seventeenth century saw the brief flowering of
tragic drama across Western Europe. And in the plays of William
Shakespeare, this form of drama found its greatest exponent. These
Tragedies, Kiernan argues, represented the artistic expression of a
new social and political consciousness which permeated every aspect
of life in this period. In this book, Kiernan sets out to rescue
the Tragedies from the reductionist interpretations of mainstream
literary criticism, by uncovering the wider historical context
which shaped Shakespeare's writings. Opening with an overview of
contemporary England, the development of the theatre, and a
portrait of Shakespeare as a writer, Kiernan goes on to provide an
in-depth analysis of eight of his Tragedies - from Julius Caesar to
Coriolanus - drawing out their contrasts and recurring themes, and
exploring their attitudes to monarchy, war, religion, philosophy,
and changing relations between men and women. Featuring a new
introduction by Terry Eagleton, this is an invaluable resource for
those looking for a new perspective on Shakespeare's writings.
'This book rests on a lifetime's thinking about history. It helps
us see Shakespeare in "a more realistic light".' Times Literary
Supplement Although Shakespeare is rightly celebrated for the
continued relevancy of his plays and poetry today, we too often
lose sight of the wider historical context which shaped his work.
In Shakespeare: Poet and Citizen, Victor Kiernan shows that
Shakespeare was profoundly sensitive to the great social and
political upheavals of his age. Shakespeare's life coincided with
the first challenges to the institution of monarchy, as well as
far-reaching transformations in the social hierarchy. By placing
the plays within this context of an emerging modernity, Kiernan
upends our perception of Shakespeare's writings. He shows that
these social transformations, and especially the changing roles of
women, are crucial to our understanding of the Comedies, in which
the confusion of identity, disguise, and cross-dressing play a
central role, while the Histories similarly reflect the demise of
feudal allegiances and the development of the modern state.
Featuring a new introduction by Michael Wood, Shakespeare: Poet and
Citizen provides a rich resource for both students of literature
and for the general reader looking for new insight into the life of
our greatest dramatist.
For centuries, duelling played an integral role in the preservation
of the aristocratic order in Europe, defying attempts by both
church and state to ban the practice. Moreover, the romance and
drama of the duel has made it an enduring fixture in films,
literature, and the theatre. In The Duel in European History,
renowned historian Victor Kiernan writes with his characteristic
wit and insight of duelling's evolution from its medieval origins -
when it was regarded as a badge of rank - to the early twentieth
century, by which time it was seen as an irrational anachronism. In
doing so, he shows how the duelling tradition was something unique
to Europe and its colonies, and, in its contribution to the
development of the officer corps, played a key part in shaping
European military power. Drawing on a vast range of historical and
cultural sources, this is the definitive account of a violent
ritual that continues to fascinate even today.
'This book rests on a lifetime's thinking about history. It helps
us see Shakespeare in "a more realistic light".' Times Literary
Supplement The seventeenth century saw the brief flowering of
tragic drama across Western Europe. And in the plays of William
Shakespeare, this form of drama found its greatest exponent. These
Tragedies, Kiernan argues, represented the artistic expression of a
new social and political consciousness which permeated every aspect
of life in this period. In this book, Kiernan sets out to rescue
the Tragedies from the reductionist interpretations of mainstream
literary criticism, by uncovering the wider historical context
which shaped Shakespeare's writings. Opening with an overview of
contemporary England, the development of the theatre, and a
portrait of Shakespeare as a writer, Kiernan goes on to provide an
in-depth analysis of eight of his Tragedies - from Julius Caesar to
Coriolanus - drawing out their contrasts and recurring themes, and
exploring their attitudes to monarchy, war, religion, philosophy,
and changing relations between men and women. Featuring a new
introduction by Terry Eagleton, this is an invaluable resource for
those looking for a new perspective on Shakespeare's writings.
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