The Romanticized View of Victorian Street Life At Christmas time, TV fare always includes something by Charles Dickens. Usually Oliver Twist, but it could be Great Expectations, Nicholas Nickleby, or one of his other stories repeatedly adapted into films, musicals, or TV series. The portrayal of the poor in Victorian London seems to align with ...
In her best-selling book SPQR, Mary Beard told the history of ancient Rome in a conventional, historical way. She has moved away from that in her latest book, Emperor of Rome. In this book, she looks at the emperors who ruled the Roman Empire, starting with Julius Caesar (assassinated in 44 BCE) and moving through ...
Yuval Noah Harari’s delves into the dangers of AI but uniquely examines this issue through the lens of human societal development and the lessons we may or may not have learned. Yuval Noah Harari’s Nexus asks, “Why are we so good at accumulating more information and power, but far less successful at acquiring wisdom?” Beginning ...
Josephine Quinn (Bloomsbury) Challenging the Myth of Western Civilization Origins How the World Made the West is a revolutionary book that challenges the myth of Western Civilization Origins. Josephine Quinn argues that our understanding of history was shaped by modern interpretations, not ancient truths. What we see when we look back into the past is ...
Revisiting Orwell’s Life This is a long book, and D J Taylor, who wrote a George Orwell biography 20 years ago, believes there is significant value in revisiting the subject.. There is new biographical evidence available in terms of letters between Orwell and his friends and lovers. Sadly, Taylor identified only eleven people who knew ...
The Great Hippopotamus Hotel by Alexander McCall Smith, the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency is a very popular series of books. The series initially took time to gain recognition in the USA. It has now sold millions of copies worldwide, with new books eagerly awaited by fans. The first book was published in 1998 and ...
“Let’s be realistic. Let’s do the impossible!” The legacy of Che Guevara, a revolutionary icon, continues to resonate today. There was a time not so long ago when almost every student bedroom had a picture of Che Guevara on the wall. In death, the legacy of Che Guevara became the quintessential cultural icon with his ...
Most people have heard about the Silk Roads. This was a large network of trade routes which for hundreds of years connected the West of Europe with the East of Asia. The trade routes connected China with the Mediterranean and Africa and all the countries and regions between. For hundreds of years, the Silk Roads ...
This a book about South Africa. It follows through four decades of history as is the South Africa as seen from an Afrikaner family – albeit a dystopian Afrikaner family. Ma dies during the last days of apartheid, but before she does, she asks Pa to make a promise. The promise is that Salome, the ...
Imperial Island by Charlotte Lydia Riley sets out to be ‘a history of empire in modern Britain’, as its subtitle tells us. It follows the history of Britain from 1939 to the present day and tries to show how the British Empire is still at the core of what makes Britain tick. This is a ...
