Following closely on the heels of his recent biography of George III, Jeremy Black turns to the reign of his grandfather, George II, to set the record straight. In his new book he sets out to demonstrate the unfairness of charges that George II was a puppet king overshadowed by towering politicians such as Walpole, and later, Pitt. For a king who ruled for so long (1727-60), the neglect shown by historians to George II is surprising. He was the last British king to lead an army into battle, at Dettingen in 1743, and his rule included the drama of Culloden in 1746 - the culmination of the war...

The three interludes in this volume come from the press of John Rastell, barrister, printer, adventurer, member of parliament, brother-in-law of Thomas More, and one of the first men in England to have a stage built at his own house. The Four Elements is unique in its genre of scientific morality play. Rastell composed it himself to expound the rudiments of natural science and to air his own frustrating experience of venturing to the New World, in 1517. The anonymous Calisto and Melebea is based on the beginning of the notorious Spanish novel, La Celestina, and has an elegance and subtlety in...

In August 1589 Henri III, the last of the Valois Kings of France, was assassinated by a Dominican monk, Jacques Clement. This ill-fated and much maligned son of Henri II and Catherine de Medici was succeeded by the first of the Bourbons, Henri IV and King of Navarre. This collection of studies by international experts in the field examines fresh evidence and casts new light upon the interpretation of the character and politics of the last of the Valois and Henri IV and the Bourbon dynasty. This book is valuable for all those who take an interest in French history whether they be students,...