While there have been many analyses of American imperialism, few have equaled the breadth or insight of America: From White Settlement to World Hegemony, which was one of the first books to provide a historical perspective on the origins of the American empire.

Victor Kiernan, heralded by Edward Said as the "great Scottish historian of empire," employs a nuanced knowledge of history, literature, and politics in his tracing of the evolution of American power. Far reaching and ambitious in its scope, the book combines accounts of the changing relationship between Native Americans...

With Shakespeare: Poet and Citizen, Kiernan displays how profoundly sensitive Shakespeare was to the massive social and political upheavals of his age. During the playwright s lifetime, he saw the first challenges to monarchical rule, as well as serious transformations in England s social hierarchy. Shakespeare witnessed and capitalized on these events, using major social changes, such as rebellious new female roles, prominently in his comedies, which feature identity confusion, gender bending, and cross-dressing. His historical plays, similarly, reflect the demise of feudal...

Shakespeare s era, dominated by social and economic upheavals, also saw an increase in tragic drama. The playwright s famous eight tragedies, Kiernan argues, represent the artistic expression of a new social and political consciousness that permeated every aspect of life. Eight Tragedies of Shakespeare provides an in-depth analysis of each tragedy, examining recurring themes in a historical context and exploring attitudes at the time toward monarchy, war, religion, philosophy, and shifting gender roles. A vivid and absorbing portrait of a writer and his times, Eight Tragedies of...

With Shakespeare: Poet and Citizen, Kiernan displays how profoundly sensitive Shakespeare was to the massive social and political upheavals of his age. During the playwright s lifetime, he saw the first challenges to monarchical rule, as well as serious transformations in England s social hierarchy. Shakespeare witnessed and capitalized on these events, using major social changes, such as rebellious new female roles, prominently in his comedies, which feature identity confusion, gender bending, and cross-dressing. His historical plays, similarly, reflect the demise of feudal...

Shakespeare s era, dominated by social and economic upheavals, also saw an increase in tragic drama. The playwright s famous eight tragedies, Kiernan argues, represent the artistic expression of a new social and political consciousness that permeated every aspect of life. Eight Tragedies of Shakespeare provides an in-depth analysis of each tragedy, examining recurring themes in a historical context and exploring attitudes at the time toward monarchy, war, religion, philosophy, and shifting gender roles. A vivid and absorbing portrait of a writer and his times, Eight Tragedies of...

For centuries, the duel played an integral role in the preservation of the aristocratic order in Europe, despite countless attempts by both church and state to ban the practice. The drama of the duel has been romanticized in countless works of literature, and it has been an enduring fixture in films and theater reflecting the period. But how did the duel come to prominence in the first place as the form by which men staked their honor? And how did it develop its allure as a cultural and artistic device? Renowned historian Victor Kiernan explores these questions and more in The Duel in...

For centuries, the duel played an integral role in the preservation of the aristocratic order in Europe, despite countless attempts by both church and state to ban the practice. The drama of the duel has been romanticized in countless works of literature, and it has been an enduring fixture in films and theater reflecting the period. But how did the duel come to prominence in the first place as the form by which men staked their honor? And how did it develop its allure as a cultural and artistic device? Renowned historian Victor Kiernan explores these questions and more in The Duel in...