Historical Figures
Last updated: September 25, 2024
The best books on Jesus, recommended by Robert Morgan
Jesus was a 1st century Jew from Galilee who had a ministry of teaching and healing. He gathered disciples around him, but was eventually arrested and executed by the Roman governor of Judaea from 26 to 36CE, Pontius Pilate. But what else do we know about Jesus and what is his significance in an increasingly secular age? New Testament scholar Robert Morgan talks us through his favourite books on Jesus.
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Elizabeth I
by David Starkey and Susan Doran -
2
The Faerie Queene
by edited by Thomas P Roche Jr and C Patrick O’Donnell Jr & Edmund Spenser -
3
Translations by Elizabeth I, 1592-98
by Janel Mueller and Joshua Scodel -
4
Rewriting the Renaissance
by Margaret W Ferguson, Maureen Quilligan and Nancy Vickers -
5
Representing Elizabeth in Stuart England
by John A Watkins
The best books on Elizabeth I, recommended by Helen Hackett
The best books on Elizabeth I, recommended by Helen Hackett
University College London professor Helen Hackett selects five books on the Virgin Queen, including one by the monarch herself. “You get a sense of her independence of mind. She does her own thing”
The best books on Rembrandt, recommended by Onno Blom
Though he left more self-portraits to posterity than practically any Old Master, there remains an air of mystery around Rembrandt the man—even on the 350th anniversary of his death. Piecing together the very few personal letters and documents left behind, Onno Blom has now reconstructed Rembrandt’s formative years in Young Rembrandt. Here he guides us through five of the most authoritative—and imaginative—accounts of the artist.
The Best Virginia Woolf Books, recommended by Hermione Lee
Virginia Woolf was long dismissed as a ‘minor modernist’ but now stands as one of the giants of 20th century literature. Her biographer, Hermione Lee, talks us through the novels, essays, and diaries of Virginia Woolf.
The Best George Orwell Books, recommended by D J Taylor
Three-quarters of a century on from its initial publication, George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four is just as resonant in today’s era of misinformation and fake news as it was in the incipient Cold War era. D J Taylor, author of a prizewinning biography of Orwell, takes us through the extraordinary impact of the author’s fiction and reportage.
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Voltaire Almighty: A Life in Pursuit of Freedom
by Roger Pearson -
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A Pocket Philosophical Dictionary
by John Fletcher (translator) & Voltaire -
3
The Newton Wars and the Beginning of the French Enlightenment
by J. B. Shank -
4
Candide
by Roger Pearson (translator) & Voltaire -
5
Reinventing Voltaire: The Politics of Commemoration in Nineteenth-Century France
by Stephen Bird
The Best Voltaire Books, recommended by Nicholas Cronk
The Best Voltaire Books, recommended by Nicholas Cronk
The eighteenth-century philosopher wielded his powers of ridicule and witticism against religious fanatics—but always championed free speech and religious toleration. He was also a historian, scientist, poet, playwright, and political activist. Nicholas Cronk, General Editor of the Complete Works of Voltaire gives a detailed look at the polymathic philosophe.
The Best Simone de Beauvoir Books, recommended by Kate Kirkpatrick
Simone de Beauvoir is remembered today as the pioneering feminist author of The Second Sex and a close companion of Jean Paul Sartre. But the scope of her intellectual contribution has long been underestimated, argues her latest biographer Kate Kirkpatrick, who offers an introduction to the landscape of Beauvoir’s works, from fiction to philosophy to life writing.
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The Collected Works of Spinoza (Volume I)
by Baruch Spinoza & Edwin Curley -
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Behind the Geometrical Method: A Reading of Spinoza's Ethics
by Edwin Curley -
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A Study of Spinoza's Ethics
by Jonathan Bennett -
4
The Explainability of Experience: Realism and Subjectivity in Spinoza's Theory of the Human Mind
by Ursula Renz -
5
Spinoza on Philosophy, Religion, and Politics: The Theologico-Political Treatise
by Susan James
The best books on Spinoza, recommended by Steven Nadler
The best books on Spinoza, recommended by Steven Nadler
In 1656 Baruch Spinoza was thrown out by Amsterdam’s Portuguese-Jewish congregation for ‘abominable heresies’ and ‘monstrous deeds’, ensuring he would be forever remembered as a radical thinker. Here Steven Nadler, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and author of a number of books on Spinoza, talks us through the life and work of the 17th century philosopher whose worldview remains, in many ways, remarkably modern.
The best books on Confucius, recommended by Daniel A. Bell
As Confucianism makes a comeback in China, Daniel A. Bell, a professor of philosophy at Tsinghua University in Beijing, lists which books to read for an understanding of Confucius and his legacy.
The Best Adam Smith Books, recommended by Dennis Rasmussen
Adam Smith tends to be seen as the founder of capitalism and modern economics, but he was, first and foremost, a moral philosopher. Dennis Rasmussen, author of The Infidel and the Professor—a book about Smith’s friendship with David Hume—selects the best books by and about Adam Smith.