Barnes Noble: 2826 books

British nobleman Robert Carr (1587-1645) was knighted by James I, and for a time practically ran the kingdom. In 1613 he wed Frances Howard (Lady Essex) after the king nullified her existing marriage. This 1908 history gives us his rise, his tempestuous romance, his implication in a murder plot, and the consequences.  

This volume, published in 1911, is the biography of Penelope Devereux Rich, the daughter of the first Earl of Essex. She was considered the most beautiful woman at the court of Elizabeth I, and was idealized by the Elizabethan and early Jacobite poets (such as Sir Philip Sidney) for her beauty, intelligence,...

Published in two volumes (1876 and 1881), this encyclopedic work championed rationalism and led the Victorian revolt against social orthodoxy. Tracing religious thought from 1688 to 1750, Stephen reviews the Deist controversy and the intuitional and utilitarian schools. His wide-angle lens creates a...

In addition to the title essay, this 1893 collection contains "The Scepticism of Believers," "Dreams and Realities," "What is Materialism?", "Newman's Theory of Belief," "Toleration," and "The Religion of All Sensible Men."  Stephen asserts that theological matters are beyond the grasp of human reason, and so it is fruitless to speculate upon them.

Thomas Carlyle undertook this biography of his friend, the British author John Sterling (1806–1844), because he was so dissatisfied with an earlier biography of Sterling by Julius Charles Hare. Sterling was an ordained curate at Hurstmonceux, but retired and began writing. His highest literary achievements...

What trait defines a hero? For Carlyle, it’s absolute sincerity, firm belief in one’s principles, and an inherent spark of the Divine. In this compelling series of lectures, delivered in 1840, Carlyle uses various examples of great men throughout history—divided into six categories and including Dante, Odin, Luther, and Napoleon, among others—to convey his notion of a hero.

With England in the grip of a serious economic downturn, Carlyle in Past and Present (1843) looked to the supposed virtues of the past in order to illustrate how unfettered capitalism had brought the country to the brink of ruin, hoping in this way to spark a moral no less than economic resurgence.

This 1919 collection of essays is a republication of the 1913 volume, Clio, A Muse, with the addition of four new essays:  "The Two Carlyles," "Englishmen and Italians," "The News of Ramillies," and "The Hegira of Rousseau."  Contents also includes "If Napoleon had won the Battle of Waterloo" and "The Muse of History."  

Published in 1859, this volume contains Ruskin's lectures on art and its application to decoration and manufacture, in which he seeks to bridge the gap between aesthetic theory and practical application in daily economic life. He also explores his theory that contented individuals create good art, while corrupt people’s art is inherently second-rate.

Going against the grain of capitalism, and advocating an economy founded on the Christian principles of honor, justice, and charity, the author, one of the most influential minds of the Victorian era, offers the essays “The Roots of Honour,” “The Veins of Wealth,” “Qui Judicatis Terram,” and “Ad Valorem.”

In 1869 Ruskin was appointed the Slade Professor of Fine Art at Oxford. His inaugural lectures, delivered between February 8th and March 23rd of 1870, focused on the limits and elementary practice of art, and were published in book form later that year. In the lectures, Ruskin offers his keen insights...

Published in 1902, this dictionary collects the sayings of famous men and women throughout history about other famous men and women, running the gamut from Archimedes to Francis Bacon and Lord Fairfax to Zoroaster. The Daily News said the book “is one of those books which no library should be without.”

 “What is easy to read has been difficult to write,” Trevelyan declares in this 1913 volume. Clio: A Muse, and Other Essays, is a collection of Trevelyan’s clearly presented views on historical writing, as well as articles on George Meredith, the art of poetry, and John Woolman. The book concludes with the intriguing “If Napoleon had Won the Battle of Waterloo.”

Subtitled “Being Simple Studies on Christian Art for English Travellers,” Ruskin uses this 1877 work to advise pilgrims to Italy on what works of art to see during a limited time. His casual stroll conducts readers through the gates and basilicas of the city to ponder the genius of Giotto, Ghirlandajo, Boticelli, and others.