"The entire town is disguised," declared a French tourist of eighteenth-century Venice. And, indeed, maskers of all ranks—nobles, clergy, imposters, seducers, con men—could be found mixing at every level of Venetian society. Even a pious nun donned a mask and male attire for her liaison with the libertine Casanova. In Venice Incognito, James H. Johnson offers a spirited analysis of masking in this carnival-loving city. He draws on a wealth of material to explore the world view of maskers, both during and outside of carnival, and reconstructs their logic: covering the face in public was a uniquely Venetian response to one of the most rigid class hierarchies in European history. This vivid account goes beyond common views that masking was about forgetting the past and minding the muse of pleasure to offer fresh insight into the historical construction of identity.

Venice, one of the world's most storied cities, has a long and remarkable history, told here in its full scope from its founding in the early Middle Ages to the present day. A place whose fortunes and livelihoods have been shaped to a large degree by its relationship with water, Venice is seen in Dennis Romano's account as a terrestrial and maritime power, whose religious, social, architectural, economic, and political histories have been determined by its unique geography.

Claudio Monteverdi’s Venetian Operas features chapters by a group of scholars and performers of varied backgrounds and specialties, who confront the various questions raised by Monteverdi’s late operas from an interdisciplinary perspective. The premise of the volume is the idea that constructive dialogue between musicologists and musicians, stage directors and theater historians, as well as philologists and literary critics can shed new light on Monteverdi’s two Venetian operas (and their respective librettos, by Badoaro and Busenello), not only at the levels of textual criticism, historical exegesis, and dramaturgy, but also with regard to concrete choices of performance, staging, and mise-en-scène. Following an Introduction setting up the interdisciplinary agenda, the volume comprises two main parts: ‘Contexts and Sources’ deals with the historical, philosophical, and aesthetic contexts of the works - librettos and scores; 'Performance and Interpretation’ offers critical and historical insights regarding the casting, singing, reciting, staging, and conducting of the two operas. This volume will appeal to scholars and researchers in Opera Studies and Music History as well as be of interest to early music performers and all those involved with presenting opera on stage.

All four mysteries starring the lesbian translator, globetrotter, and amateur sleuth —including Gaudí Afternoon—from the Lambda Literary Award–winning author. “[Cassandra Reilly] has a restless nature, a facility for languages, and a lively curiosity about foreign cultures. Toss in her offbeat sense of humor and you have a terrific road pal.” —The New York Times Book Review “[Cassandra Reilly] has a mind like a steel trap; a literate, uplifting voice; and a wicked sense of humor.” —Library Journal Gaudí Afternoon: In this “high-spirited comic adventure,” professional translator and amateur detective Cassandra Reilly travels to Barcelona to find the missing spouse of Frankie Stevens—but soon learns no one is who they seem (The New York Times). Wilson’s award-winning novel was the basis for the movie directed by Susan Seidelman and starring Judy Davis as Cassandra. Gaudí Afternoon won the Lambda Literary Award for Best Lesbian Mystery. “In the same way that she works issues of sexual politics into her madcap plot, Ms. Wilson also makes the city of Barcelona a lively party to the action.” —The New York Times Trouble in Transylvania: In this “very funny second outing,” the London-based lesbian translator and part-time sleuth gets embroiled in a murder in a run-down Transylvanian health spa (Kirkus Reviews). As the mystery unfolds, Cassandra and her cohorts—including her friend Jacqueline and potential love interest, Eva—are steeped in the history of Romania, from the devastating relics of Ceausescu’s tyrannical reign to the vampire folklore born in the region centuries ago. “Travel-writing so compelling that you’ll be reaching for your passport. Wilson is smart, tart, and knows how to write from a feminist perspective without once stooping to polemic.” —Kirkus Reviews The Death of a Much-Travelled Woman: These nine madcap stories follow the wayfaring translator and amateur sleuth around the globe to picturesque locales such as Maui, the English moors, and the Icelandic coast. Stories include “Murder at the International Feminist Book Fair,” in which the exploits of a mudslinging women’s magazine lead to death at the convention, and “An Expatriate Death,” in which a local Mexican writer appropriates Cassandra’s identity for a character in his novel—and then promptly kills off the character. “Well-drawn characters and colorful settings . . . recommended.” —Library Journal The Case of the Orphaned Bassoonists: At the Venice-based symposium on women musicians of Vivaldi’s time, an invaluable antique bassoon has been stolen—and bassoonist Nicky Gibbons stands accused. As Cassandra investigates, she immerses herself in the world of Baroque music, the tangle of personal intrigues at the symposium, and a second mystery involving the orphaned bassoonists of eighteenth-century Venice. “Venice, Vivaldi, international intrigue, lesbians with bassoons—if you have a hankering for any of these, this book is for you!” —The Bloomsbury Review

'Fascinating historical mysteries and vivid colourful characters. One hell of a fine book' - CONN IGGULDEN This special collection brings together the three books in the Rise of Empires Chronicles: The Walls of Byzantium, The Towers of Samarcand and The Lion of Mistra. The Walls of Byzantium In an age of clashing empires, dark forces from the east are endangering the first light of the western Renaissance. It is an age of ruthless rulers, divided churches, fractured dynasties and intrepid traders. It is an age of great cities like Venice and Constantinople; an age of conquerors like Tamerlane who will drown the world in blood; an age when only a hero of exceptional gifts can make a difference. Luke Magoris is that hero. Born the son of one of the Varangian guards who had sworn to keep the secret relic safe, he will find himself committed to a long journey to discover - and try to avoid - his destiny. He will travel from battle to trading fortune, from horse dealing to captivity, and to the love of three very different women and the unrelenting enmity of two remarkable men. The Towers of Samarcand A select band of soldiers led by Luke Magoris are given the mission of persuading Tamerlane to defend Constantinople. The great conqueror must turn his forces to the West to fight the Ottomans. Luke is trained as a Mongol warrior to impress Tamerlane and his army before joining his fellow Varangian guards, descendants of the men who once brought a vital treasure out of Constantinople. It is this treasure, some say, that can still save the empire - uniting the Christian churches of the east and west in one final triumphant crusade to smite the Ottomans. No longer an innocent patriot, Luke is caught in the crossfire and begins to question if his mission is honourable - or whether those who sent him have the best interests of Byzantium at heart. The Lion of Mistra Rome never fell. The empire continued as Byzantium. This epic historical novel concerns one man's role in saving the empire. The Ottoman Turks are at the gates of Constantinople and Luke Magoris, descended from princes of England, has to find a fortune to build defences for his beloved Mistra, the last glorious outpost of Imperial Rome, as well as saving the Emperor. He turns to China, to the Ming Empire, for trade and to Renaissance Italy for its rapidly developing banks. Both are entirely new roles for Luke and his Varangian brotherhood and many pitfalls befall him. And yet the Varangian treasure - which only he can uncover - may hold the key to all.

'A bald summary does no justice to the subtlety and exceptional lucidity of a book which turns the bland, familiar, intrinsically worthy stuff of so many fictional family sagas into a biographical triumph.' Observer'Motion has given us an exemplary piece of research, and a comparison of three eras that is of compelling interest, not least in showing what damage one generation does to the next.' Sunday Times'The story of the three Lamberts is as cruel and horrifying as any Greek tragedy. What it may lack in grandeur it makes up for in being true and recent. Its portrayal of the way in which the Lamberts instinctively yet unintentionally assisted in the destruction of their own offspring makes for truly compulsive reading.' Harpers and Queen

'One hell of a fine book' Conn Iggulden CAN THE GREATEST WARRIOR OF THE AGE AND A LOST ANGLO-SAXON TREASURE BE UNITED IN TIME TO RESCUE CONSTANTINOPLE? With an Ottoman army at the gates and Constantinople set to submit, Luke Magoris must make an epic journey across a continent to the ancient city of Samarcand to approach the last hope for the Byzantine world; the Mongolian conqueror Tamerlane. Luke, torn away from the woman he loves and all he knows, is trained as a Mongol warrior to impress Tamerlane and his army before joining his fellow Varangian guards, descendants of the men who once brought a vital treasure out of Constantinople. It is this treasure, some say, that can still save the empire - uniting the Christian churches of the east and west in one final triumphant crusade to smite the Ottomans. Set against the vast backdrop of the Anatolian plains, this is a powerful and enthralling historical novel, full of vivid characters, compelling mystery and sensational battles.

Isabella d’Este, Marchioness of Mantua (1474-1539), is one of the most studied figures of Renaissance Italy, as an epitome of Renaissance court culture and as a woman having an unusually prominent role in the politics of her day. This biography provides a well-rounded account of the full range of her activities and interests from her childhood to her final years as a dowager, and considers Isabella d’Este not as an icon but as a woman of her time and place in the world. It covers all aspects of her life including her relationship with her parents and siblings as well as with her husband and children; her interest in literature and music, painting and antiquities; her political and diplomatic activities; her concern with fashion and jewellery; her relations with other women; and her love of travel. In this book, grounded in an understanding of the context of the Italy of her day, the typical interests and behaviour of women of Isabella d’Este’s status within Renaissance Italy are distinguished from those that were unique to her, such as the elaborate apartments that she created for herself and her extensive surviving correspondence, which provides insights into all aspects of life in the major courts of northern Italy, centres of Renaissance culture. Providing fresh perspectives on one of the most famous figures of Renaissance Italy, Isabella d’Este will be of great interest to undergraduates and graduates of early modern history, gender studies, renaissance studies and art history.

The name Giuseppe Verdi conjures images of Italians singing opera in the streets and bursting into song at political protests or when facing the firing squad. While many of the accompanying stories were exaggerated, or even invented, by later generations, Verdi's operas—along with those by Rossini, Donizetti, and Mercadante—did inspire Italians to imagine Italy as an independent and unified nation. Capturing what it was like to attend the opera or to join in the music at an aristocratic salon, Waiting for Verdi shows that the moral dilemmas, emotional reactions, and journalistic polemics sparked by these performances set new horizons for what Italians could think, feel, say, and write. Among the lessons taught by this music were that rules enforced by artistic tradition could be broken, that opera could jolt spectators into intense feeling even as it educated them, and that Italy could be in the vanguard of stylistic and technical innovation rather than clinging to the glories of centuries past. More practically, theatrical performances showed audiences that political change really was possible, making the newly engaged spectator in the opera house into an actor on the political stage.