Renaissance

An irreverent new take on the Renaissance, which reveals it as anything but Europe’s golden age.

The Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Will in the World reveals the daring and subversive life of Christopher Marlowe―Shakespeare’s contemporary, inspiration, and rival.

A lively and fascinating narrative history about the birth of the modern world....

Greenblatt transports listeners to the dawn of the Renaissance and chronicles the life of an intrepid book lover who rescued a crucial Roman philosophical text from certain oblivion....

Galileo Galilei was the foremost scientist of his day. Though he never left Italy, his inventions and discoveries were heralded around the world. His telescopes allowed him to reveal the heavens and enforce the astounding argument that the earth moves around the sun. For this belief, he was...

From tales of chivalrous knights to the barbarity of trial by ordeal, no era has been a greater source of awe, horror, and wonder than the Middle Ages....

The creator of the hit podcast series Tides of History and Fall of Rome explores the four explosive decades between 1490 and 1530, bringing to life the dramatic and deeply human story of how the West was reborn. In the bestselling tradition of The Swerve and A Distant Mirror, The Verge tells the...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The award-winning author of The Memphis Murders presents “a rich and vibrant tapestry” (The Star-Ledger) of the fabled Tudor dynasty—and some of the most enigmatic figures to ever rule a country. “A thoroughly readable and often compelling narrative...

Empires of the Sea tells the story of the 50-year world war between Islam and Christianity for the Mediterranean....

On the heels of her triumphant How to Be a Victorian, Ruth Goodman travels even further back in English history to the era closest to her heart, the dramatic period from the crowning of Henry VII....

This enthralling book charts the family's huge influence on the political, economic and cultural history of Florence. Beginning in the early 1430s with the rise of the dynasty....

The rise and fall of the Venetian empire stands unrivaled for drama, intrigue, and sheer opulent majesty....

Following the intertwined stories of Catherine de’ Medici, Elisabeth de Valois, and Mary Queen of Scots from girlhood through young adulthood, Young Queens paints a picture of a world in which a woman could wield power at the highest level yet remain at the mercy of the state....

An unprecedented portrait of the Renaissance-era Borgia family and their storied milieu, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Tudors “A vivid and at times startling reappraisal of one of the most notorious dynasties in history . . . If you thought you knew the Borgias, this book...

Set in the court of Urbino in 1507, Castiglione’s The Book of the Courtier presents an invaluable look at court life and culture during the Renaissance. Over four nights of dialogue, the book explores the key question, ‘What should a courtier be like?’ Listen for more....

The Renaissance in Florence conjures images of beautiful frescoes and elegant buildings - the handiwork of the city's artists and architects. But equally important were geniuses of a different sort: Florence's manuscript hunters, scribes, scholars, and booksellers....

What accounts for Shakespeare’s transformation from talented poet and playwright to one of the greatest writers who ever lived? In this gripping account, James Shapiro sets out to answer this question, ""succeed[ing] where others have fallen short."" (Boston Globe) 1599 was an epochal year for...

The brilliance of the Renaissance laid the foundation of the modern world. Textbooks tell us that it came about as a result of a rediscovery of the ideas and ideals of classical Greece and Rome. But now bestselling historian Gavin Menzies makes the startling argument that in the year 1434...

The Borgia family have become a byword for evil. Corruption, incest, ruthless megalomania, avarice, and vicious cruelty - all have been associated with their name. And yet, paradoxically, this family lived when the Renaissance was coming into its full flowering in Italy....

The riveting true story of mother-and-daughter queens Catherine de' Medici and Marguerite de Valois, whose wildly divergent personalities and turbulent relationship changed the shape of their tempestuous and dangerous century. Set in magnificent Renaissance France, this is the story of two...

The Tudor period conjures up images of queens and noblewomen in elaborate court dress, of palace intrigue and dramatic politics....

A Waterstones Best History Book 2025 A BBC History Magazine Book of the Year 2025 ‘Learned, entertaining and highly approachable’ BOB MORTIMER ‘A treat’ ALICE LOXTON ‘Five stars from me…’ AL MURRAY An unmissable collaboration between two comedy legends – an irresistible...

Before Amsterdam, there was a dazzling North Sea port at the hub of the known world: the city of Antwerp. In the Age of Exploration, Antwerp was somewhere anything could happen or at least be believed. And it was a place of change....

An original, illuminating history of the northern European Renaissance in art, science, and philosophy, which often rivaled its Italian counterpart.

The Republic of Venice and Republic of Genoa: The History of the Italian Rivals and Their Mediterranean Empires looks at the origins of the cities, their rise to power across the Mediterranean, and their inevitable demises....