Best of
17th-Century

2001

City of Dreams: A Novel of Nieuw Amsterdam and Early Manhattan


Beverly Swerling - 2001
    Bound to each other by blood and necessity, they aim to make a fresh start in the rough and rowdy Dutch settlement of Nieuw Amsterdam; but soon lust, betrayal, and murder will make them mortal enemies. In their struggle to survive in the New World, Lucas and Sally make choices that will burden their descendants with a legacy of secrets and retribution, and create a heritage that sets cousin against cousin, physician against surgeon, and, ultimately, patriot against Tory. In what will be the greatest city in the New World, the fortunes of these two families are inextricably entwined by blood and fire in an unforgettable American saga of pride and ambition, love and hate, and the becoming of the dream that is New York City.

The Passion of Artemisia


Susan Vreeland - 2001
    From extraordinary highs - patronage by the Medicis, friendship with Galileo and, most importantly of all, beautiful and outstandingly original paintings - to rape by her father's colleague, torture by the Inquisition, life-long struggles for acceptance by the artistic Establishment, and betrayal by the men she loved, Artemisia was a bold and brilliant woman who lived as she wanted, and paid a high price.

Orazio and Artemisia Gentileschi


Keith Christiansen - 2001
    This beautiful book presents the work of these two painters, exploring the artistic development of each, comparing their achievements and showing how both were influenced by their times and the milieus in which they worked.

Battles of the Thirty Years War: From White Mountain to Nordlingen, 1618-1635


William P. Guthrie - 2001
    Each chapter deals with a particular battle, but Guthrie also examines wider questions of strategy, leadership, armaments, organization, logistics, and war finances. The main emphasis is on the unique character and aspects of the Thirty Years War, with attention to the evolution of warfare and weapons, the impact of this evolution on actual operations, and the replacement of the previously dominant tercio style of warfare by the nascent linear system.The Thirty Years War is considered within its own context, rather than merely as a poor relation to the linear or Napoleonic periods. The campaigns covered in this volume include the defeat of the Bohemian and German Protestants (1618-1623), the Danish War (1625-1629), the victories of the Swedes under Gustavus Adolphus (1630-1632), and the final defeat of the Swedes at Nordlingen in 1634. Guthrie also pays particular notice to the important battle of Breitenfeld. With the inclusion of many secondary theaters and minor actions, the whole of this work constitutes a complete military history of the German War.

The Tale of Genji: Legends and Paintings


Miyeko Murase - 2001
    The fifty-four images -- illustrating one chapter each -- date from the mid-seventeenth century and shimmer with uncommon beauty and delicacy.

Caravaggio


Stefano Zuffi - 2001
    This monograph explores Caravaggio's entire life and career by focusing on the most important of his works. Readers will learn about his innovated use of light and shadow, his physical and psychological realism, and his radical technique of omitting initial drawings and creating straight onto the canvas. Along the way readers will learn details of the artist's colorful, and often troubled life, as well as the important role he played in the evolution of Western painting. Overflowing with impeccably reproduced images, this book offers full-page spreads of masterpieces as well as highlights of smaller details-allowing the viewer to appreciate every aspect of the artist's technique and oeuvre. Chronologically arranged, the book coveres important biographical and historic events that reflect the latest scholarship. Additional information includes a list of works, timeline, and suggestions for further reading.

Merchants and Marvels: Commerce, Science, and Art in Early Modern Europe: Commerce and the Representation of Nature in Early Modern Europe


Pamela Smith - 2001
    Merchants and Marvels addresses how ideas about the representation of nature, in both art and science, underwent a profound transformation between the age of the Renaissance and the early 1700s.

The Genius of Puritanism


Peter H. Lewis - 2001
    As Lewis observes, the Puritans employed themselves in the “great business of godliness,” so as to bring a God-exalting and gospel-saturated approach to all things. They were indeed “physicians of the soul” who were strongly characterized by personal piety, sound doctrine, and the pursuit of a well–ordered church life.

I Dwell in Possibility: Women Build a Nation: 1600 to 1920


Donna M. Lucey - 2001
    During the Civil War, plantation mistress Adelicia H.F.A Cheatham outfoxed Union and Confederate soldiers alike to make a fortune cashing in her cotton crop in London. With a 40,000 dollar bounty on her head, Harriet Tubman led slaves to freedom. Molly Brown refused to sink. In I Dwell in Possibility, award-winning author Donna Lucey turns our attention to the pioneering, innovative, and brave ways that women influenced the building of America before they had the right to vote.Through diaries, letters, and rare photographs and art works, this book evokes the many struggles and indispensable contributions of women who forged the nation we know today. Ranging from the outrageous -- daring young woman smoke in the Gilded Age! -- to the heartstopping -- an African-American woman jumps to her death rather than face slavery -- Lucey masterfully reveals that women's contributions to the life of America did not begin only with the right to vote, but long before even the concept of such a right became the American ideal.Intimate, compelling, and richly illustrated, I Dwell in Possibility is a truly unique look at American history.

Montrose: Cavalier in Mourning


Ronald Williams - 2001
    This biography aims to show that he was constant in his beliefs and heroic in his principled moderation in spite of the historic evidence of his cruelty. It also examines his inspired leadership and military strategy in detail and illustrates his battles with maps and diagrams.

Dreaming the Future: The Fantastic Story of Prediction


Clifford A. Pickover - 2001
    In this fascinating book acclaimed author Clifford Pickover presents a nearly exhaustive list of fortune-telling techniques, from the ominous practice of human sacrifice to reading clues on the Internet.Pickover not only explores a vast and colorful array of methods of prediction--including dreaming--he also evaluates the accuracy of some of the most astonishing prophecies made throughout history. Just how accurate were such famous soothsayers as Nostradamus, the Delphic Oracle, Edgar Cayce, the children of Fatima (whose third vision has only recently been revealed), and dozens more?This book takes us one step further by exploring our own inner psyches: Why does looking into the future provide a source of solace in a world filled with uncertainty, disease, and chance? And why do the most noted prognosticators so often warn of natural catastrophes of biblical proportions, such as earthquakes and floods that will signal the end of the world?Through insight and wit, Pickover will unlock the door of your imagination with engrossing mysteries, intriguing illustrations, and even modern patents and computer techniques. Also included is a range of practical experiments and recipes--from Stone Age to New Age.Prepare yourself for a strange but captivating ride!

Ungrateful Daughters: The Stuart Princesses Who Stole Their Father's Crown


Maureen Waller - 2001
    James II's drive towards Catholicism had alienated the nation and his two staunchly Protestant daughters by his first marriage, Mary and Anne, the "ungrateful daughters," who eventually usurped their father's crown and stole their half-brother's birthright.Seven prominent men sent an invitation to William of Orange--James's nephew and son-in-law--to intervene in English affairs. But Mary and Anne also played a key role. Jealous and resentful of her hated stepmother, Anne had written a series of malicious letters to Mary in Holland, implying that the Queen's pregnancy was a hoax: a Catholic plot to deny Mary her rightful inheritance.Distraught from being betrayed by his own children, James fled the kingdom. And even as the crown descended on her head, Mary knew she had incurred a father's curse. The sisters quarreled to the day of Mary's death at age 32. Anne did nothing to earn her father's forgiveness, and she declared her brother an outlaw with a price on his head.Acclaimed historian Maureen Waller re-creates the late Stuart era in a compelling narrative that highlights the influence of the royal women on one of the most momentous events in English history. Prompted by religious bigotry and the emotions that beset every family relationship, this palace coup changed the face of the monarchy, and signaled the end of a dynasty.

Fabricating Women: The Seamstresses of Old Regime France, 1675-1791


Clare Haru Crowston - 2001
    In contrast with previous scholarship on women and gender in the early modern period, Clare Haru Crowston asserts that the rise of the absolute state, with its centralizing and unifying tendencies, could actually increase women’s economic, social, and legal opportunities and allow them to thrive in corporate organizations such as the guild. Yet Crowston also reveals paradoxical consequences of the guild’s success, such as how its growing membership and visibility ultimately fostered an essentialized femininity that was tied to fashion and appearances. Situating the seamstresses’ guild as both an economic and political institution, Crowston explores in particular its relationship with the all-male tailors’ guild, which had dominated the clothing fabrication trade in France until women challenged this monopoly during the seventeenth century. Combining archival evidence with visual images, technical literature, philosophical treatises, and fashion journals, she also investigates the techniques the seamstresses used to make and sell clothing, how the garments reflected and shaped modern conceptions of femininity, and guild officials’ interactions with royal and municipal authorities. Finally, by offering a revealing portrait of these women’s private lives—explaining, for instance, how many seamstresses went beyond traditional female boundaries by choosing to remain single and establish their own households—Crowston challenges existing ideas about women’s work and family in early modern Europe. Although clothing lay at the heart of French economic production, social distinction, and cultural identity, Fabricating Women is the first book to investigate this immense and archetypal female guild in depth. It will be welcomed by students and scholars of French and European history, women’s and labor history, fashion and technology, and early modern political economy.

Vermeer: A View of Delft


Anthony Bailey - 2001
    In 1653, the twenty-one-year-old son of an innkeeper, the artist Jan Vermeer, registered as a master painter with the city's Guild. Vermeer married well, had many children, and enjoyed a respectable local reputation as a painter until his death in 1675. But it was not until the mid-nineteenth century that his genius was widely appreciated. Today, Vermeer's thirty-five paintings are regarded as masterpieces.In Vermeer, Anthony Bailey presents a compelling portrait of Vermeer's life and character, long lost in history. Bailey re-creates the atmosphere of the times, introduces Vermeer's contemporaries, and portrays his domestic life in vibrant detail. Drawing on period documents and his own intense curiosity, Bailey sheds light on the science and artistry behind the glorious, almost mystical, paintings. Meticulously researched and elegantly written, Vermeer will stand as the classic work on Vermeer for years to come.

Triple Alliance


Nigel Tranter - 2001
    His textile enterprise grew and achieved nationwide importance, but it also produced dramatic consequences and unforeseen developments for him and his partners.

Making Ireland British, 1580 - 1650


Nicholas Canny - 2001
    It examines the arguments advanced by successive political figures for a plantation policy, and the responses that this policy elicited from different segments of the population in Ireland.

Genius of Rome 1592-1623


Beverly Louise Brown - 2001
    Four artists -- Caravaggio, Annibale Carracci, Rubens, and Adam Elsheimer -- played central roles in the creation of a revolutionary style of painting. The Genius of Rome 1592-1623 showcases the achievements of these masters, who gave birth to the Baroque style of painting.The Baroque style imbued religious works with invigorating realism and breathed life into portraiture and landscape painting. This landmark volume, featuring 300 magnificent colorplates, includes essays by leading scholars that explore the movement's dominant themes. Published to accompany an important exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, The Genius of Rome 1592-1623 brings this art event to a broad audience.

The Majesty of Spain: Royal Collections from The Museo del Prado & The Patrimonio Nacional


The Mississippi Arts Pavilion - 2001
    

The Putney Debates of 1647: The Army, the Levellers, and the English State


Michael MendleFrances Henderson - 2001
    Would there be a king and lords, or not? Would suffrage be limited to property holders? Would democratic changes lead to anarchy? Three generations of scholars examine the debates in their multiple contexts: the Putney debates themselves, the nature and history of the actual text that has come down to us, the immediate concerns of the Army, the role of Leveller and other democratic ideas, the wider ramifications for politics and gender of the issues underlying Putney, and the place of the debates and the Levellers in 19th- and 20th-century historical consciousness.Though frequently anthologized and widely read, the debates receive here their first sustained and varied scrutiny, resulting in a much richer appreciation of the very words reported to have been spoken by Oliver Cromwell, Henry Ireton, Thomas Rainborough, and the others, during those three tense and exhilarating days.