Author: Stanley Wells File Type: mobi This concise, illustrated dictionary of Shakespeariana, compiled by one of the best-known authorities on his works, contains alphabetically arranged entries guiding the reader to a wealth of information on all aspects of Shakespeare in his own time and on his impact and influence on later ages. Stanley Wells provides clear entries on Shakespeares life and times, the sources and early publication of his works, their performance history on stage and screen, actors such as Edmund Kean and Kenneth Branagh, and writers especially associated with them, operas and other musical works deriving from them, theaters, editions, international Shakespeare organizations--in short, on all aspects of Shakespearean interest. The volume is complemented by a series of striking pronouncements about Shakespeare over the ages from Jane Austen to Bernard Levin, tables providing interesting facts about the plays, famous documents bearing Shakespeares signature, and a useful guide to further reading. **

Author: Rob Iliffe File Type: pdf After Sir Isaac Newton revealed his discovery that white light was compounded of more basic colored rays, he was hailed as a genius and became an instant international celebrity. An interdisciplinary enthusiast and intellectual giant in a number of disciplines, Newton published revolutionary, field-defining works that reached across the scientific spectrum, including the Principia Mathematica and Opticks. His renown opened doors for him throughout his career, ushering him into prestigious positions at Cambridge, the Royal Mint, and the Royal Society. And yet, alongside his public success, Newton harbored religious beliefs that set him at odds with law and society, and, if revealed, threatened not just his livelihood but his life. Religion and faith dominated much of Newtons life and work. His papers, never made available to the public, were filled with biblical speculation and timelines along with passages that excoriated the early Church fathers. Indeed, his radical theological leanings rendered him a heretic, according to the doctrines of the Anglican Church. Newton believed that the central concept of the Trinity was a diabolical fraud and loathed the idolatry, cruelty, and persecution that had come to define religion in his time. Instead, he proposed a simple Christianity--a faith that would center on a few core beliefs and celebrate diversity in religious thinking and practice. An utterly original but obsessively private religious thinker, Newton composed several of the most daring works of any writer of the early modern period, works which he and his inheritors suppressed and which have been largely inaccessible for centuries. In Priest of Nature, historian Rob Iliffe introduces readers to Newton the religious animal, deepening our understanding of the relationship between faith and science at a formative moment in history and thought. Previous scholars and biographers have generally underestimated the range and complexity of Newtons religious writings, but Iliffe shows how wide-ranging his observations and interests were, spanning the entirety of Christian history from Creation to the Apocalypse. Iliffes book allows readers to fully engage in the theological discussion that dominated Newtons age. A vibrant biography of one of historys towering scientific figures, Priest of Nature is the definitive work on the spiritual views of the man who fundamentally changed how we look at the universe. **