{"title":"Elizabeth Drayson","description":"\u003cp\u003eElizabeth Drayson’s works offer a compelling blend of \u003cstrong\u003ehistory and travel\u003c\/strong\u003e, transporting readers to richly detailed worlds shaped by both past events and the landscapes they unfold within. Her narratives invite exploration of cultural intersections and moments of transformation, making her books a thoughtful choice for those interested in \u003cem\u003ehistorical insight paired with adventure\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFrom vigorous historical examinations to evocative journeys across time and place, Drayson’s storytelling is marked by meticulous research and vivid prose. Readers can expect immersive tales that illuminate forgotten histories and distant realms, crafted with a keen eye for detail and a deep appreciation for the stories that travel reveals.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"crucible-of-light-by-elizabeth-drayson-9781035008605","title":"Crucible of Light","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eCrucible of Light\u003c\/em\u003e, Elizabeth Drayson pulls together the epic interwoven history of the Muslim and Christian worlds over an 800-year span. This journey encompasses the conquest and re-conquest of Spain, the meteoric rise of Arabo-Norman Sicily, the Ottoman renaissance of the 16th to 18th centuries, the ebb and flow of Balkan history, and the fate of contested islands like Cyprus and Malta, each with their very different outcomes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFocusing on major turning points, individual stories, and key places—from Mecca to Cordoba, from Damascus to Venice, and from Vienna to Istanbul—Drayson tracks the themes that unite us. These include classical learning preserved in Islamic libraries, the enduring influence of Moorish architecture and design, the food we share, the goods we have traded, and the continuing discourse between individuals and cultures that has permeated Europe's history and shaped its borders.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDrayson also explores the growing dialogue between Muslims and Christians across Europe today, a dialogue prefigured in the history of medieval and early modern Europe, where harmony and enlightenment rise above perennial conflicts. These ideas challenge the way contemporary European identity is defined and point to the vital impact of Islamic civilisation upon the continent.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSurprisingly few people are aware of how much Europe owes to its Islamic heritage except via pockets of tourism, and this book aims to correct that while exploring the endless complexities that this vexed relationship throws up. At a time when Islam is so narrowly identified with terrorism and migration in Europe, it is a necessary corrective.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Macmillan Publishers New Zealand Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46760387969260,"sku":"9781035008605","price":44.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/8b7aea3892844623b8c474ebf199efa6.jpg?v=1756249219"},{"product_id":"crucible-of-light-by-elizabeth-drayson-9781035008599","title":"Crucible of Light","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRethinking the history of the last thirteen centuries, in \u003cem\u003eCrucible of Light\u003c\/em\u003e, Elizabeth Drayson pulls together the epic interwoven history of the Muslim and Christian worlds.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFocusing on major turning points, individual stories and key places, from Mecca to Cordoba, from Damascus to Venice, and from Vienna to Istanbul, Drayson tracks the themes that unite us—classical learning preserved in Islamic libraries, the enduring influence of Moorish architecture and design, the food we share, the goods we have traded and the continuing dialogue between individuals and cultures that has permeated Europe's history and shaped its borders.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt is a history that sweeps across cities and continents, from Spanish patios and palaces to Ottoman-inspired coffee houses in 17th century London, to the Mezquita in Cordoba, once a mosque, now a cathedral, the physical embodiment of the ongoing discourse that continues to shape European identity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Macmillan Publishers New Zealand Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46760397537516,"sku":"9781035008599","price":80.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/8b7aea3892844623b8c474ebf199efa6_4e607a65-15e1-4c33-987d-ff49780118ef.jpg?v=1756249223"},{"product_id":"lost-paradise-by-elizabeth-drayson-9781788547420","title":"Lost Paradise","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe essential history of an iconic European city, by Cambridge academic Elizabeth Drayson.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e“An admirable achievement... [Drayson has] expertise as a scholar and command as a storyteller”\u003c\/em\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eBBC History Magazine\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e“A glittering homage to one of the world's most beautiful and storied cities”\u003c\/em\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eDan Jones\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e“Beauty built on blood and brutality... A fascinating new tome”\u003c\/em\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eDaily Mail\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the early Middle Ages to the present, foreign travellers have been bewitched by Granada's peerless beauty. The Andalusian city is also the stuff of story and legend, with an unforgettable history to match. Romans, then Visigoths, settled here, as did a community of Jews; in the eleventh century a Berber chief made Granada his capital, and from 1230 until 1492, the Nasrids—Spain's last Islamic dynasty—ruled the emirate of Granada from their fortress-palace of the Alhambra. After capturing the city to complete the Christian Reconquista, the Catholic monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella made the Alhambra the site of their royal court.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eLost Paradise\u003c\/em\u003e, Elizabeth Drayson takes the reader on a voyage of discovery that uncovers the many-layered past of Spain's most complex and fascinating city, celebrating and exploring its evolving identity. Her account brings to the fore the image of Granada as a lost paradise, revealing it as a place of perpetual contradiction and linking it to the great dilemma over Spain's true identity as a nation. This is the story of a vanished Eden, of a place that questions and probes Spain's deep obsession with forgetting, and with erasing historical and cultural memory.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47486735810796,"sku":"9781788547420","price":59.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/cdd74cc2c1d6a80a4b0c30b4e8936ce0.jpg?v=1775788615"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/collections\/elizabeth-drayson.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}