Royalty & Religion Biographies

Diana, Princess of Wales was admired throughout the world for her vitality, determination and beauty. When she first came on the royal scene, she brought a new dimension to the Royal Family and was soon regarded as one of the most glamorous women in the world. Yet she remained very much her own person: tough but touchingly vulnerable, self-willed but...

No modern, well-versed literature lover can call her education complete without having read Augustine's Confessions. One of the most original works of world literature, it is the first autobiography ever written, influencing writers from Montaigne to Rousseau, Virginia Woolf to Gertrude Stein—and most recently informing Stephen Greenblatt's provocative thesis about one of our foundational mythologies in The Rise and Fall...

An openhearted testament to the power of religious belief in a chaotic world. Publishers Weekly From a beloved pastor, a collection of powerful conversations on faith and meaning with twelve public figures who explore the impact of faith in their lives and their success. Through interviews with twelve remarkable and renowned individuals from various Christian denominations, author Russell J. Levenson,...

When Marilyn Sewell retired after seventeen years as senior minister of one of the nation’s largest Unitarian Universalist churches, she expected to excel at this next chapter as she had in every other. Instead, nothing prepared her for the emptiness, loneliness, lack of purpose, and the loss of the community that she experienced when she hung up her robe, turned...

An unprecedented exploration of contemporary Tibet, one of the world's most inaccessible places, geographically and politically, and one of its most misunderstood. A gripping portrait of contemporary Tibet, from the bestselling author of Nothing to Envy. In the 1930s, Mao's Red Army fled to the Tibetan plateau to escape their adversaries in the Chinese Civil War. By the time the...

This beautiful gift book contains 365 gems narrated by the beloved of our beloved Prophet. These narrations offer a wonderful insight into the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad by his closest companion and partner. A Year with A'ishah (RA) by Abdur Raheem Kidwai is a treasure trove of wisdom and a perfect companion for those seeking guidance and inspiration from...

The legacy of the greatest teacher the world has known, the greatest man to ever walk the Earth, the Messenger of Allah, is attested to by the greatness of his students: the Companions. None more so than his four successors, the four men famed as the Rightly Guided Caliphs. The Blessed Prophet's words and deeds have reached us from across...

The definitive portrait of Kate Middleton, the beloved and private Princess of Wales, tracing her stunning rise from working-class roots to queen-in-waiting, from #1 New York Times bestselling royal biographer Christopher Andersen. Kate! is one of the most photographed, most talked about, and most written about women in the world—heiress to Princess Diana’s glamour and mystique, both wife of one...

The Buddha as man, animal, and god on the path to enlightenment. According to ancient traditions, it takes countless lifetimes to become a Buddha. The Buddha's own path to complete awakening was chronicled in five hundred and forty-seven stories known as the jātakas, which underwent numerous adaptations in the centuries after the Buddha's lifetime. In the fifth or sixth century...

The life, dramatic reign, and enduring legacy of the pharaoh Ramesses the Great, with lessons for the present, from internationally acclaimed Egyptologist Toby Wilkinson. "The author succeeds in bringing this distant age to life through telling detail and insightful analysis. . . . Whenever he can, the author takes advantage of opportunities to peer beneath the mask."—The Economist Ramesses the...

To find out why Pope Francis is making Oscar Romero a saint, read the words that cost him his life. "A church that does not provoke crisis, a gospel that does not disturb, a word of God that does not touch the concrete sin of the society in which it is being proclaimed - what kind of gospel is that?"...

"A landmark. If you have time to read only one book on the Bible this year, make sure that it is this one." - Katherine J. Dell, Church Times "Excellent. With a sure touch, the authors lead the reader through the geopolitical context of the Hebrew Bible and the setting and background of the New Testament, finding something to say...

The life of Father Joseph, Cardinal Richelieu's aide, was a monstrous paradox. After spending his days directing operations on the battlefield, Father Joseph would pass the night in prayer, or in composing spiritual guidance for the nuns in his care. He was an aspirant to sainthood, a practising mystic, yet his ruthless exercise of power succeeded in prolonging the Thirty...

For twenty years, Lucy Worsley had what she calls 'The best job in the world': Chief Curator at Hampton Court, the Tower of London and Kensington Palace, 'leading the presentation, appearance, development and appropriate use of the palaces including their contents and grounds'. Now, in her most personal book yet, Queens and Kings, she takes us behind those palace walls...

A cross between Glennon Doyle's Love Warrior and the classic Yogananda Paramahansa's Autobiography of a Yogi, This Incredible Longing: Finding My Self in a Near-Cult Experience is a memoir about devotion, discernment, and the complicated beauty of spiritual seeking. Blair Glaser thoughtfully stepped onto a path promising peace and purpose when she found Siddha Yoga, a movement led by a...

Ed and Lorraine Warren are considered America's foremost experts on demonology and exorcism. With thousands of investigations to their credit, they reveal what actually breaks the peace in haunted houses and how it can happen to you. Don't miss the Warrens in the blockbuster film The Conjuring. In The Demonologist, the Warrens discuss many of their cases including Annabelle and...

Complete edition of the Story of a Soul by Saint Therese of Lisieux, translated by Thomas Taylor. This edition includes over 288 footnotes and many additional letters, counsels, and prayers, creating a study edition for readers to better understand St. Therese's 'little way' to deepening a relationship with God. Read with an open heart, this book is helpful to read...

He never said a word that was quoted in Sacred Scripture and, to the best of our knowledge, never made any attempt to draw attention to himself. If salvation history was "downstage centre", he lurked somewhere in the wings backstage. Yet St. Joseph, in his quiet, silent, humble way, has proven himself to be one of the most important men...

Cleopatra is one of the most famous women in all of history. She ruled Egypt at a time when Rome was expanding its empire and the land of the pharaohs, with its wealth and strategic location was an attractive target for annexation. Although the Roman empire eventually took possession of Egypt, ending Cleopatra’s rule and Egypt’s status as an independent...

A deep look at the impact of Christian scripture on Bartolomé de las Casas, one of the first and strongest critics against Spanish colonialism of the New World and for Indigenous rights. Theologian, activist, reformer, political philosopher, historian and anthropologist Bartolomé de las Casas, OP (1484-1566) was a polarising figure in his own time and continues to provoke debate today....

THE EXPLOSIVE NEW ROYAL BIOGRAPHY FROM THE NO.1 BESTSELLING INVESTIGATIVE BIOGRAPHER, TOM BOWER 'Tom Bower is the Inspector Morse of investigative biographers, a fluent, phlegmatic story-teller and a master of intricacies.' Sunday Times The British Crown is in crisis, with constitutional threats at home and abroad. At a landmark moment in royal history, can King Charles overcome the scandals that...

‘A towering achievement’ MERVE EMRE NYT Best New Books of 2026 A majestic cultural and environmental history that reveals how forests have made – and resisted – Russia’s many empires. From the Baltic to the Pacific, from the Arctic to the Steppes of Central Asia, Russia’s forests account for nearly one-fifth of the world’s wooded lands. The Oak and the...

A spellbinding work of history that uncovers the inner lives and work of Maria of Modena and her ‘graces’, the extraordinary women who practised art, poetry, and politics within the misogyny of the Restoration court. In 1673, fifteen-year-old Maria d’Este travelled from Italy to marry James, Duke of York, the future King of England and a man twenty-five years her...

The definitive biography of the founder of the Shaker movement, whose remarkable life is the subject of a new film, The Testament of Ann Lee. This acclaimed, accessible, and thoroughly researched biography documents the life of Ann Lee, a controversial religious leader and early feminist figure. Lee established the Shaker movement in 1770 in Manchester, England. The core principles of...

Encouragement for extraordinary faith in an ordinary world Faithful Then, Faithful Now explores timeless stories of faith from the Bible and their relevance for your life today. With forty profiles, from grieving mothers to bold leaders, this devotional reveals the wide array of people who placed their faith in God and found confidence, purpose, and grace. Each reading offers inspiration...

A Topic-by-Topic Look at Tim Keller's Best Teaching on Christian Living Pastor and author Timothy Keller (1950–2023) built a lasting legacy in Christian ministry, planting Redeemer Presbyterian Church and cofounding the Gospel Coalition. With sharp biblical insight that has shaped countless church leaders, along with counsel on the Christian life that has stirred and strengthened audiences worldwide, Keller’s teaching promises...

What really makes the British royal family tick? It's a question that royal watchers have pondered for as long as there has been a royal family. And the answer?Well, surprisingly, it's not the royal family's devotion to duty, it's not their wealth or their status, it's not even their popularity (or notoriety!). No, what really makes the royal family tick...

A stunning new story of Queen Victoria's secret love for her servant John Brown, by the acclaimed historian Fern Riddell. 'Weep with me for we all have lost the best, the truest heart that ever beat!' From the moment John Brown arrived as a servant to Queen Victoria's household, he became known across the land as her loyal companion, her...

'What a wonderful book!  The storytelling, the research, the deep love of her subject -- this must be the climax of Rappaport's long and illustrious career' Lucy Worsley   To Queen Victoria she was Aunt Julie; to Catherine the Great she was Grand Duchess Anna Feodorovna, granddaughter-in-law. This is the story of Princess Juliane-Henriette-Ulrike of Saxe-Coburg, the Rebel Romanov.  Born in 1781...

A masterful translation of Suetonius' renowned biographies of the twelve Caesars, by the award-winning historian and The Rest Is History podcaster Tom Holland The ancient Roman empire was the supreme arena, and to rule as a Caesar was to stand as an actor upon the great stage of the world. No biographies invite us into the lives of the Caesars...

Tender, moving, heartfelt and warm (and sporadically scandalous and outrageous too), these are the private messages between people in love. Yet, they are also correspondence between the rulers of nations.From Henry VIII's lovelorn notes to Anne Boleyn and George IV's impassioned notes to his secret wife, to Queen Victoria's tender letters to Prince Albert and Edward VIII's extraordinary correspondence with...

Liberté, égalité, sororité! French women have always had so much more to say than ‘let them eat cake’! Whether kicking the English out of Orléans, marching on Versailles, or running messages for the French resistance, their stories of courage, creativity, and genius have long defined French history. Unveiling the lives of twenty-one women who changed the course of French history,...

A thrilling exploration of what Romans thought about their emperors, and how rumours and gossip—ranging from new taxes to rulers' sex lives—shaped leadership. Traversing more than seven hundred years of Roman history, Behind Caesar's Back explores how everyday Romans swapped gossip, spread rumours, told jokes, and chanted protests about their emperors—activity that amounted to much more than idle chatter. Caillan...

The first 45 years of Walter Dexter’s life read like adventure fiction. What credible author would have dreamt up the improbability of a merchant mariner who wins decorations for bravery as a horseman in the army, then returns to sea to win awards for civilian bravery, before quitting it all to become a mere clergyman, then winning more medals for...

"It is not so much great faith that we need, but faith in a great God." At the age of 21, Hudson Taylor ventured on a dangerous sea voyage to take the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the people of China. Why would a young man give up a promising future to venture into an alien country, let alone one...

On the morning of November 4, 2019, an unassuming caravan of women and children was ambushed by masked gunmen on a desolate stretch of road in northern Mexico controlled by the Sinaloa drug cartel. Firing semi-automatic weapons, the attackers killed nine people and gravely injured five more. The victims were members of the LeBaron and La Mora communities—fundamentalist Mormons whose...

A vast archive of documents, unread since the sixteenth century, revises the portrait of Philip II, Spain’s best-known king. "A superbly informed narrative of Philip II’s long career as Europe’s most powerful king."—Henry Kamen, Little Reviews "This authoritative, intelligently revisionist biography must stand now as the primary reference."—Iain Finlayson, The Times Philip II (1527-1598) is not only the most famous...

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER THE TIMES and SUNDAY TIMES BEST MEMOIR OF 2024 … 'GENIUS' A BOOK OF THE YEAR for the SPECTATOR, MAIL ON SUNDAY, NEW STATESMAN, FINANCIAL TIMES, INDEPENDENT, TELEGRAPH, SUNDAY EXPRESS and THE TABLET. From one of the funniest writers of our time, the award-winning author of One Two Three Four and Ma'am Darling turns his attention...

An award-winning historian reconstructs the life of Francis of Assisi, uncovering the man behind the myths "Refreshing. . . . Complex, multilayered, and ambitious."—Costica Bradatan, Times Literary Supplement One of the most famous figures in Christian history, Francis of Assisi (1181/82–1226) was revered as a miracle worker during his life and quickly canonized after his death. He has inspired generations...

This title shares the profound lessons of courage and compassion that made Pope Leo XIV the person he is today. This book celebrates Pope Leo XIV, who was the first American to be elected as the head of the Catholic Church. Exploring his experience of faith as a child, his missionary work in Peru, and his election as Pope, learn...

In the wake of the French Revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of France, and Pope Pius VII shared a common goal: to reconcile the church with the state. But while they were able to work together initially, formalizing an agreement in 1801, relations between them rapidly deteriorated. In 1809, Napoleon ordered the Pope’s arrest. Ambrogio Caiani provides a pioneering account...

A lively new biography of Tutankhamun—published for the hundredth anniversary of his tomb’s modern discovery The discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922 sparked imaginations across the globe. While Howard Carter emptied its treasures, Tut-mania gripped the world—and in many ways, never left. But who was the “boy king,” and what was his life really like? Garry J. Shaw tells the...

A life of Matilda—empress, skilled military leader, and one of the greatest figures of the English Middle Ages Matilda will attract a growing audience interested in stories of women challenging the male-dominated European past.”—Alexandra Locking, Medieval Review “A lively and authoritative account.”—Katherine Harvey, Times Literary Supplement Matilda was a daughter, wife, and mother. But she was also empress, heir to...

An illuminating biography reconstructing the life and legacy of a unique king in world history and the most famous emperor in South Asian history. There are few historical figures more integral to South Asian history than Emperor Ashoka, a third-century BCE king who ruled over a larger area of the Indian subcontinent than anyone else before British colonial rule. Ashoka...

Millicent Fawcett once described Josephine Butler as 'the most distinguished English woman of the nineteenth century'. Among the first feminist activists, Butler raised public awareness of the plight of destitute women, worked to address human trafficking, and led a vigorous campaign to secure equal rights for women before the law. In her pursuit of justice, Butler did as much for...

This book explores the turbulent life and violent death of Thomas Becket, one of the most controversial figures of the Middle Ages. From a London merchant's son to royal chancellor and archbishop of Canterbury, Becket's murder in Canterbury Cathedral elevated him to England's most celebrated saint. Michael Staunton looks at Becket's complex and contested legacy, drawing from his own words...

Ascent of the Thunder Dragon by Sasha Wakefield intertwines the life and legacy of Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal (1594-1651) with her own personal spiritual journey as she explores Bhutan's rich history. The seventeenth century was a pivotal time for the tiny but culturally vibrant kingdom of Bhutan, marked especially by the life of the influential political and spiritual leader Zhabdrung Ngawang...

Redeeming Eden stands out by highlighting the often overlooked but significant role of women in shaping redemptive history. It weaves together a cohesive narrative that demonstrates how women, despite being frequently undervalued in Ancient Near Eastern cultures, courageously initiate and advance key movements in Scripture. From Eve, who anticipates God's redemption, to Tamar, whose boldness transforms Judah, Rahab, who saves...

A Spectator Best Book of the Year Trawling through a vast family archive and arcane sources in half a dozen languages, Adam Zamoyski has revealed the dramatic life of his great-great-great-grandmother, an uneducated, vulnerable girl cast into a man’s world. Her aristocratic position enmeshed her in high politics and close encounters with Frederick the Great, Benjamin Franklin, Rousseau, Joseph II,...

The collaboration between a future pope and a young prelate is transformed into profound friendship when circumstances thrust Joseph Ratzinger into the Apostolic Palace, even as he expected to be released in retirement to his beloved Bavaria. Monsignor Georg Gänswein never left his side and witnessed one of the most influential people of this century conduct his papacy on both...

Thomas Cranmer, the architect of the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, was the archbishop of Canterbury who guided England through the early Reformation and Henry VIII through the minefields of divorce. This is the first major biography of him for more than three decades, and the first for a century to exploit rich new manuscript sources in Britain and elsewhere....

An illuminating introduction to the elusive Thomas Aquinas—the man and the saint "A marvellous introduction to the thought of the most daring and most important thinker of the Christian Middle Ages. . . . The best single-volume introduction to St. Thomas."—Eamon Duffy, The Tablet "Rich, provocative and sophisticated, a work of both passion and serious scholarship. It is a triumph."—Jonathan...

In his first major work since The Universal Christ, one of our most prominent spiritual voices offers a wholehearted and hope-filled model for living today, grounded in the timeless words of the Hebrew prophets. How do we live compassionately in a time of violence and despair? What can we do with our private disappointments and the anger we feel over...

The life and legacy of one of Mohammad’s closest confidants and Islam’s patron saint: Ali ibn Abi Talib The Prophet's Heir is praised by Reza Aslan, author of Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth, as “The best biography of Ali I’ve ever read.” Dr. Akbar Ahmed of AlBilad also notes, “For Muslims, this book is a must,...

The first full-scale history of Theoderic and the Goths in more than seventy-five years, tracing the transformation of a divided kingdom into a great power In the year 493, the leader of a vast confederation of Gothic warriors, their wives, and children personally cut down Odoacer, the man famous for deposing the last Roman emperor in 476. That leader became...

The first full-scale history of Theoderic and the Goths in more than seventy-five years, tracing the transformation of a divided kingdom into a great power. "A monumental exploration... It is the most important treatment of its subject since Wilhelm Ensslin's 1947 biography, and since Mr. Wiemer's book (here in John Noël Dillon's fluid English translation) surpasses its predecessor in breadth...

Long overlooked by scholars, this seventh-century The Life of the Virgin, attributed to Maximus the Confessor, is the earliest complete Marian biography. Originally written in Greek and now surviving only in Old Georgian, it is now translated for the first time into English. It is a work that holds profound significance for understanding the history of late ancient and medieval...

Today the Byzantine mystic, writer, and monastic leader Symeon the New Theologian (ca. 949 to 1022 CE) is considered a saint by the Orthodox Church and revered as one of its most influential spiritual thinkers. But in his own time, a cloud of controversy surrounded him, and the suspicion of heresy tainted his reputation long afterward. The Life was written...

An authoritative new Greek edition and English translation of the life of a notable Byzantine monastic leader. Saint Peter of Atroa (773–837 CE) was a Byzantine monastic leader, remembered primarily as cofounder and abbot of the influential monastery of Saint Zachariah at Atroa, below the holy mountain of Olympos in Bithynia. Peter sought to live in tranquility and solitude, travelling...

Thailand’s Bhumibol Adulyadej, the only king ever born in the United States, came to the throne of his country in 1946 and, at the time of his death in October 2016, was the world’s longest-serving monarch. Now available in paperback with a new preface by author Paul Handley, The King Never Smiles is the first independent biography of Thailand’s monarch....

The dramatic story of a pivotal figure in the Haitian Revolution, who shook the Atlantic world to its core Born to an enslaved mother in Grenada, Henry Christophe first fought to overthrow the British in North America, before joining the Black freedom fighters of Saint-Domingue in their quest to gain independence from France. But, at one point, Christophe turned his...

An engrossing biography of one of the most influential filmmakers in cinematic history "A cool, cerebral book about a cool, cerebral talent... A brisk study of [Kubrick's] films, with enough of the life tucked in to add context as well as brightness and bite.”—Dwight Garner, New York Times "An engaging and well-researched primer to the work of a cinematic legend."—Library...

From the prizewinning Jewish Lives series, a meditation on the deeply Jewish and surprisingly spiritual roots of Stan Lee and Marvel Comics. Few artists have had as much of an impact on American popular culture as Stan Lee. The characters he created—Spider-Man and Iron Man, the X-Men and the Fantastic Four—occupy Hollywood’s imagination and production schedules, generate billions at the...

An "excellent new biography" (Keith Thomas, New York Review of Books) of the wily and formidable prince who unexpectedly became monarch—the most infamous king in British history. “An intricately detailed account of Richard’s every recorded move on his journey from younger son of the powerful Duke of York to the last of England’s mediaeval monarchs.”—Mark Jones, Albion Magazine The reign...

The life, dramatic reign, and enduring legacy of the pharaoh Ramesses the Great, with lessons for the present, from internationally acclaimed Egyptologist Toby Wilkinson Ramesses II ruled the Nile Valley and the wider Egyptian empire from 1279 to 1213 B.C., one of the longest reigns in pharaonic history. He was a cultural innovator, a relentless self-promoter, and an astute diplomat—the...

An unprecedented portrait of Moses's inner world and perplexing character, by a distinguished biblical scholar No figure looms larger in Jewish culture than Moses, and few have stories more enigmatic. Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg, acclaimed for her many books on Jewish thought, turns her attention to Moses in this remarkably rich, evocative book. Drawing on a broad range of sources—literary as...

The life and thought of Menachem Mendel Schneerson, one of the most influential—and controversial—rabbis in modern Judaism Accessible, informed, and balanced. . . . The author manages to tread on fragile ground with aplomb. . . . An exceptional tool for understanding. —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) The Chabad-Lubavitch movement, one of the world's best-known Hasidic groups, is driven by the...

A spirited dive into the life and career of a performer, writer, and director who dominated twentieth-century American comedy Mel Brooks, born Melvin Kaminsky in Brooklyn in 1926, is one of the great comic voices of the twentieth century. Having won almost every entertainment award there is, Brooks has straddled the line between outsider and insider, obedient and rebellious, throughout...

For centuries, readers have comfortably accepted Julian of Norwich as simply a mystic. In this astute book, Denys Turner offers a new interpretation of Julian and the significance of her work. Turner argues that this fourteenth-century thinker's sophisticated approach to theological questions places her legitimately within the pantheon of other great medieval theologians, including Thomas Aquinas, Bernard of Clairvaux, and...

A finalist for the 2003 National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography and winner of the 2004 Bancroft Prize and the American Society of Church History's Philip Schaff Prize. "The finest biography of this towering figure. . . . Marsden guides readers through Edwards’s profoundly alien world with authority and fluidity."—Benjamin Schwarz, Atlantic Monthly A controversial theologian and the author...

The definitive biography of Ivan the Terrible, setting the Tsar's infamous cruelty within the context of 16th-century Russia. "[A] magnificent biography . . . illuminated by the wisdom gained by its author from a lifetime of learning and reflection about the place of Russia in the wider world." — Orlando Figes, New York Review of Books "Likely to become the...

More than just a single-minded warrior-king, Henry V comes to life in this fresh account as a gifted ruler acutely conscious of spiritual matters and his subjects’ welfare Shakespeare’s centuries-old portrayal of Henry V established the king’s reputation as a warmongering monarch, a perception that has persisted ever since. But in this engaging study, a different view of Henry emerges:...

This first modern study of Henry the Young King, 1155-1183, eldest son of Henry II but the least known Plantagenet monarch, explores the brief but eventful life of the only English ruler after the Norman Conquest to be created co-ruler in his father’s lifetime. Crowned at fifteen to secure an undisputed succession, Henry played a central role in the politics...

The first in a ground-breaking two-volume history of Henry III’s rule. “Professor Carpenter is one of Britain’s foremost medievalists…No one knows more about Henry, and a lifetime of scholarship is here poured out, elegantly and often humorously. This is a fine, judicious, illuminating work that should be the standard study of the reign for generations to come.”—Dan Jones, The Sunday...

Heinrich Heine by George Prochnik is a rich, provocative, and lyrical study of one of Germany’s most important, world-famous, and imaginative writers. "A concise, fast-paced biography of the German poet, critic, and essayist. . . . A discerning portrait of the writer and his times." –Kirkus Reviews "Prochnik provides a jaunty narrative of Heine’s schooldays in Bonn and Göttingen, journalistic...

The oldest extant Marathi work, a medieval chronicle of Chakradhar's divine life on earth, in a new English translation. God at Play, or Līḷācaritra, is a remarkable biography of the medieval religious figure Chakradhar Svami. His followers, called Mahanubhavs, understand him to be a divine incarnation of Parameshvar. Mhaimbhat, a Brahmin goldsmith who became one of Chakradhar's most important followers,...

A highly original and engaging appraisal of Kafka’s life, work, legacy, and thought Franz Kafka was the poet of his own disorder. Throughout his life, he struggled with a pervasive sense of shame and guilt that left traces in his daily existence—in his many letters, in his extensive diaries, and especially in his fiction. This stimulating book investigates some of...

Epiphanius, Bishop of Constantia on Cyprus from 367 to 403 CE, was incredibly influential in the last decades of the fourth century. Whereas his major surviving text—the Panarion, an encyclopedia of heresies—is studied for lost sources, Epiphanius himself is often dismissed as an anti-intellectual eccentric, a marginal figure of late antiquity. In this book, Andrew S. Jacobs moves Epiphanius from...

Four centuries ago, a Muslim woman ruled an empire. Nur Jahan, daughter of a Persian noble and widow of a subversive official, became the twentieth and most cherished wife of the Emperor Jahangir. Nur ruled the vast Mughal Empire alongside her husband, leading troops into battle, signing imperial orders, and astutely handling matters of the state. Acclaimed historian Ruby Lal...