The first biography of Shakespeare. Written by Nicholas Rowe with assistance from Thomas Betterton. They researched and interviewed widely to collect as much information about Shakespeare as possible.

Walt Whitman, a world poet and the father of American free verse, has been read by diverse audiences from around the world. Literary and cultural scholars have studied Whitman’s interaction with social, political and literary movements of different countries. Despite his continuing presence in Iran, Whitman’s reception in this country has remained unexplored. Additionally, Iranian reception of Western literature is a field still in its infancy and under-researched, particularly due to con...

Reappraisal of the pioneering humanist scholar Biondo Flavio.

During his lifetime the historian and antiquarian Biondo Flavio (1392- 1463) struggled to obtain recognition as a major contributor to the humanistic movement of the fifteenth century. Throughout the Renaissance, fellow Italian scholars far too often condemned rather than endorsed his scholarly works. His troublesome career and mixed reputation among his peers stand in stark contrast with the highly innovative character of his lear...

New insights into Pietro d'Abano's unique approach to translations.

The commentary of the Italian physician and philosopher Pietro d'Abano on Bartholomew of Messina's Latin translation of Pseudo-Aristotle's Problemata Physica, published in 1310, constitutes an important historical source. In a section of the corpus Aristotelicum that was not part of the standard curriculum at the medieval university, the commentary of Pietro d'Abano investigates the complex relationship between text, translat...

Sublime calligraphy, marvellous art, and amazing initials, have charmed and captivated the audience of the Book of Kells for over twelve hundred years. This remarkable illuminated Gospel book attracts the attention of scholars as well as those more generally interested in the fabulous artefacts of the past.

Everybody knows it was made by an extensive team of scribes and artists. Donncha MacGabhann knew that too. However, he was certain that a thorough examination could clearly identify the va...

The Padmavat (1540 CE) by the Indian Sufi poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi is a classic of pre-modern Indian literature. It relates how the Rajput king Ratansen of Chitor finds and marries the beautiful princess Padmavati, and how the sultan Alauddin Khilji, on hearing of her beauty, besieges Chitor in a fruitless attempt to capture her.

'The Ruby in the Dust' presents a reading of Padmavat that challenges existing interpretations of Jayasi’s work and describes how its semantic polyphony reflects t...

There are many publications dealing with the political career of Ruhollah Khomeini (1902–1989), who transformed the political landscape of Iran and the Middle East after the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Most of the research conducted in the West is on Khomeini’s political strategies, while the influential role of mysticism in all facets of his life is ignored. This book is the first study examining Khomeini’s poetry, mysticism and the reception of his poetry both in Iran and the West. It...

An in-depth analysis of oracular divination in Plutarch's thought.

Oracular divination was of special concern for Plutarch of Chaeronea (45-120 AD), Platonic philosopher as well as priest at the oracle of Apollo in Delphi. The peculiar nature of Delphic divination as an (im)perfect intermediary between the material and the immaterial world is fathomed in a thorough study of Plutarch's Delphic dialogues. This in-depth philosophical-conceptual analysis will disclose an original interpretation o...

By bringing sensory studies to the study of Persian literature and culture, 'Losing Our Minds, Coming to Our Senses: Sensory Readings of Persian Literature and Culture' inaugurates a new chapter for Iranian and Persian studies. This volume offers a diverse set of readings across periods, genres and forms throughout Persian literary history, demonstrating the value of sensory studies as an approach to Persian cultural production, literary or otherwise. The book’s chapters conceptualize senso...

The role of natural science in the Roman Imperial Era.

In his Quaestiones naturales, Plutarch unmistakeably demonstrates a huge interest in the world of natural phenomena. The work of this famous intellectual and philosopher from Chaeronea consists of forty-one natural problems that address a wide variety of questions, sometimes rather peculiar ones, and answers pertaining to ancient Greek physics, including problems related to the fields of zoology, botany, meteorology and their respective s...