Oxford University Press

The Multons of Frampton and their World 1270-1370In The Foundations of Gentry Life, Peter Coss examines the formative years of the English gentry. In doing so, he explains their lasting characteristics during a long history as a social elite, including adaptability to change and openness to upward mobility from below, chiefly from the professions....

During much of the second half of the 20th century advertising in Britain led the world.   Powers of Persuasion tells the story of this dynamic, exhilarating era, with pen portraits of the personalities involved, anecdotes, and case histories - written from the inside by one of the industry's leaders and best-known commentators....

'Monsieur de Maupassant has never before been so clever.' Henry JamesHenry James's admiration for 'this masterly little novel' has been echoed throughout the twentieth century by readers of Pierre et Jean. It marked a turning-point in the development of French fiction, situated as it is between traditional social realism and the psychological...

The story of arsenic in Victorian Britain, looking both at its widespread presence in everything from candles to curtains, and also its more sinister use for murder and suicide....

A Very Short IntroductionThis is a book about the invention of Western philosophy, and the first thinkers to explore ideas about the nature of reality, time, and the origin of the universe. Generations of philosophers, both ancient and modern, have traced their inspiration back to the presocratics, even though we have very few of their writings...

Thinking about church architecture has come to an impasse. Reformers and traditionalists are talking past each other. In Theology in Stone, Richard Kieckhefer seeks to help both sides move beyond the standoff toward a fruitful conversation about houses of worship. Drawing on a wide range of historical examples with an eye to their contemporary...